With Kroenke in control, K-State unravels

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BY CURT McKEEVER

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Nebraska's baseball team needed just one blink from Kansas State here Friday night, and when it finally happened it led to a series of Wildcat flutters.

With left-handed sophomore Zach Kroenke in complete command of K-State, designated hitter Curtis Ledbetter broke a scoreless tie with a seventh-inning home run to open the door to the Huskers' 8-0 victory before a record Tointon Stadium crowd of 3,104.

After Ledbetter's first homer of the season, Kroenke pitched his way out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh, and NU then scored five runs in the eighth thanks to four Wildcat errors.

Kroenke, who faced one batter more than the minimum, then polished off his complete-game one-hitter to leave NU at 19-5 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12 Conference

"This team, they know how to stay in games and give themselves a chance to win," said Ledbetter, who smoked the first pitch he saw from Brett Bagley with one out in the seventh over the wall in left-center field. "Zach was phenomenal, and that seventh inning was the small crack we needed to bust the gates open."

Bagley had allowed just two hits before Ledbetter's blast.

Fittingly, Kansas State responded in the bottom half of the inning by making its only serious scoring threat of the game.

Terry Blount's single past diving second baseman Jake Mullinax broke up Kroenke's no-hitter, and then Kroenke threw late to second after fielding a bunt by Jason Long.

Third baseman Alex Gordon then caught a popped-up bunt in foul territory before Blount stole third to give K-State a prime opportunity. However, Kroenke caught Long off first and the Huskers tagged him out in a rundown before Kroenke came back to get the Wildcats' leading hitter, Steve Murphy, looking at a third strike to end the inning.

"I knew we were going to be all right the way we were playing," Kroenke said. "I'm still planning on them not scoring (with runners at first and third). I can't have it in my mind, 'OK, they're scoring here.' "

K-State then did its Humpty Dumpty routine in the eighth, when the Huskers scored all five of their runs after the first two batters were retired.

Gordon's single to right brought the end for the left-handed senior Bagley, and seemed to unnerve the Wildcats. With right-handed senior Danny Wilson on the hill, Mullinax drove a 1-0 pitch to center for an RBI double. Mullinax went to third on an errant throw home, and Ledbetter drove him in with a single.

After he stole second, Joe Simokatis reached an an error by the second baseman Long. Jesse Boyer then bounced an RBI single between first and second and then stole seconde. A passed ball let Simokaitis score. Errors by catcher Josh Heinrich and center fielder Josh Dent then allowed Boyer to score from first to make it 6-0.

Mullinax then capped Nebraska's attack with a two-run double in the ninth.

"This is a game where we had a chance to say it's just not going our way tonight - because our guys hit line drive after line drive - and we didn't do that," NU coach Mike Anderson said.

Kroenke's second career complete-gamer represented the Huskers' third straight shutout. The last time that had happened was in 1988, against three non-NCAA Division I programs.

Friday also marked the second straight game the Wildcats had been shut out, as they lost 12-0 to Missouri on Sunday.

"My slider wasn't breaking as much, but tonight I decided to throw strikes. That was my only job," Kroenke said. "You look on the board and we make no errors. Any time you do that, you should win."

In its last 11 games, the Huskers have played nine error-free contests. In that span, they're 10-1.

"They're a gritty, hard-nosed, well-coached team," NU pitching coach Rob Childress said of Kansas State, "and Zach just locked horns. We always talk, 'Let the other team crack.' I feel like we've kind of learned how to do that."

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@;journalstar.com.