Freshmen Lead Huskers to Doubleheader Sweep

Lincoln -- Drew Anderson went 3-for-5 with five RBI and three runs scored as fifth-ranked Nebraska tuned up for its weekend series with eighth-ranked Baylor with a doubleheader sweep of Southern Utah Wednesday at Buck Beltzer Stadium.

The Huskers, 27-8 on the seasons and winners of 10 of their last 11 games, won the opener 13-3 before finishing off the sweep with a 5-3 victory in the nightcap in front of a crowd of 581 fans who braved threatening weather conditions and a 36-minute rain delay in game one.

Anderson, a freshman from Kearney who had been mired in an 0-for-13 slump since Feb. 18, went 2-for-3 in the opener, driving in a RBI single, his first of the season, in the second, drove in another with a fielder's choice in the fifth before picking up his third RBI of the day on an infield hit in Nebraska's seven-run seventh.

The Huskers capitalized on six Southern Utah (5-29) errors that led to eight of the Huskers' 13 runs. Adam Stern and Willie Jones had two hits apiece, while redshirt freshman Derrick Conte earned the victory, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit to improve to 2-1 on the season.

The Huskers took a 2-0 lead into the rain delay only to see Southern Utah score three runs in the fourth off NU starter Jason Burch, who lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing three runs and six hits.

The Huskers took the lead for good in the fifth, scoring three runs off SUU starter Cody Hunter (0-2). In addition to Anderson's RBI, NU also received an RBI single by Jeff Blevins, while Willie Jones plated another run, walking with the bases loaded. The Huskers tacked on a run in the sixth on Dan Johnson's 14th homer of the season before breaking the game open with a seven-run seventh of Thunderbird reliever Wes Stoker.

In game two, Anderson, who entered the day with a .125 average, played a significant role in three of the Huskers' first four runs. In the bottom of the third, John Cole led off the inning with a single, moved to second before advancing to third on an errant pickoff by Shawn Lambert. Anderson then walked, putting runners on the corners before a double steal scored Cole from third with NU's first run.

Southern Utah regained the lead in the third, scoring a pair of runs on an RBI single by Todd Mitchell and a run scoring double by Jason Ingersoll off Husker starter Steve Hale, who pitched only three innings and did not receive the decision.

In the fourth, the Huskers scored three runs off Lambert, who fell to 0-1 on the year with the loss. Back-to-back doubles by Will Bolt and Matt Hopper plated the first run before Anderson's two-out single scored two more runs, giving NU a 4-2 lead.

The Huskers would add another run in the sixth on Willie Jones RBI single, and managed just five hits in the nightcap, but freshman Mike Sillman shut the Thunderbirds down, allowing one hit and striking out three to move to 2-0 on the season.

The Huskers will play host to Baylor in a three-game series this weekend, marking the first time in stadium history that two top-10 teams will face each other. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will start at 3p.m. and 1p.m., respectively.