Morris Rallies No. 13 Huskers to 4-3 Win Over Cal Poly

Lincoln - Jed Morris' two-run double with two-outs in the ninth lifted No. 13 Nebraska to a 4-3 win over Cal Poly in front of 3,857 at Hawks Field Friday evening.

Morris, who went 3-for-5 and drove in all four of the Huskers' runs, lofted a 1-0 double of Cal Poly's Kevin Correia to the wall in left, scoring Will Bolt and Daniel Bruce with the winning runs, as Nebraska posted its first ninth-inning comeback win of the season.

Will Bolt opened the ninth with an infield single, but the Huskers looked to be in trouble, as Correia retired the next two batters. Daniel Bruce singled to right, moving Bolt into scoring position to get Morris to the plate before the Seabrook, Texas, native belted his 20th double of the season off the Mustang reliever, who dropped to 10-4 on the year with the loss.

Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said Morris, who leads the Big 12 with 16 homers and 60 RBIs, has shown a knack for delivering timely hits all season.

"It was the first game we have won in the ninth all year and that was a huge win," Van Horn said. "Jed has been our RBI guy all year, and he is the guy we wanted at the plate in that situation. He has been Mr. Clutch all season. If the wind wasn't blowing in tonight, he would have hit four home runs."

With the win, the first time Nebraska had come back when trailing in the ninth all season, improved the Huskers to 33-17 on the season, while Cal Poly dipped to 26-25-1.

Jeremy Becker earned the win in relief, throwing a scoreless ninth to improve to 2-1 on the season while Steve Hale got the hosts out of a two-on, two-out situation in the eighth after Cal Poly took a 3-2 lead.

Van Horn said the Huskers looked sluggish in their first game since final exams, committing three errors that led directly to a pair of Cal Poly runs, as well as several base running mistakes.

"I'm frustrated with the way we played tonight, and I'm extremely happy that we came back and won the game," Van Horn said.

Nebraska jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead off Cal Poly starter Tyler Fitch in the bottom of the first on Morris' 16th homer of the season, a shot off the foul pole in right, marking the third straight game that Morris had homered.

Cal Poly tallied an unearned run in the second off Husker Aaron Marsden, who allowed one earned run in 7.1 innings, as Chalon Tietje reached on an error and came around to score as Aaron Escobedo's grounder was misplayed by shortstop Joe Simokaitis, allowing Tietje to score from third. The Mustangs, who had won five of the last six before tonight's loss, knotted the score at 2-2 in the fifth, as Bryan Gant's double to the left field corner plated Scott Anderson, who had singled one batter earlier.

The two starters matched each other through the first seven innings, as Marsden, who tied a career high with nine strikeouts, held the visitors at bay, while Fitch, who did not allow a run after the first, held NU to just six hits through seven innings.

The Mustangs took their first lead of the night in the eighth, as Teitje stroked a two-out single before Adam Leavitt's single was misplayed by right fielder Drew Anderson, allowing the Mustang runner to score from first with their third run. Cal Poly had an opportunity to extend the lead, putting runners on first and second before Hale got Escobedo to ground out to short to end the inning.

The Huskers and Mustangs continue the series Saturday at 2:05 p.m., as Jamie Rodrigue (5-3, 4.10 ERA) takes on Mustang right-hander Brett Larson (1-3, 8.90 ERA) in a game that will be televised state-wide by NETV. The game will also be carried on the internet at net.unl.edu.