LINCOLN Nebraska pitcher Johnny Dorn could hear the chatter from the Texas Tech dugout early on Friday night.
Cornhuskers' coach Mike Anderson heard it to, saying he noticed the Red Raiders loudly discussing that Dorn "didn't have it."
Think again.
Dorn allowed one hit and one run over 7 1/3 innings and struck out 10 as No. 9-ranked Nebraska opened its three-game Big 12 Conference series against Texas Tech with a 6-2 victory over the Red Raiders at Haymarket Park.
"That's just Johnny Dorn," Anderson said. "He does that to a lot of teams."
Dorn (4-0), the guy who supposedly "didn't have it," walked away with his nation-leading 35th career victory and lowered his season ERA to 2.12. The senior from Grand Island improved to 4-0 in his career with a 2.80 ERA in five starts against Texas Tech.
Dorn said the Red Raiders (16-13, 4-6 Big 12) certainly did their part to get his attention. He laughed, recalling that he heard one Tech player loosely quote a line from the movie "Major League II" when he missed with a curveball, mockingly asking, "What was that? The Eliminator."
"That fueled the fire," Dorn said. "I was thinking, 'Keep doing it.' I think I pitch better when I'm mad. It's tough for me to get mad, but when I do, I think it's advantage to me."
With Nebraska (22-4-1, 8-1-1) leading 5-0, Tech's Doug Thennis broke up Dorn's no-hit bid with a home run to deep left on a 3-1 fastball to lead off the fifth.
"I just wanted to put it over the plate and he took advantage of it," Dorn said. "I'd rather give up a home run than a free base."
Dorn said he felt he started the game being too timid.
"I wasn't being very aggressive with my pitches and I think after that home run and a call that I might not have gotten, it kind of ticked me off a little bit and made me a little more aggressive."
Dorn, who typically shows little emotion on the mound, also appeared to get some motivation from home plate umpire Tom Svehla in the sixth. After not getting the call on a 2-2 curveball, Dorn took a long walk behind the mound toward second base.
He finally climbed back on the hill and blew Tanner Rindels away with a fastball. That started a string that saw Dorn strike out six of seven batters, including five straight.
"After that, I just went after it and started trusting some things," Dorn said. "I'm kind of glad that call didn't go my way."
Nebraska senior first baseman Craig Corriston said Dorn's rare display of emotion fired up the entire team.
"It just kind of put in perspective how hooked up he is all the time," Corriston said. "Every call counts to him. He doesn't take one pitch off and that rubs off on everybody on the field when he does something like that."
Anderson said Dorn returned to his usual self the rest of the way. He left to a standing ovation with one on and one out in the eighth, ending his 124-pitch outing by casually walking off the mound to be congratulated by his teammates.
"He's always that way," Anderson said of Dorn. "You really can't tell if he's mad or happy. I mean, he just pitched a great ballgame, handed me the baseball and walked off the mound. You can't even put a smile on his face that's just him."
Nebraska took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on Cody Neer's two-run single, scoring Corriston and Bryce Nimmo. The two Husker base runners moved into scoring position when Texas Tech pitcher Nathan Karns' pickoff attempt sailed into center field for an error.
The Nebraska lead grew to 4-0 in the third when Jake Opitz's sinking liner got past Red Raider right fielder Roger Kieschnick for a RBI triple, scoring DJ Belfonte. Mitch Abeita followed with a double down the left-field line, plating Opitz.
Corriston answered for the Huskers in the fifth, hitting a towering solo shot to left for a 5-1 lead. It was the second homer of the season for senior from Paris, Texas.
Opitz made it 6-1, driving in his second run of the night in the seventh, singling to center to score Belfonte. Jake Mort's sacrifice bunt had moved Belfonte into scoring position with one out.
It was another workman-like night at the plate for Nebraska, which finished with nine hits. Opitz and Abeita each had two hits to lead the Huskers.
"That's what we do," Anderson said. "It's somebody else each night. It's usually just a base hit it's nothing that's special. I think you walk away and say we're not extraordinary. Beatable."
Texas Tech tried to rally in the eighth as Chris Hall drew a leadoff walk from Dorn and, with one out, pinch hitter James Leverton doubled down the left-field line off Nebraska reliever Zach Herr. However, Herr struck out Joey Kenworthy looking and got Rueda to fly out to the right-field fence to end the inning.
The Red Raiders scored an unearned run in the ninth when Jason Seefeld's two-out grounder scooted under the glove of Mort, Nebraska's third baseman, scoring Thennis from second against Husker reliever Erik Bird. However, Bird then got Hall to fly out to left, ending the game and sealing the win for Dorn.
Game notes
& Dorn made his 50th career start Friday night, making him just the second Husker pitcher to reach that milestone. Shane Komine is NU's all-time leader with 59 starts.
& Saturday's 2:05 p.m. game will be televised by NET. Thad Weber (5-1, 3.20 ERA) is scheduled to start for Nebraska against Texas Tech's AJ Ramos (1-2, 5.29 ERA).
& The home crowd of 6,593 was the largest of the season for Nebraska.
Texas Tech 000 010 001 2 3 1
Nebraska 022 001 10x 6 9 1
W Dorn (4-0). L Karns (1-5). 2B Texas Tech, Leverton (1); Nebraska, Abeita (5), Kline (5). 3B Nebraska, Opitz (2). HR Texas Tech, Thennis (4); Nebraska, Corriston (2).
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