Nesseth, Roualdes aid in NU baseball team’s success

Nebraska's baseball team headed south last weekend for the second straight time in its young season.


This time, though, the Cornhuskers returned with a few more losses.


The Huskers (5-3-1) split four games at the Sam Houston State Baseball Classic in Huntsville, Texas, winning their first and third games but dropping their second and fourth.

NU won its Friday match-up with Missouri State but didn't lack dramatic flair. In the top of the first inning, Missouri State pounced on NU sophomore starter Michael Mariot.

The Bears plated five runs in the top of the first inning to put the Huskers in an early hole. NU reacted quickly, adding three of its own runs in the bottom of the inning and another run in the bottom of the second inning to pull within one of MSU.

Missouri State pulled ahead once again, taking a 12-8 lead in the top of the eighth.


Running out of opportunities, Nebraska unloaded for six runs in the bottom of the eighth, tying the game off a Ben Kline single.


Junior Adam Bailey tacked on two runs to give the Huskers a 14-12 lead that would hold until the game's end.

"I was just trying to find a way to get on base and keep the rally going," Kline said. "I was able to work the count, and when you get to a full count, you try to put the ball in play and see what happens.

"He went with a fastball away, and I was able to put it through the right side," Kline said.


For the second time this season, NU won following an eighth-inning scoring explosion.

Head coach Mike Anderson said he can't doubt the will of his team after doing it two games in a row.


"I couldn't be any happier with how we fought (Friday)," Anderson said. "We have a lot of guys getting opportunities and making the most of them. It was really nice to see some of our freshmen do some good things out there."


Unfortunately, Nebraska wasn't as lucky in its first of two games Saturday when they took on St. Mary's.

A 5-5 tie forced overtime, but in the top of the 10th NU freshman Kash Kalkowski - who earned the win in relief a night ago against the Bears - gave up two runs in the frame to allow the Gaels a 7-5 win over the Huskers.

Anderson said it was a "coulda, woulda, shoulda" type of game where he felt his team was pitted against a team just as scrappy as his own. He said his team wasn't able to take advantage of the kind of opportunities on which St. Mary's capitalized.

The third game guaranteed a split for NU, however, when it blasted the host school, Sam Houston State, 8-1.

Nebraska's large margin of victory was thanks to sophomore pitcher Mike Nesseth, who scattered three singles through six innings of shutout work.

The blowout gave the Huskers momentum heading into their Sunday rematch against Missouri State after the 14-12 win on Friday, but it wouldn't add up to a win.

Missouri State pitchers Buddy Baumann and Pat Doyle combined to throw a six-hitter in a 3-2 win over the Huskers.

NU junior pitcher Jordan Roualdes turned in another solid pitching performance, allowing just three runs over six-plus innings of work. But for what seems to be the first time all season, the NU bats couldn't get it going.


Roualdes had tough competition, though, considering Baumann was able to get through five innings while allowing one hit to NU senior Jeff Tezak in the first inning.

The Bears took advantage of the great pitching by Baumann, locking in the 3-2 win over Nebraska.

"Our situational hitting needs to improve," Anderson said. "We had opportunities, and with the opportunities we had, we sometimes tried to do too much.

"Their intent and effort is okay, but we need to play smart baseball, and when you play smart baseball, you are going to get some wins."


spencerschubert@dailynebraskan.com