Celebration of Gerch's homer cut short

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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL /Lincoln Journal Star

OMAHA — One Nebraska fan sitting in the left-field bleachers became so delirious over Andy Gerch's dramatic home run that he lost his red cap. It fell onto the field, and Arizona State left fielder Colin Curtis picked it up and tossed it to an usher.

So a guy got caught up in the moment, and now he might have to buy some new headgear.

If only Gerch and the Huskers had such a simple solution.

Nope, no trip to the mall will likely help Gerch feel any better. Not when you're talking about the emotions of a hometown freshman, a kid who tried his hardest not to think he'd just delivered a game-winning home run in the ninth inning of the College World Series.

"I tried to calm myself down, tell myself we had to go back out there and finish the ninth," said Gerch, a graduate of Lincoln Pius X. "That was about all I was really thinking."

But who could blame Gerch for a couple of fist pumps as he rounded the bases? He knew a mob of red-clad teammates would greet him at home plate.

"I just knew that we had some game left," Gerch said. "The way it was handled, I don't know, it seemed like it was over right then and there."

It wasn't, of course. Gerch's three-run home run gave Nebraska a 7-5 lead against Arizona State in the ninth inning. But the Sun Devils tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, then won in 11 innings, 8-7.

So much for a storybook ending.

One saving grace for Gerch was the fact his father, Terry, was in the stands to see his son give life to a heat-zapped Rosenblatt Stadium crowd.

"It was definitely special for me that he was there to see it," said Gerch, whose father is fighting cancer. "I'm just happy to have the opportunity for him to even be there."

It looked like Gerch's dramatic hit over the left-field fence may extend Nebraska's life in the CWS. With runners at first and second and one out, Gerch belted an 0-2 pitch from Pat Bresnehan. It barely cleared the fence.

"I was up there just trying to put the bat on the ball," said Gerch, who had three hits and finished the CWS hitting 6-for-15. "He threw a curveball, and I was trying to hit it the other way and got ahead of it a little."

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.