Bullock Shuts Down Gophers, 4-1

Minneapolis - Behind a complete-game performance from senior Trevor Bullock (Lincoln, Neb.), top-seeded Nebraska moved within one win of its first NCAA Regional title in school history, defeating Minnesota, 4-1, in front of a crowd of 3,232 at Siebert Field Sunday afternoon.

The Huskers (49-15) advance to Monday's championship game, meeting the winner of this evening's contest between the Gophers (38-23) and Wichita State (43-20), a 15-5 winner over Butler (31-28) earlier Sunday.

The winner of tonight's game must beat NU twice to advance to next week's Super Regional. The first game will start at 1p.m., with the second game, if necessary, will be played one hour following the completion of the first game.

Bullock improved to 6-1 on the season, throwing his first complete game of the season, as the lefthander allowed just three hits, a season low for the Gophers, and struck out seven. His previous season-long effort was eight innings in a 10-4 victory over Arkansas on March 14.

With today's victory, Nebraska tied a school record with its 49th win, a feat also accomplished in 1979 and 1980, and opened NCAA tournament play with a 2-0 mark for the first time in five NCAA appearances.

"I like the position we're in," said Nebraska Head Coach Dave Van Horn. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we're relatively healthy and we still haven't played our best game yet. We left a lot of runners out there today. I would have liked to see us drive some more of them in."

In a scene more reminiscent of a Saturday football game day in Lincoln, rather than a Sunday afternoon baseball game in Minneapolis, the 1,000-plus red-clad Huskers fans in the stands were treated to a masterful pitching performance by Bullock, as well as a sterling defensive performance by the Huskers, who did not commit an error and turned two double plays.

Bullock, whose streak of 21 1/3 innings of unearned ball was ended by a Jason Kennedy solo homer to lead off the eighth, was in control throughout the contest, facing just three batters over the minimum, and retiring 10 Gophers in a row before Kennedy's ninth homer of the season cut the Husker margin to 4-1.

"Trevor struggled a little early," Van Horn said. "But I thought once we took the lead, he really took charge of the game."

In the third inning, UM second baseman Scott Howard sent a shot up the middle, but shortstop Brandt Vlieger (Omaha, Neb.) robbed Howard of a hit, spinning behind the second base bag, to throw Howard out by an eyelash. In the top of the ninth, Gopher left fielder Chris Guetzlaff's liner up the middle was snared by Husker second baseman Will Bolt (Conroe, Texas), who leapt to his right and snared the liner at the edge of the grass.

Nebraska jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on Matt Hopper's 20th homer of the season. Hopper, who went 2-for-3 with a walk, took a 3-2 curveball from UM starter Ben Birk and sent a towering blast over the fence in left center, becoming only the fifth player in school history to hit 20 homers in a season.

The Huskers extended the lead to 2-0 in the third on a two-out RBI double by Justin Cowan (Tumwater, Wash.). Josh Hesse (Omaha, Neb.) led off the inning with a single off Birk's glove and moved into scoring position on Jamal Strong's (Altadina, Calif.) sacrifice bunt before Cowan ripped an RBI double to the base of the wall, scoring Hesse, who advanced o third on a passed ball.

Birk (4-4) went 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits and striking out two in the loss.

In the fourth, the Huskers scored a pair of runs on three hits, increasing the margin to 4-0. With one down, Dan Wright (St. George, Utah) doubled to left and went to third on a single by Will Bolt. Adam Shabala (Streator, Ill.) walked to load the bases before Hesse, who went 2-for-4, singled to left, scoring Wright. A sacrifice fly by Strong plated Bolt, but the Huskers left Hesse stranded, as Shabala was thrown out attempting to steal third, ending the inning.

NU, which left eight runners on base after stranding 11 runners in Friday's 2-1 win over Butler, missed a golden opportunity to blow the game open in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Hopper walked and Cole singled to third, putting runners on first and second, before Wright's liner to left center was snared by a diving Guetzlaff, robbing Wright of extra bases and at least one RBI.

In today's first game, Butler trailed 4-1 when play was suspended Saturday during a rain delay, but took a 5-4 lead after scoring four in the bottom of the fifth. The Shockers regained the lead with three runs in the sixth and added seven more to cruise to the win.

Postgame Notes:
*-Freshman Matt Hopper becomes just the fifth Husker to ever hit 20 homers in a season, joining Ken Harvey (23, 1999); Bobby Benjamin (21, 1988); Dan Johnson (20, 2000) and Steve Stanicek (20, 1982). This season marks the first time in school history that two Huskers have bashed 20 homers in the same year.

*-Trevor Bullock had not allowed an earned run in 21 1/3 straight innings, dating back to May 14, before Kennedy's solo homer in the eighth. Bullock, who transferred to Nebraska after playing at Division II Nebraska-Kearney, became just the fourth Husker pitcher to throw a complete-game in NCAA play, joining Cliff Faust (vs. Michigan; May 24, 1980), Jeff Mays (vs. Pepperdine; May 24, 1985) and Roger Webb (vs. Pepperdine, May 26, 1985)

*-Justin Cowan's double in the fourth inning was his 23rd of the season and 44th of his career. He is now just three doubles shy of tying the school's single-season and all-time record for doubles. Jed Dalton (1992-95) holds the all-time record of 47, while Mike Duncan doubled 26 times in 1985 for the single-season mark.

*-Nebraska has now won its first two games in a regional for the first time in school history, and equaled its highest NCAA win total with two wins, also coming during the 1980 season.

2000 NCAA Tournament -- Siebert Field, Minneapolis
Sunday, May 28, 2000 -- Notes and Quotes -- Nebraska 4, Minnesota 1

Minnesota head coach John Anderson
"I compliment Nebraska. They played an outstanding game. They did a great job of pitching, hitting and on defense. The story is the pitching of Bullock. He did an outstanding job. They got enough hits to score more runs than we did. We would like to have another chance at Nebraska tomorrow."

"Ben threw some competitive sinkers, and they didn't chase. They were disciplined hitter and not swinging at pitches out of the strike zone That's a compliment to their team."

"I don't think we're looking at tonight as elimination. We need to play our best game in our next game to have an excellent chance tonight. Hopefully, we can get another crack at Nebraska tomorrow."

Minnesota starting pitcher Ben Birk
"They were great hitters. They hit the ball hard, and were aggressive early in the count. You need to get ahead and keep the ball down. I didn't do that today. I was very impressed by their hitters. They chased my low-speed ball in the dirt, and that is where I had my success early."

Minnesota right fielder Jason Kennedy
(On Bullock) "He's one of the top pitchers we've faced.

Nebraska head coach Dave Van Horn
"That was a well-played game. We made a couple of key double plays, and did a good job of getting left-handed hitters out. At this time of the year, we are results-oriented. And that is winning games."

"I haven't really thought about being 2-0. We came here to win this thing. We just emphasize play one game, one inning at a time. It's a lot better than coming through the loser's bracket like we did last week. We have a lot of pitching left."

Nebraska pitcher Trevor Bullock
"The first couple of innings, I felt tight, and my mechanics were messed up. After they got me the lead, I relaxed and felt comfortable. Guys were making good defensive plays behind me all day. I felt comfortable after getting the lead, and coach emphasized throwing strikes and getting people out."

Nebraska second baseman Will Bolt
(On Nebraska fans) "It was pretty much like playing a home game. It's great having that kind of support."