Huskers take nightcap 9-2 after dropping opener, 17-7
STANFORD, Calif. Johnny Dorn pitched a strong six innings to help Nebraska to an 9-2 win over Stanford in the second game of a double header Friday at Sunken Diamond.
The Huskers (1-1) dropped the opener 17-7.
Dorn (1-0), a senior from Grand Island, gave up just three hits and one run with six strikeouts and one walk in his six innings of work as he won the 32nd game of his career.
Dorn needs nine more wins to tie former Husker Shane Komine for the school record for wins in a career with 41.
D.J. Belfonte went 4-for-6 with four RBIs for the Huskers while Bryce Nimmo was 2-for-4 with three runs.
In the opener, Mitch Abeita homered while Jake Optiz drove in a pair of runs for the Huskers.
Abeita got the Huskers on the scoreboard with a solo shot, as Nebraska totaled all seven runs and eight of its nine hits in the final three frames. Optiz drove in a pair of runs with a two-run single, while Cody Neer, Belfonte and Nick Sullivan also enjoyed multi-hit days in a losing effort.
The Huskers (0-1) spotted Stanford an 8-0 lead through three frames and were forced to play catch-up the rest of the afternoon.
Cord Phelps powered the Cardinal offense, going 2-for-4 with a pair of homers and four RBIs, as the Cardinal pounded out 16 hits against three Husker pitchers. The homers were the first two of Phelps' career.
Phelps got Stanford on the board in the bottom of the first, leading the game off with a solo homer to left to spark before Jason Castro's two-run double highlighted a five-run first inning off Nebraska starter Thad Weber.
That was more than enough for Stanford starter Jeremy Bleich, who allowed one hit leadoff single by Neer in the second - over six innings of work. The left-hander struck out four and left with the Cardinal holding a commanding lead.
Weber was tagged with the loss, allowing eight runs on eight hits in just three innings, as Nebraska dropped a season opener for the first time in seven years.
Castro, Zach Jones and Jeff Whitlow and Brendan Domaracki also drove in two runs apiece for the Cardinal, who scored five in the first, three in the third, four in the fifth and five in the sixth.
* SOFTBALL
UNK splits two in season-opening games in Texas
Senior Amanda Bell threw a complete game six hit shut out and freshman Cassie Keck hit a solo homer run to lead the Nebraska-Kearney softball team to a 1-0 win over Eastern New Mexico Friday afternoon in Amarillo, Texas.
The game was part of the Holiday/Lady Buff Invitational, hosted by West Texas A & M. Bell also threw a complete game in the second contest, a 4-0 loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State.
These were the Lopers' first games of the 2008 season. Meanwhile, the Eastern New Mexico Diamond Zias fell to 11-8 while the SOSU Savage Storm improved to 12-3.
Bell, the 2007 RMAC Pitcher of the Year, worked out of several jams against ENM to notch her 20th win as a Loper. The Zias managed six singles, and one walk, but never reached third base.
In the second game, the Lopers ran into unbeaten Marjorie Johnson. The junior college All-American fanned 13 and gave up just one hit to improve to 7-0. On the young season, Johnson now has a 0.70 ERA and 101 strikeouts in just 49.2 innings.
Saturday, UNK will play Fort Hays State at 11a.m. The Lopers will then face either Mesa State or Southwestern Oklahoma State.
* TRACK & FIELD
NU's Jonas soars at Prairie Wolf Invite
LINCOLN Senior Dusty Jonas was the star on Friday as the six-time All-American high jumper returned to the top of the national rankings with a new personal-best jump of 7-5 (2.26).
Jonas has been chasing the mark all season and would not be denied after what Scott Sellers of Kansas State did last weekend. Jonas had been tied for the No. 1 spot in the nation all year with Sellers at 7-4 1/2 (2.25), until last weekend when Sellers jumped 7-5. Jonas said it was great to finally see all his hard work pay off.
"It was so nice to finally hit 7-5 after all the hard work in practice," Jonas said. "I've really been working hard for Big 12 indoors and today's jump motivates me even more for next weekend. Next week is going to be a heck of a battle if we (Jonas and Sellers) are both on. This week was just a tune-up, I know I can hit 7-6."
Head Coach Gary Pepin was excited for Jonas and knows he can compete with the best in the country.
"I was very proud of Dusty (Jonas) and you can see that he is starting to jump consistently at the marks that are special. What some people don't know is that he took six long jumps before he high jumped, which makes his high jump mark that much more incredible," Pepin said.
Seth Burney hit another NCAA provisional-qualifying mark for the Husker pole vaulters as his vault of 17-1 (5.21) just got him by the qualifying standard of 17-0 3/4 (5.20). Burney's vault was a new personal best and earned him a second-place finish overall and the top jump among the collegiate competitors. Burney now is tied for the 17th best mark in the nation and joins female pole vaulters Rachel Birtles and Natalie Willer as NCAA provisional qualifiers. Lindsey Maher also won the women's pole vault with a vault of 11-11 3/4 (3.65).
Sophomore Dax Danns ran both his best and worst 60 meters of the season on Friday. Danns ran his slowest time of the indoor season in the prelims with a time of 6.96, only to come roaring back and take the finals with a new personal-best time of 6.76. The time moves Danns into a tie for seventh on the Big 12 indoor performance list and ties him for 11th all-time in the Husker indoor record book with Tom Fish (1997). Danns said the prelims were what motivated him in the finals.
For the first time all season NCAA provisional qualifier Arna Erega earned a win in the women's 60-meter hurdles. Erega is ranked fifth in the Big 12 Conference and has four runner-up finishes.
In the men's hurdles, Tyrell Ross and Jamie Ryder finished with the top-two collegiate times and second and third overall. Ross' time of 8.09 beat out Ryder who ran an 8.12. Both lost out to current Husker, Kirkland Thornton, who was competing unattached. Thornton's NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 7.84 would have placed him fourth in the Big 12, right behind current Husker freshman, Lehann Fourie.
Senior Kim Shubert led a quartet of Huskers to the top four marks in the women's high jump as Shubert, Epley Bullock and Erin Hannon all jumped 5-8 3/4 (1.75). Shubert finished first with less misses, while Bullock and Hannon tied for second. Audrey Svane rounded out the group with a jump of 5-7 (1.70).
In the throws, the Huskers made a clean sweep in the college ranks of all events with Tamara Solari and Bryan Bell taking the weight throw as Solari posted her top mark of the 2008 indoor season in the 20-pound weight throw with a toss of 59-8 1/4 (18.19) and Bell won the 35-pound weight throw with a mark of 63-1 1/4 (19.23). Trey Jordan posted the top mark in the shot put at 55-7 1/2. Amanda Latsch posted the top collegiate mark in the women's shot with a new personal best of 50-2 1/2 (15.30) and Kacie Sharp finished in third at 47-3 (14.40). Both Latsch and Sharp lost out to former Husker Jeni Steiner, who hit 51-9 (15.77).
Overall the Huskers notched 15 wins at the Prairie Wolf Invite with the women winning eight events and the men winning seven. The Huskers finished in the top two in 25 of the 36 events.
Nebraska will be back at home next weekend when it hosts the Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday. The meet will start on Friday at 9:30 a.m. with the women's pentathlon. Running events will begin at 2 p.m. with the women's 60-meter hurdle prelims and the field events start at 2:45 p.m. with the men's weight throw. Saturday, the men's heptathlon starts the day off at 9:30 a.m., with the women's triple jump as the first field event at 1:30 p.m. Running events begin at 3 p.m. with the women's 60-meter hurdle finals.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]