Lincoln – Bryce Nimmo and Cody Neer combined for four hits and five RBIs while Dan Jennings tossed six innings of shutout ball, leading No. 15 Nebraska to a 10-0 whitewash over Northern Colorado Tuesday night at Hawks Field.

Nimmo and Neer delivered the big hits in a six-run Husker third off of Northern Colorado starter Jon Klausing (1-3). Nimmo broke the game open with a two-run double before Neer capped the outburst with a two-run single, as the Huskers (18-3-1) equaled their highest single-inning output of the year.
 
Neer went 2-for-4 with a season-high three RBIs, while Nimmo had two hits and scored three times for Nebraska, which jumped out to an eight-run lead after three innings and cruised to victory.

Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson saw that the Huskers were locked in from the start, following an 8-all tie against Oklahoma on Saturday.

“When we start out here two-and-a-half hours prior to game time, in terms of our preparation and BP and everything else, if they’re not coming out ready to prepare and ready to get after it, that’s the key indicator for me,” Anderson said. “Our kids keep working hard in their preparation. What I am liking is seeing is whether it was a stressful, big loss, big win, whatever, today is a new day. It’s very coach-talk, but I really like our kids’ preparation and consistent competitiveness.”

The Huskers, who were held to just two hits over six innings by Klausing in the first meeting on March 9, took advantage of a Northern Colorado (7-16) error in the second before breaking the contest open one inning later, as the left-hander allowed eight runs on seven hits over three innings.

While the bats got going early, Jennings kept the Bears’ off-balance, allowing only three hits and striking out six to improve to 3-0 on the year. Jennings did not allow a Northern Colorado player to reach third and has now allowed one run over his last 16 innings of work.

Anderson was pleased with the Huskers’ efforts on the mound, as Jennings and three relievers combined on a five-hit shutout.

“It’s nice,” Anderson said of the Huskers’ second shutout of the year. “It’s not something you start the day stressing. It’s something at the end of the day, if you have an opportunity to get it, you get it. If you don’t, it’s not that big of a deal. Dan did a great job on the mound tonight.”

The Huskers loaded the bases in the second, getting two one-out walks to Craig Corriston and Neer sandwiched around a Nimmo single. Dan Johnston hit a fielder’s choice to short, but the throw to get the double play was wide of the bag, allowing a Nimmo to score from second to make it a 2-0 game.

Nebraska opened the third inning by scoring six times as the first seven Huskers reached base, including an RBI double from Jake Opitz and the two-run hits by both Nimmo and Near. Singles by DJ Belfonte and Jake Mort put two on before Opitz ripped the next pitch into the corner to plate Belfonte. Mitch Abeita then chopped into a fielder’s choice, but Mort beat the throw home to make it a 4-0 game. After Corriston was hit by a pitch, Nimmo lined a two-run double to right before Neer’s drove in the final two runs with a single to center.

“Our left-handers did a good job against him. I think they had a pretty good plan. They attacked. Opitz carried that out pretty darn good and I thought Belfonte and Nimmo did too. If he threw at us tomorrow, he’s one of those kids that can beat you on a given day.”

The Huskers tacked on single runs in the fourth on a Corriston RBI single and in the eighth on Neer’s second base hit of the night, an RBI single to right.

The Huskers will wrap up the two-game series Wednesday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. The game will be carried on selected Husker Sports Network stations and on Huskers.com.