Huskers Win Regional Title; Head to Super Regional

Minneapolis -Nebraska claimed its first regional title in school history, defeating Wichita State, 8-1, in front of a crowd of 1,127 at Siebert Field in Minneapolis Monday afternoon.

With the win, the Huskers improve to 50-15 on the season, marking the first 50-win season in school history, while the Shockers end their season with a 44-21 record, fighting back to win two games in the losers' bracket before falling to Nebraska this afternoon.

The Huskers, whose 50 wins breaks the school record of 49 set in both 1979 and 1980, will face eighth-seeded Stanford in the Super Regional in Palo Alto, Calif., beginning Friday night. Times for the three-game series will be announced later Monday.

Once again, the Huskers received a strong performance from starting pitcher Jamie Rodrigue (St. Clair, Mo.), who went 8 1/3 innings, allowing one unearned run on five hits to improve to 9-3 on the season. During the three regional games this week, Husker pitchers allowed just two earned runs in 27 innings of work this weekend for a 0.67 ERA.

Offensively, Matt Hopper (Morrison, Colo.) delivered all the runs the Huskers would need with a three-run homer during a four-run first off Wichita State starter Rueben Krebs (2-2), who was knocked out of the game before retiring a batter in the top of the first.

Jamal Strong (Altadina, Calif.) opened with an infield single and Brandt Vlieger (Omaha, Neb.) drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Justin Cowan (Tumwater, Wash.) tried to sacrifice the runners, but his bunt was mishandled by WSU catcher Dustin Bozarth, who threw the ball over first baseman Pat Magness' head, scoring Strong from second. Hopper increased the Husker lead to 4-0 with a towering three-run homer to left on a full count for his 21st homer of the season.

Strong paced the Husker offense with a 3-for-5 effort, scoring three runs, as NU pounded 12 hits off four Shocker hurlers.

Kerbs (2-2) allowed four runs (three earned) on two hits, before being replaced by Brandon Sloan, who kept the Shockers in the game, giving up one run on four hits in five innings of work.

Hopper was one of six Huskers selected to the all-regional team, as he was joined by pitchers Shane Komine (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Trevor Bullock (Lincoln, Neb.), Cowan, Strong and second baseman Will Bolt (Conroe, Texas), who earned tournament MVP honors, going .545 (6-for-11) with two runs scored during

NU increased its lead to 5-0 in the top of the fourth as pinch hitter Dan Johnson delivered his 21st homer of the season over the fence in right center. Johnson, a Coon Rapids, Minn., native, sent a 2-1 fastball from Sloan to the track bleachers adjacent to Siebert Field.

In the bottom of the frame, the Shockers put together their best threat of the early innings, loading the bases on a single by Magness and walks to Brian Burgamy and Tanner Welch, but Rodrigue got out of the jam, striking out Bozarth with a 2-2 fastball to end the threat.

The Huskers broke the game open with a single run in the seventh and added a pair in the eighth to give the Huskers an 8-0 cushion before the Shockers scored their lone run in the ninth inning.

With one out, Andy Schreiber walked and moved to second on a single by Welch before pinch hitter Dustin Hawkins grounded back to NU reliever Thom Ott (Nassau, Bahamas), whose throw sailed away from Bolt, allowing Schreiber to score from second. The Husker closer walked Randy Walter to load the bases before retiring the final two Shockers to end the contest.

Nebraska Postgame Notes:
*- Nebraska has won 50 games in a season for the first time in school history, breaking the previous school record of 49 wins set in both 1979 and 1980.

*- Nebraska has won three NCAA Tournament games for the first time in school history.

* - The Huskers evened their all-time NCAA Tournament record to 8-8 and are 4-2 under Head Coach Dave Van Horn.

*- Hopper's 21st homer of the season in the first inning moved him into a tie for second with Bobby Benjamin (1988) on Nebraska's single-season chart. He needs only two round trippers to tie the school record of 23 set by Ken Harvey last season. Johnson also added his 21st home run in the top of the fourth. Nebraska is 6-0 on the year when both Johnson and Hopper homer in the same game.

*- Nebraska has now won eight straight games, the second-longest winning streak of the season.

*- NU improves to 15-16 all-time against Wichita State

*- Reliever Thom Ott has allowed just one earned run in his last 19 relief appearances dating back to March 14.