LINCOLN While Johnny Dorn's debut as the opening-game starter for a weekend series was solid, Nebraska's bullpen was stellar as the Cornhuskers beat UC-Riverside 3-2 Friday in their home opener at Haymarket Park.
Dorn pitched seven strong innings before leaving with the score tied 2-2. Nebraska (2-2) wound up pushing the winning run across in the bottom of the eighth inning on a wild pitch and the Huskers got flawless relief work from Zach Herr and Erik Anderson to capture their 30th consecutive home opener before a crowd of 2,934.
Despite the good work by Dorn and Highlanders' starter Stephen Penney, the game was decided by the bullpens.
Nebraska's came up big, as the Huskers escaped from a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the top of the eighth inning. After Mike Nesseth walked two hitters and UC-Riverside (2-4) loaded the bases on a fielder's choice bunt, Herr came in to strike out Drew Garcia and Joey Gonzales before Anderson fanned Aaron Wible.
"That was awesome fun to watch," Dorn said of Nebraska's bullpen. "That's what they're supposed to do: Come in the game in those types of situations, hold the other team down and that's exactly what they did."
On the other end of the spectrum, UC-Riverside reliever Ryan Platt made just one bad pitch, but it cost his team the game.
After Nebraska's Ben Kline ripped a leadoff double down the left-field line to open the eighth, he went to third on a wild pitch. UC-Riverside coach Doug Smith then went to the bullpen and Platt responded by bouncing his first offering past catcher Brett Hambright, allowing Kline to score easily.
"It's an unfortunate thing," Smith said. "He came in and threw a bunch of good pitches after that, but the one that got away was the one that ends up breaking your back."
Dorn struck out nine, walked one and allowed four hits and two earned runs in seven innings. The senior right-hander from Grand Island, who moved into sixth place on the school's all-time strikeouts list, said he was pleased with his 106-pitch outing.
"I was more worried about the start we'd get off to in the series," said Dorn, who threw a complete-game five-hitter and struck out a career-high 12 batters in an 11-1 win over UC-Riverside in last year's NCAA Regional at Tempe, Ariz. "I really wanted to get that first game so we could get rolling here and that was a big win. It was a good ballgame today."
Dorn's only major mistake was 2-0 pitch that Ben Price tagged for a two-run homer to deep right-center field. The blast gave the Highlands a 2-0 lead in the top of the second.
Dorn chalked it up to a moment of indecision.
"I wanted to go after him, but I kind of got mixed emotions about throwing a strike or nibbling and kind of left it up there for him," Dorn said. "It was just that one pitch. I didn't really commit to it and paid the price."
Nebraska pulled even with the help of two solo home runs. Mitch Abeita homered to right-center field his second of the season in the bottom of the second and Jeff Tezak hit a round-tripper to right in the fourth.
Anderson (1-0) earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out three. The 5-foot-11 sophomore junior college transfer from Prairie Village, Kan., displayed plenty of fire both on the mound and celebrating with teammates after closing out the eighth and ninth innings.
"That's the role that he's been in at the junior college level and, to be honest with you, he's extremely confident," Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said. "He just kind of gets up there and goes, plus he has a very, very, very good slider. When you have that, you've got to go with it."
At 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Erik Anderson said has no choice but to go all out.
"I've got to be a competitor that's what I've got to do," Anderson said. "I'm a small guy. I've got to compete or I'm not going to win."
Anderson said he fed off the energy of the home crowd, once even stepping off the rubber to regain his composure.
"I was not used to all that," Anderson said. "The energy was unbelievable by the fans today. It was awesome, so the energy definitely carried over to the ninth inning, for sure."
Game notes
& Both teams played solid defense in a 2-hour, 27-minute game that included nine combined hits four for Nebraska and no errors. NU right fielder DJ Belfonte closed out the Highlanders in the fifth with a spectacular diving catch in foul territory, crashing into temporary fencing that was set up to keep play out of a muddy area.
& Penny (0-1) took the loss despite giving up just four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out four, walked three and allowed three earned runs.
& The four-game series continues with a 12:05 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Haymarket Park. Dan Jennings (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Thad Weber (0-1, 24.00 ERA) are scheduled to start for the Huskers.
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