One inning determined the outcome of Tuesday night's game between the Nebraska baseball team and its in-state rival Creighton.
It was a game full of innings with big plays and big hits, but Nebraska (29-7-1) was able to edge out its rival Creighton (25-14) 4-3 Tuesday night at Hawks Field.
"I thought both teams played very well, and it was a pretty typical baseball game for us," NU Coach Mike Anderson said. "We pitched well, and we hit OK at times, and we had clutch hits. This is something we've continued to do. I really felt good about our kids and their attitude."
Through the first five innings of the game, both teams combined for four hits and one run, with the one run credited to Creighton. It was already the bottom of the sixth after what seemed a matter of minutes.
The game proved to be a dual between Nebraska junior pitcher Dan Jennings and Creighton pitcher Greg Hellhake. The pitchers went back and forth, inning after inning with Jennings budging just enough for the Bluejays to plate one run in the fourth inning. It ended a streak of 30 and one-third scoreless innings for Jennings, the second-longest run in Nebraska history.
That all changed quickly, however, when Creighton Coach Ed Servais decided to sit Hellhake and bring in CU reliever Jeremy Hauer to replace him. It was a decision that undoubtedly decided the game.
The inning started off like the rest of the game had been playing. Junior Jake Mort led off with a single, but then senior Jake Opitz struck out looking. Next up was senior Mitch Abeita, who witnessed a wild pitch early in his at-bat that allowed Mort to reach second base.
With Mort on second, Abeita ripped a single to right-center field, which brought home Mort to tie the game. Junior Nick Sullivan stepped up next only to pop out to the second baseman for the second out of the inning, and it seemed like the frame would end shortly after. But Servais again made an interesting decision.
He had Hauer intentionally walk senior Craig Corriston to get to sophomore DJ Belfonte. Hauer then unintentionally walked Belfonte to load the bases for Dan Johnston. Johnston was then hit by the next pitch, which brought Abeita into score and welcomed true freshman Ben Kline to the plate. NU now had the lead 2-1.
Kline hit what proved to be a game-winning single that brought in both Corriston and Belfonte to break the Husker lead open to 4-1. Creighton was able to answer in the next half-inning by plating two to pull within one, but neither team scored the rest of the way as NU held on for the 4-3 win.
It was a victory that many would give credit to NU redshirt freshman Mike Nesseth, who came on and got the last four outs of the game for the Big Red. He, however, said it could have been anybody's night to come in and get the job done.
"My mentality for me was to just throw strikes, and let my team play defense," Nesseth said. "It was a well-fought ball game, and we should have a good one tomorrow."
Nebraska now turns its attention to a different city, but the same team. The Huskers and Bluejays will play the second game in a new situation, as the two teams will play back-to-back contests, with each team having home field advantage in one of them.
Nesseth and Anderson both agreed that it was a good win for their team Tuesday night, but when the sun comes up on Wednesday, it will be a thing of the past. Both said that this is a tradition-rich rivalry that is always unpredictable, and both will be expecting a similar game Wednesday night in Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.
"This is a little different for us," Anderson said. "It's nice to sleep in our own beds, but then away we go. This is different for us because it's usually a game, and then we see them two weeks later. Some of these tendencies are fresh in our minds, so we'll see how that plays out."
spencerschubert@dailynebraskan.com
