Mad Max would have been proud of the Nebraska baseball team Tuesday. The Huskers shut out the road warriors from Northern Colorado 10-0 at Haymarket Park. Northern Colorado (7-16) has been on the road all season and fina
KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, March 24, 2008 7:00 pm
Mad Max would have been proud of the Nebraska baseball team Tuesday.
The Huskers shut out the road warriors from Northern Colorado 10-0 before 3,409 fans, including Husker football coach Bo Pelini at Haymarket Park. Pelini even managed to snag a foul ball.
Northern Colorado (7-16) has been on the road all season and finally end a 24-game trip Wednesday against the Huskers in a 1:35 p.m. game.
“As a student-athlete, 24 games on the road to open the season — that’d be incredibly tough,” said Husker center fielder Bryce Nimmo. “They play an tough schedule with a lot of tough teams. But they find a way to compete.”
Nimmo showed Nebraska could compete, too. The senior from Cheyenne, Wyo., singled and scored in the first inning, doubled in two runs and scored in the third, walked twice, and scored after reaching on an error on a liner that reached the warning track.
“I’m glad we played a game like this because we had a sour taste in our mouths after the tie game on Sunday,” Nimmo said. Nebraska rallied to beat Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday but had to quit after 10 innings with the score tied 8-8 on Sunday because OU was leaving town. “We relaxed and played with a purpose. We jumped on them early and our pitching was outstanding.”
The Huskers enjoyed the comforts of home as starter Dan Jennings and rarely used relievers sophomore Joe Hataski and freshmen Matt Freeman and Michael Mariot combined to post Nebraska’s second shutout of the season. Jennings, 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA, pitched six innings. He allowed three singles and one walk while striking out six.
“Obviously, a game like this is more fun after the weekend,” Jennings said. “It’s not a good thing to press — you squeeze the ball too tight, squeeze the bat too tight. You’ve got to be relaxed and loose. We got the speech about how we didn’t play well Sunday and we can’t be happy with that when it’s a tie.”
The shutout also means a bonus for the pitchers, Jennings said.
“Pitchers always get excited with a shutout because, traditionally, pitchers get to take batting practice so it’s always fun,” he said.
Nimmo said he’d loan a bat to a pitcher.
“Since it’s only a one-time deal, we let them choose whatever bats they want. It’s a fun time when pitchers take batting practice.”
He added that Nebraska needed a solid victory.
“I think we brought a new excitement to the game tonight with the great fans, the weather, the first night game here this year,” he said. “We took the right approach with them (at the plate). Going up the middle, to the opposite field. Look for pitches over the middle of the plate, just take it up the middle and keeping a short, compact swing and not let them get you out in front. I think everybody took that approach.”
Nebraska handled Northern Colorado starter Jon Klausing. The Huskers scored six runs in the second inning, finished with nine hits and drove four fly balls to the warning track against the former Husker, who is now 3-1.
NU coach Mike Anderson said he was impressed with his team’s effort.
“It’s better than a tie,” he said. “Dan (Jennings) did a great job and we got a lot of kids some opportunities to play. We scored some runs early and that gave us a chance to play a lot of people. I get a real good feel that from the time we start out here 2½ hours before the game with batting practice to the end of the game that we showed a high energy level.”
The Huskers close out their 17th home game in 27 days Wednesday and travel to Austin to face Texas in a three-game series that starts Friday at 3 p.m.
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.