The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Nebraska
No. 1 Texas edges No. 4 Nebraska, 6-5, to win series
04.10.2005 | Baseball
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Scoring six runs with two outs between the five and seventh innings, No. 1 Texas (29-6, 6-5 Big 12) pulled out a 6-5 win in eight innings over No. 4 Nebraska (27-6, 6-3 Big 12) in front of 5,947 fans at Hawks Field on Sunday, April 10. Notably, the win, which came during in an eight-inning game due to a 4:30 p.m. Central curfew for team travel, gave the Horns a 2-1 series victory over the Huskers, which marked the program's first series win over the Huskers in Lincoln since 1997.
Two scoreless innings opened the ballgame before Nebraska grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when center fielder Daniel Bruce doubled to start the inning, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly from Jesse Boyer. Pitchers Randy Boone (Yoakum, Texas) for UT and Brian Duensing for NU then kept the score that way through the fourth as they each scattered a pair of hits over that span. In the fifth, the Horns received back-to-back two-out singles from Chance Wheeless (Round Rock, Texas) and Robby Hudson (Redlands, Calif.) before Drew Stubbs (Atlanta, Texas) delivered a triple to center field that gave Texas a 2-1 advantage. Looking to answer in the bottom of the inning, the Huskers loaded the bases with no outs on a single from Bruce, a walk and a bunt base hit. After two straight walks gave Nebraska a 3-2 lead, a sacrifice fly from Brandon Fusilier followed by a fielder's choice grounder made it 5-2 in favor of the Cornhuskers.
A leadoff double from Taylor Teagarden (Carrollton, Texas) combined with a two-out hit batter and a walk to then load the bases for Texas in the top of the sixth. After a balk brought home Teagarden, Wheeless came up with a single up-the-middle that deflected off Duensing and brought home two runs to knot the game at 5-5. Hudson followed with a fly ball to left that was dropped and almost scored Wheeless from first, but Gerch made a great recovery and threw home to record the final out and end the inning. One frame later, Stubbs reached on an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then scored on a two-out, pinch-hit, RBI-single from Calvin Beamon (Aurora, Colo.) to stake Texas to a 6-5 lead. Attempting to counter immediately in the bottom of the seventh, the Huskers put their first two runners on with a single and an error before an intentional walk with one out loaded the bases. Junior J. Brent Cox (Bay City, Texas) then came out of the Longhorns' bullpen and, after a strikeout, retired his next batter on a fly ball to center to end the inning unscathed.
Following a scoreless top of the eighth, the Huskers received a one-out single from pinch-hitter Bryce Nimmo, but Cox set down the next two batters he faced to preserve the victory. While Cox earned his eighth save of the season by working two, one-hit innings, Clayton Stewart (Angleton, Texas) improved to 7-0 on the year by tossing two solid frames in relief of Boone. Phil Shirek, meanwhile, shouldered the loss out of the bullpen for Nebraska as Duensing received a no-decision despite striking out six over 5.2 innings.
Paving the way for the Texas offense was Stubbs, who went 2-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI, Wheeless, who scored once while driving in two runs during a two-hit effort, and Beamon, who drove in what proved to be the game-winning run in the seventh. On the other side of the ledger, Nebraska was led by Bruce, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and four other players who each accounted for one RBI on the afternoon.
Up next, the Horns welcome the Oklahoma Sooners to Disch-Falk Field for a three-game series that begins on Friday, April 15 with a 6 p.m. Central contest. Notably, the game will be broadcast on radio by 1300 AM "The Zone" in Austin and televised by ESPNU.
