Huskers extend season-opening win streak to four games

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The Nebraska baseball team, ranked as high at No. 16 in the nation, continued to add to its best start since 1997 with an 8-4 win against Northwestern (La.) State on Friday during the first day of competition at the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational in Houston.

Sophomore Alex Gordon, a Lincoln Southeast graduate, hit a two-out, two-run triple in the fifth inning to give Nebraska the lead for good and homered to right field leading off the ninth to seal the win for the Huskers, who improved to 4-0. It was his third home run of the young season.

"We didn't play our best today, but good teams find ways to win,"Gordon said. "I think our discipline at the plate won this game today. We took a lot of pitches and got the starter out of the game."

NU sophomore Zach Kroenke earned his second win of the season. Kroenke pitched seven innings, striking out four. Dustin Timm earned his first career save, pitching two innings of no-hit ball that included getting out of a bases-loaded jam with none out in the eighth.

"Zach did what you would expect from a Friday starter,"NUcoach Mike Anderson said. "He pitched well enough to keep us in the ballgame, and that is all you can ask for in a situation against a good team."

Northwestern State starter DanielLonsberry took the loss, giving up four hits and three earned runs.

The Huskers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. With two outs and Jesse Boyer on second after a lead-off walk, Boyer attempted to steal third. The throw from catcher Jeff Martin bounced off the helmet of Curtis Ledbetter as he stood in the batter's box, allowing Boyer to score.

The Demons came back to take a 2-1 lead on HunterThoms' two-run double in the fourth.

In the top of the fifth the Huskers took the lead back.

Colin Shockey was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a hit-and-run by Joe Simokaitis. Boyer hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game 2-2. Jake Mullinax then drew a walk before Gordon hit the next pitch down the right-field line for a two-run triple.

"I think we were a little off today offensively, but we were still able to score eight runs," Anderson said. "In a way, our discipline got us in trouble at the plate with some bad innings early on, but it also won the game for us with some very good at-bats late in the game."

The Demons closed to within 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, but three eighth-inning runs by the Huskers, keyed by a two-out, two-run double by Shockey, gave Nebraska the insurance it would need.

The Huskers will face No. 2-ranked Rice, the 2003 national champion, today at 1 p.m.