Huskers Pound Out 20 Hits In 10-4 Victory

Houston - Behind a 20-hit attack and a strong performance from junior R.D. Spiehs (Grand Island, Neb.), the fourth-ranked Nebraska improved to 1-1 on the season with a 10-4 victory over Lamar Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 618 at Reckling Park.

Every starter in the lineup had at least one hit for NU, including four by junior John Cole (Ottawa, Canada) and three by sophomore Jeff Leise (Omaha, Neb.), who tied a career high. Junior third baseman Jeff Blevins (Sand Springs, Okla.) also keyed the offensive attack, going 2 for 5 with five RBI, including a three-run triple in the eighth inning, in his first collegiate performance for the Huskers.

"I think the win showed a lot of character, especially with what happened in the final two innings last night," Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "I think the players were embarrassed, and they really wanted to get after them. It was a team effort today. We had good pitching, solid defense and timely hitting."

Spiehs (1-0) picked up the victory, going six innings, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out four Cardinals, while redshirt freshman Justin Pekarek (Staplehurst, Neb.) got the save, retiring all nine hitters he faced with four strikeouts.

After allowing 16 runs in the season opener, Van Horn was impressed by the efforts of Spiehs and Pekarek, who made his collegiate debut this evening.

"R.D. pitched well for us today," Van Horn said. "He threw a lot of strikes and stayed ahead of the hitters. It was also good to see Justin come in and fill the zone with strikes and get comfortable on the mound."

After being held to just two runs against Rice on Friday, the Huskers jumped on Cardinal starter Christopher Norris for four runs in the top of the first inning. With one out, Adam Stern (London, Ontario) reached on a bunt single and advanced to second on a balk. Matt Hopper (Morrison, Colo.) then tripled off the wall in right center, scoring Stern from second to give NU a 1-0 lead. After walking Dan Johnson (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Norris then committed his second balk of the inning, scoring Hopper and sending Johnson to second. Cole singled up the middle scored Johnson to give the Huskers a 3-0 advantage. With two outs, Blevins doubled to right, scoring Cole in the inning's fourth run.

"We came out and hit the ball well today," Blevins said. "Last night, we were almost timid at the plate, and we came out and got some hits early. I think a lot of the players were a little discouraged after last night's loss, and we wanted to get after them from the start."

"I think getting the runs early was important," Van Horn said. "When you come from the Midwest down south so early in the season, there is an adjustment period to get used to playing. Tonight, we were able to get ahead early and give R.D. some runs to work with."

Norris (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in just one inning of work for Lamar, which drops to 5-2 on the season.

In the third, the Huskers tallied three runs off Lamar reliever David Talamantez to increase the NU lead to 7-1. With no outs, the Huskers loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Johnson and Cole and a walk to Will Bolt (Conroe, Texas). Blevins then delivered an infield single to score Johnson before Tito Rivera (Schedectady, N.Y.) increased the margin to 7-1 with a two-run single to right center.

Lamar trimmed the NU lead to 7-2 in the fourth on a RBI single by Stephen Graham, scoring Wes Cooksey, who led off the frame with a double. In the sixth, the Cardinals closed to within 7-4, scoring a pair of runs of Spiehs. Cooksey opened the frame with a walk and was drove home on a double by Lee Fincher, who later scored on Anthony Hayes' sacrifice fly.

In the top of the eighth, the Huskers broke the game open with three runs. After loading the bases, Blevins, who went 2 for 5 with a double and a triple, ended any chance for a Cardinal comeback, driving Lamar reliever Richard Vela's offering to the base of the wall in right center, scoring all three runners.

"We not only were able to get many hits, but we also had timely hitting we didn't have last night," Van Horn said. "After they came back to make it 7-4, we loaded the bases and Jeff delivered a ball to the wall for the runs that give us some cushion."

In the day's first game, seventh-ranked Rice scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat top-ranked Georgia Tech, 4-3. With the win, the Owls improve to 6-0 on the season, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 1-1.

The tournament concludes on Sunday, as Nebraska will take on Georgia Tech at Noon (CST). All-American Shane Komine will take the hill for the Huskers, while Brian Sager is the scheduled starter for Georgia Tech. The game will be broadcast locally on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including KKAR (1290 AM) in Omaha and KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln.