Huskers Win Ninth Straight

Lawrence, Kan. -- The third-ranked Nebraska baseball team used a four-run fourth inning and made it stand up, as the Huskers won their ninth straight game, downing Kansas, 5-2, in front of 1,272 at Hoglund Ballpark Saturday afternoon.

The Huskers were held to nine hits on the day, but had five of them in the fourth inning, including run-scoring singles by Jed Morris, Jeff Blevins and Will Bolt, to improve to 34-8 overall and 15-3 in the Big 12. NU's 34-8 record after today's victory marks the Huskers' best 42-game total in 18 seasons.

Sophomore left-hander Jamie Rodrigue earned the win for the Huskers, allowing two runs on six hits in 6.2 innings to improve to 5-3 on the season.

The St. Clair, Mo., native struck out five and did not walk a batter in picking up his third straight victory. Thom Ott pitched a scoreless 2.1 innings in relief to earn his six save of the year -- all in conference play. Ott has allowed just one earned run in his last 11 relief appearances, covering a total of 20.1 innings.

"I just want to go out there and give us six or seven solid innings every time I pitch and give us a chance to win every time out," Rodrigue said.

Kansas took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on Ryan Klocksein's two-out RBI double, scoring Casey Spanish from second, but the lead would not last long, as NU scored four runs off Jayhawk starter Doug Lantz in the top of the fourth.

Consecutive singles by Matt Hopper and Dan Johnson and a walk to Justin Seely loaded the bases before Jed Morris delivered a one-out two-run single to center, scoring Hopper and Johnson to give NU a 2-1 lead.

Jeff Blevins then singled to center, scoring Seely to extend the NU lead to 3-1 before Will Bolt capped the frame with a single to center, scoring Blevins for the Huskers' fourth run, the 43rd time this season NU has scored four or more runs in an inning.

"Jed's single really broke the ice for us," Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "When we loaded the bases with no outs, we knew we had an opportunity to maybe score four or five runs. After Cole popped out, Jed hit the first pitch to get us going."

Lantz (2-5) pitched well in a losing effort, allowing five runs on eight hits in eight innings of work, throwing 134 pitches for Kansas, which drops to 16-26 overall and 4-19 in the Big 12.

KU cut the Husker advantage to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth on Matt Van Alsburg's first homer of the season to left center, but Ott and Rodrigue held the Jayhawks scoreless in the final five innings to preserve the win.

The Huskers added an insurance run in the top of the eighth, as Dan Johnson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, moved to second on pinch-hitter Brandon Eymann's sacrifice bunt and scored on John Cole's single between third and short, extending NU's lead to 5-2.

The Huskers and Jayhawks conclude the three-game series Sunday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.