LINCOLN ‹ Nebraska centerfielder Bryce Nimmo might have provided the best answer to the newfound strikeout success of pitcher Johnny Dorn.
"His strikeouts are up," Nimmo said. "He's taking the best tools he's got and locating (his pitches).
"I don't know exactly what he's doing, but I hope he keeps on doing it."
Nimmo, Dorn nor Husker coach Mike Anderson had a clear answer as to why Dorn's strikeout rate has increased so far in his senior season.
But the Huskers will certainly take it.
On Saturday, the Grand Island native fanned a career high 13 in seven innings to lead NU to a 12-2 win over Northern Colorado at Hawks Field.
Even though the game-time temperature was 33 degrees, Dorn didn't need any time to warm up. He struck out the first seven Bears he saw.
"Obviously they were going to put the bat on the ball," Dorn said. "They swung through a couple (pitches). I got lucky a few times.
"I just try to get ahead (in the count). I got two strikes on them early in the count and try to put as much on that (next) pitch to try to get them out."
It was the most strikeouts by a Husker pitcher since Joba Chamberlain struck out 13 against Miami in the Super Regional in 2005.
Dorn moved up to fifth place in Nebraska's all-time strikeouts list and picked up his 33rd career win. He gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits while lowering his ERA to 1.35.
Despite his lofty ranking in career strikeouts, most of Dorn's success has been due to his ability to locate pitches, not because of high strikeout totals.
But with his pitches staying 88-89 miles per hour in the last few innings of his previous start, Dorn might be changing the perception of what kind of pitcher he is. He has struck out 29 batters in 20 innings this season.
"The velocity helps and I think in this game obviously he located really well," Anderson said. "That's good to see. His offspeed - everything is a little better."
Anderson feels that Dorn has clearly established that he has No. 1 starter stuff going into the Big 12 opener against Kansas State on Friday.
"He's always had a Friday night mentality," he said. "I've always believed he's had the Friday night stuff."
Nimmo added: "Johnny is doing an awesome job. He has control of all four of his pitches. His curveball is working well now."
While Dorn was controlling Northern Colorado, the Nebraska offense used a pair of big innings to pull away.
Nimmo's bunt single with one out in the bottom of the second ignited the Nebraska offense. It was the first of six straight singles by the Huskers (7-2), including another bunt for a base hit by Jake Mort.
Nick Sullivan, Ben Kline, DJ Belfonte and Mort singled in runs while Jake Opitz added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
"I thought we did a good job offensively," Anderson said. "We didn't score in other innings, but we kept pressure on them. The second inning was the key."
The Huskers tacked on four more runs in the fourth. Catcher Mitch Abeita continued his hot start to the season at the plate with a two-run single.
The Bears (5-5) got their first hit off Dorn when designated hitter Cody Henry sent a blooper over the head of Kline at shortstop with one out in the top of the fifth.
Northern Colorado scored single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Nebraska went up 10-2 in the bottom of the seventh off Nimmo's solo home run into the wind to right field. It was his first homer since April 16, 2006, and his 3-for-4 day upped his batting average to .469.
"To me it was a pure swing," Anderson said. "It wasn't because he was trying to do it."
Nimmo received some ribbing from teammates for his home run rustiness.
"I think I forgot," Nimmo said of hitting a home run. "I was really excited. I went (around the bases) fast. People told me to slow down."
The offense continues to click for the Huskers, who have now won six straight.
"I'm just seeing the ball well," Nimmo said. "It's been building up. The whole team is doing that."
The teams continue their series with a doubleheader today starting at 12:05 p.m.
N. Colorado (5-5) 000 001 100-2 4 2
Nebraska (7-2) 050 400 30x-12 14 2
WP-Dorn (2-0). LP-Reap (1-1). 2B-NU, Belfonte (4). 3B-NU, Neer (1). HR-NU, Nimmo (1).
[an error occurred while processing this directive]