Huskers pummel Bluejays
OMAHA - After playing like there's no tomorrow against Creighton here Tuesday night, the Nebraska baseball team can now look forward to its final regular-season series against 18th-ranked Oklahoma this weekend.
"We're fighting," NU junior shortstop Joe Simokaitis said after the Huskers smacked the Bluejays 12-1 before a Rosenblatt Stadium crowd of 10,261. "Our backs are against the wall and we're going to go down swinging."
Smarting from a three-game sweep at the hands of Baylor, which knocked it out of the national rankings for the first time in 82 polls, NU teed off for 15 hits against six Bluejays pitchers to run its record to 34-19.
Tuesday's result marked Nebraska's sixth straight win against Creighton at Rosenblatt and gave the Huskers a sixth straight season series edge against the Bluejays.
"Our team expected to come out and win," NU coach Mike Anderson said. "It was just our night."
While Simokaitis went 4-for-5 to tie a single-game career high and lead six Huskers who produced multi-hit efforts, the real star Tuesday was left-handed pitcher Justin Pekarek.
The fifth-year senior limited Creighton to two hits over seven innings to improve his record to 7-1. The Bluejays managed to hit just three balls out of the infield against Pekarek, who this season against them went 2-0 with a 2.03 earned-run average in his two longest starts.
"I haven't had a good performance in this stadium for - well, never," Pekarek said. "It's just a good feeling."
Pekarek's first appearance in Rosenblatt came in relief against Tulane in the 2001 College World Series. He failed to record an out and ended up being the losing pitcher while allowing three runs in a 6-5 defeat. Last year here against Creighton, he allowed a run in two-thirds of an inning.
But after Tuesay's performance, he's now thrown 24 straight scoreless innings, which is just 3.1 shy of the school record.
"For me, personally, this was just a win we needed," Pekarek said. "If this doesn't fire us up, I don't think nothing will."
Nebraska produced three of its seven extra-base hits in a three-run second inning to give Pekarek more than enough support. After Alex Gordon singled off Scott Reese, Curtis Ledbetter doubled to left on a hit-and-run play to make it 1-0. John Grose, who hit a three-run during the Huskers' five-run fifth, then singled in Ledbetter. After he got picked off, Daniel Bruce and Curtis Shockey had back-to-back doubles with two outs to make it 3-0.
"It's a feel-good game," Grose said of Nebraska's offensive outburst. " We haven't been swinging the bats very well, and for us to play like we did tonight, 12 runs, 15 hits, it's huge. It's a building block."
Creighton (30-22) finishes its regular season with a four-game series against Indiana State Thursday through Saturday.
Nebraska's series with the Sooners begins at 6:35 p.m. Friday. OU had a seven-game winning streak snapped by Wichita State on Tuesday night.
"Every win's important now," Simokaitis said in regard to the Huskers trying to get into position for a sixth straight NCAA regional bid. "We've got Oklahoma and the Big 12 Tournament, and we're trying to get as close to 40 wins as we can."
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@;journalstar.com.
"We're fighting," NU junior shortstop Joe Simokaitis said after the Huskers smacked the Bluejays 12-1 before a Rosenblatt Stadium crowd of 10,261. "Our backs are against the wall and we're going to go down swinging."
Smarting from a three-game sweep at the hands of Baylor, which knocked it out of the national rankings for the first time in 82 polls, NU teed off for 15 hits against six Bluejays pitchers to run its record to 34-19.
Tuesday's result marked Nebraska's sixth straight win against Creighton at Rosenblatt and gave the Huskers a sixth straight season series edge against the Bluejays.
"Our team expected to come out and win," NU coach Mike Anderson said. "It was just our night."
While Simokaitis went 4-for-5 to tie a single-game career high and lead six Huskers who produced multi-hit efforts, the real star Tuesday was left-handed pitcher Justin Pekarek.
The fifth-year senior limited Creighton to two hits over seven innings to improve his record to 7-1. The Bluejays managed to hit just three balls out of the infield against Pekarek, who this season against them went 2-0 with a 2.03 earned-run average in his two longest starts.
"I haven't had a good performance in this stadium for - well, never," Pekarek said. "It's just a good feeling."
Pekarek's first appearance in Rosenblatt came in relief against Tulane in the 2001 College World Series. He failed to record an out and ended up being the losing pitcher while allowing three runs in a 6-5 defeat. Last year here against Creighton, he allowed a run in two-thirds of an inning.
But after Tuesay's performance, he's now thrown 24 straight scoreless innings, which is just 3.1 shy of the school record.
"For me, personally, this was just a win we needed," Pekarek said. "If this doesn't fire us up, I don't think nothing will."
Nebraska produced three of its seven extra-base hits in a three-run second inning to give Pekarek more than enough support. After Alex Gordon singled off Scott Reese, Curtis Ledbetter doubled to left on a hit-and-run play to make it 1-0. John Grose, who hit a three-run during the Huskers' five-run fifth, then singled in Ledbetter. After he got picked off, Daniel Bruce and Curtis Shockey had back-to-back doubles with two outs to make it 3-0.
"It's a feel-good game," Grose said of Nebraska's offensive outburst. " We haven't been swinging the bats very well, and for us to play like we did tonight, 12 runs, 15 hits, it's huge. It's a building block."
Creighton (30-22) finishes its regular season with a four-game series against Indiana State Thursday through Saturday.
Nebraska's series with the Sooners begins at 6:35 p.m. Friday. OU had a seven-game winning streak snapped by Wichita State on Tuesday night.
"Every win's important now," Simokaitis said in regard to the Huskers trying to get into position for a sixth straight NCAA regional bid. "We've got Oklahoma and the Big 12 Tournament, and we're trying to get as close to 40 wins as we can."
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@;journalstar.com.
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