Huskers win first game of series
Nebraska's seventh inning propels it to a 7-6 victory against Kansas.
Saturday, April 19th, 2008
LINCOLN, Neb. – Nine pitches. That was all it took for the momentum of Friday night’s game between Kansas and No. 9 Nebraska to reverse gears.
With Kansas clutching onto a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Nebraska third baseman Jake Mort battled Kansas junior left-hander Nick Czyz, working the count full before fouling off three pitches. But the ninth pitch Czyz served up was driven right back through the box to kick start a two-run, game-altering inning.
Those two runs Nebraska scored in the seventh were the difference in the game as the Cornhuskers (27-6-1, 12-3-1) shut the Jayhawks (24-17, 4-9) out over the last four innings to take the first game of the series 7-6.
“I’ll take six runs any day of the week,” Kansas coach Ritch Price said. “If we scored six runs, I thought we’d win the baseball game tonight.”
The reason Price was would have taken six runs so willingly coming into Friday was that Kansas was facing the top starting pitcher in the Big 12 – Nebraska right-hander Johnny Dorn.
Dorn entered Friday with a 1.98 ERA, which led all conference starters. Although Dorn (5-1) racked up 11 strikeouts, he surrendered all six of Kansas’ runs.
Opposite Dorn, Czyz (2-4) put together his second straight six-plus inning effort. He hadn’t pitched at least six innings in back-to-back starts in more than a year.
Through his first six innings, Czyz was solid, allowing five runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks while striking out five. However, the hit, walk and two runs he gave up in the seventh cost Kansas the game.
Running dangerously close to empty, Czyz ran out of gas after the nine-pitch at-bat with Mort. After Mort’s single, Czyz walked second baseman Jake Opitz, spelling the end of his night.
“We got him in some trouble when we weren’t able to defend the baseball behind him, but I thought he competed, he went back out and put some zeroes up and gave us a chance to win,” Price said of Czyz and his defense that committed two errors.
Sophomore right-hander Brett Bollman entered for Czyz, but walked the only batter he faced before junior right-hander Paul Smyth took the mound with the bases loaded and no outs.
Smyth could do no better to preserve Kansas’ lead, surrendering a two-run single to first baseman Craig Corriston. Smyth retired the next three batters, a one-run lead was all Nebraska needed.
The fateful seventh negated the efforts of the Kansas offense, which outhit Nebraska, 10-8, and captured a 6-5 lead in an odd three-run, fifth inning.
Back-to-back walks in the fifth resulted in back-to-back runs for Kansas – and not just figuratively.
Junior catcher Buck Afenir and senior right fielder Ryne Price each drew one-out walks in the fifth before senior shortstop Erik Morrison doubled to right-center field. Morrison’s double, aided by the wind, sailed over the outstretched glove of Nebraska center fielder Bryce Nimmo and bounced off the wall.
But because Nimmo looked as though he might track it down, Afenir had to hold near second base, while Price advanced nearly all the way to second base. When both runners saw the ball fall, they were off to the races, separated by only a few feet.
Coach Price sent both runners home and, with the relay making its way home, Afenir scored easily, but Price – right on Afenir’s tail – was nearly tagged out. Morrison scored on a bloop single by freshman third baseman Tony Thompson, who had both of Kansas’ errors, to give Kansas a 6-5 lead.
But Dorn locked it up after the fifth, claiming his fifth victory of the year, and made way for left-hander Dan Jennings to earn his fourth save of the season. One of the top closers in the country, Jennings struck out three in 1 1/3 innings.
The only batter Jennings didn’t strike out was Morrison, who fouled out to Mort to end the game with the tying run on third base.
“In this conference, not a lot of games are won late,” Afenir said. “It’s pretty much a heartbreaker, I’d say, just to battle that hard. It’s just tough not to come out with it.”
TV Game
CBS College Sports (Sunflower 143) will air Sunday’s game with No. 9 Nebraska on tape delay. Although first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m., the game won’t appear on CBS College Sports until 6:30 p.m. that evening.
Tickets on sale for game at Kauffman
Tickets for Kansas’ April 29 match up with No. 6 Missouri at Kauffman Stadium are now on sale. Tickets to the rare non-conference meeting between the Jayhawks and Tigers are $10 for adults and $5 for children, ages 6-18, and can be purchased through the Kansas City Royals. Seating is general admission and restricted to the lower bowl of Kauffman Stadium.
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