Huskers Pound Out 19 Hits in 15-7 Victory over New Mexico

Albuquerque, N.M. - Will Bolt's (Conroe, Texas) two-run homer highlighted a six-run first inning, as Nebraska improved to 2-2 on the season with a 15-7 victory over New Mexico at the Applebee's Baseball Fiesta Friday afternoon at Lobo Field.

Bolt, who went 2 for 5 with three RBI, sent a David Young offering over the left field fence for his first homer of the season, as the Huskers pounded out 19 hits off five Lobo pitchers en route to the victory. Junior third baseman Jeff Blevins (Sand Springs, Okla.) triggered the offensive attack, going 4 for 6 with two RBI, while Matt Hopper (Morrison, Colo.) and Josh Hesse (Omaha, Neb.) each added three hits in the win. In all, six starters had two or more hits for NU.

"We needed to win today because we wanted to get the weekend off to a good start." Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We really hit the ball well and had a good day offensively. We showed that we have an explosive offense, putting up 15 runs, but we should have scored more. We had some opportunities, but did not capitalize at times."

The offensive effort was more than enough for NU starter Shane Komine (Honolulu, Hawaii), who evened his record at 1-1 with the win. Komine started in place of R.D. Spiehs, who came down with the flu Thursday evening. Komine recorded seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits.

Young (0-2) picked up the loss for the Lobos, allowing eight runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings.

"Shane wasn't as sharp as he usually is, but he really did a good job for the situation he was put in," Van Horn said. "He gave us an opportunity to stay in the game. We had him pitch bullpen on Wednesday because he was going to pitch tomorrow, and was a little tired, but did a good job for us."

The Huskers roared out of the box early, putting up six runs on five hits, all with two outs in the top of the first. After a double by Hopper and a Dan Johnson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) walk, junior left fielder John Cole (Ottawa, Ontario) drove a triple down the right field line, scoring both runners to give NU a 2-0 lead. Blevins' gounder was misplayed by UNM second baseman Troy Cains, allowing Cole to score the third run of the inning. Bolt gave the Huskers a five-run cushion with his homer. Tito Rivera (Schedectady, N.Y.) reached on the Lobos' second error of the inning, moved to second on a Hesse single and scored on an RBI single to right by Jeff Leise (Omaha, Neb.) for the final run of the frame.

"The pitcher just left a pitch in the strike zone and I was able to get under it," said Bolt, whose homer was the first of the season by a Husker. "It was important for us to get a lead early. Our offense has been hitting well. Last year, we got off to a slow start offensively and had to rely on our pitching on to carry us. It's a good problem to have when we score 15 runs today and are still not be satisfied offensively."

The Lobos (3-7) chipped away off Komine, scoring a pair of runs in the third and fourth frames to cut the Husker lead to 6-4, but would get no closer, as NU would score four runs in the sixth and five more in the ninth, while sophomore Steve Hale (Yukon, Okla) allowed a run on three hits in 3.1 innings to pick up the save.

In the fifth, Leise, who went 2 for 5 and has a four-game hitting streak, led off the frame with a homer to right field. After a Hopper single and a walk to Johnson, Cole added an RBI single to score Hopper, while Johnson also scored on a throwing error on the play. Blevins, who has nine RBI in the last three games, singled to score Cole for the final run of the inning. In the ninth, Hopper's two-run single with the bases loaded was the key hit, as Blevins and Bolt also added RBI singles in the frame.

The Huskers continue play in the Applebee's Baseball Fiesta, taking on Utah, a 10-2 loser to Kansas State earlier today, on Saturday beginning at 2:30 p.m.