May 12, 2007

Box Score

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Jeff Tezak's fourth-inning RBI single broke a 4-4 tie, and Nebraska held Baylor scoreless over the final six innings as the Huskers defeated the Bears 10-4 in Big 12 Conference action Saturday afternoon at Haymarket Park. Baylor (28-22, 9-14) snapped a four-game winning streak with the loss, while Nebraska (26-21, 11-12) evened the weekend series with the win.

Baylor has dropped 10 consecutive series middle games; the Bears last victory in the middle game of a series was Feb. 24 against Oral Roberts.

With runners on the corners and two outs in the fourth, Tezak sent a 2-2 Wade Mackey offering down the line in right to score Mitch Albeita with the winning run. The Huskers added another run in the inning thanks to a Baylor error.

Nebraska added single spots in the sixth and seventh innings before getting back-to-back solo home runs from Andy Gerch and Jake Opitz to leadoff the eighth.

Meanwhile, Johnny Dorn and Matt Foust silenced the Bears' bats over the final two-thirds of the game. Baylor managed just six base-runners over the final six innings, three of which came in the fifth when the Bears had a runner caught stealing and stranded runners on the corners.

Dorn (8-2) worked through early trouble for the win, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 5.0 innings. Foust earned his fifth save of the season, tossing 4.0 shutout innings on two hits with three strikeouts.

Mackey (3-2) was saddled with the loss, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and a walk with one strikeout over 3.2 relief innings. Starter Randall Linebaugh lasted just 1.2 innings; he allowed four runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Baylor got a run in the top of the first on a Beamer Weems sacrifice fly. That lead was short-lived, though, as the Huskers got a run in the bottom of the first thanks to a bases-loaded walk.

Corriston broke the 1-1 tie with a two-out RBI double in the second, and Brown followed with a two-run homer to left-center. Baylor answered in the third, plating three runs with two outs. Weems' RBI single scored the first run, and Dustin Dickerson tied the game with a two-run single.

The Bears tallied 10 hits on the day, reaching double figures for the fourth consecutive game. Chase Gerdes led the way, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Gerdes recorded a hit in each of his first three at bats but grounded out in his fourth to snap a streak of hits in seven consecutive at bats on the weekend. Beamer Weems was 2-for-2 with two RBI, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

Nebraska finished with 15 hits as a team with Albeita, Aaron Brown and DJ Belfonte collecting three hits each. Brown, Gerch and Opitz each had two RBI. Brown scored three times, while Albeita and Craig Corriston scored twice each.

Baylor and Nebraska conclude their three-game series Sunday at 1:05 p.m. CDT. The Bears send freshman right-hander Kendal Volz (5-1, 4.82 ERA) to the mound, while the Huskers counter with junior right-hander Luke Wertz (2-0, 1.72 ERA).