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Dan Jennings may have earned himself a little batting practice this week.
The Nebraska junior left-hander pitched six innings of shutout baseball, striking out six batters and allowing just three hits in the Cornhuskers' 10-0 win over road-weary Northern Colorado.
In leading No. 17-ranked NU (18-3-1) to its second shutout of the season - and first since a 7-0 win over Northern Colorado on Mar. 10 - Jennings joked that he'll be looking for a little time in the cages today before the Huskers take on the Bears (7-16) again at 1:35.
"We'll see what happens," Jennings said.
More importantly, the Huskers received key contributions from a host of newcomers and took control of the game early with two runs in the second inning, followed by six more in the third frame to leave the outcome in little doubt.
Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson said he was pleased with the way the players came out and scored runs early, giving some of NU's freshmen a chance to see the field and gain valuable game experience.
"These nights happen, and when they do you try to make the most of them in terms of creating opportunities for other kids," Anderson said. "I fully expect to come out (today) and probably play a 4-3 game again."
UNC starting pitcher and former Husker Jon Klausing was rocked in his second appearance at Hawks Field this season, surrendering eight runs - seven earned - in just three innings of work. NU's six-run third tied for the most it had scored in an inning this season.
Tuesday's game marked the fifth of six games the two teams will play this season, with the Huskers winning the first five by a combined score of 40-9. For the Bears, the contest marked their 23rd of 24 consecutive road games to open the season.
"I know they have a tough road and it would take a lot out of you," said NU senior centerfielder Bryce Nimmo, "but they always show up to play and usually find ways to compete."
Nimmo led the Husker offense with a 2-for-3 evening, driving in two runs and scoring three more in Nebraska's first night game of the year. Junior Cody Neer - playing catcher for just the fourth time all season - added two hits and three RBI. His base hit to center in the third inning scored two runs and gave Nebraska an 8-0 advantage.
Anderson said the junior-college transfer's performance was especially key behind the plate, giving regular catcher Mitch Abeita a break at designated hitter. Abeita was 0-for-2 with an RBI.
"Just any day you can give (Abeita) a rest is good," Neer said. "I'm just kind of still breaking in a little bit. When it gets warmer, things get better.
"This definitely feels good right here."
Better, anyway, than a tie. Multiple Huskers cited Sunday's 8-8 tie with Oklahoma as major motivation to refocus against the Bears. Nimmo said players did that just fine following the rare deadlock and came out aggressively at the plate, looking to keep a short swing and not get fooled with changeups.
Nebraska plays Northern Colorado again this afternoon before turning around and heading south to play No. 10 Texas beginning Friday night.
But that's still an entire game away. For now, NU was just happy to forget about the tie.
"There might have been a new excitement," Nimmo said. "We had kind of a sour taste in our mouth from the tie last weekend, but I'm glad to see the way our team played (Tuesday). They were relaxed, they came out with a purpose, jumped on them early and carried on from there."
Note: Nebraska football Coach Bo Pelini was in attendance Tuesday night. The first-year coach even got into game action, making a one-handed catch of a foul ball off one bounce in his upper-deck suite on the first-base side. The catch - which was made at the beginning of NU's big third inning - drew loud applause from the crowd of 3,409.
- Concerning the tie, Anderson phoned the press box before the game instructing the P.A. announcer to not mention Nebraska's tie when announcing its record. NU's record was announced at 18-3.
evanbland@dailynebraskan.com
