Lincoln – Behind the pitching of reliever Johnny Dorn and back-to-back homers by Alex Gordon and Curtis Ledbetter, seventh-ranked Nebraska took the rubber game of three-game set with No. 8 Baylor, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at Hawks Field.
Dorn, a freshman from Grand Island, Neb., sparkled out of the bullpen, firing seven shutout innings, scattering three hits and striking out seven for the win, as Nebraska (34-8, 10-5 Big 12) overcame a 3-0 deficit to win its fourth Big 12 series in five weeks.
Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said that Dorn’s effort in shutting down Baylor over the last six innings continued a string of efforts over the last month. Dorn (6-1) has not allowed a run in his last three appearances, spanning 11.2 innings, as he lowered his season ERA to 2.15.
"Johnny Dorn was great today," Anderson said. "To have a freshman come in and do the things that he did in this type of environment, in a conference game is huge. We are seeing Johnny continue to take the next step. He has pitched well in non-conference games in front of big crowds and now in a conference game against a team like Baylor that is one of the top teams in the conference. You have to tip your hat to him and say great job by a freshman."
While Dorn, whose seven-inning stint was the longest by a Husker reliever since the 2001 season, silenced the Bears, the Husker bats came alive in the middle innings, scoring twice in the fourth and twice in the fifth off Baylor left-hander Cory VanAllen.
After spotting BU a 3-0 lead, the Huskers got key two-out hitting, as Ryan Wehrle singled before Bryce Nimmo coaxed a walk to put runners on first and second. Catcher Jeff Christy then cleared the bases, sending a 2-1 pitch past third into the left field corner to pull the Huskers within 3-2.
Nebraska took the lead for good one inning later, as Gordon tied the game with a one-out solo homer off the glove of Bear right fielder Mike Pankratz for his team-leading 14th homer of the year. Ledbetter then sent VanAllen’s next pitch over the fence in right for his 12th round tripper of the season to give NU its first lead of the day. It marked only the second time this season that Nebraska, which improved to 21-3 at home, had consecutive homers and the first since March 15.
Gordon, who went 2-for-3 with a walk, and Joe Simokaitis had two hits apiece, as Nebraska posted its first series win over a top-10 team since the 2003 season.
VanAllen (6-3) allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings of work, as he saw his four-game winning streak snapped.
Dorn took over from there, retiring the next 10 Bears in order before Kevin Sevigny drew a two-out walk in the ninth. The freshman then got Paul Witt to ground out to second, giving NU its first series win over the Big 12 leading Bears.
Early on, Baylor was in command, chasing Husker starter Brian Duensing after just two innings, as they took a three-run lead. Sevigny gave the Bears a 2-0 cushion in the second with a two-run single that plated Zach Dillon and Pankratz, who opened the inning with a walk and single, respectively, before a sacrifice moved both runners in scoring position for Sevigny, who sent a 1-2 pitch into left.
Kyle Reynolds opened the third with a single off Duensing, who allowed all three runs in 2.0 innings of work, before eventually coming home on Dillon’s RBI single between third and short off Dorn. The freshman struggled early, as he walked Pankratz to put two on, but escaped without further damage as Kevin Russo grounded out to end the inning.
The Huskers begin a four-game road swing this week, as Nebraska travels to Wichita State Wednesday evening. The game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network and also carried nationally on ESPNU (Ch. 609 on DirecTV).
#8 Baylor at #7 Nebraska
Apr 24, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb. (Hawks Field)
Baylor 3 (27-16,13-5 Big 12)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
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Griffin, Michael 2b...... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 .278
Reynolds, Kyle 1b........ 3 1 1 0 0 1 9 0 0 .272
Ford, Josh dh............ 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .321
Brees, Reid lf........... 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 .276
Dillon, Zach c........... 3 1 1 1 1 0 8 0 1 .304
Pankratz, Mike rf........ 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 .204
Gerdes, Chase ph........ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Russo, Kevin 3b.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .280
Sevigny, Kevin cf........ 3 0 1 2 1 1 3 0 0 .261
Witt, Paul ss............ 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 1 .242
VanAllen, Cory p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -
Woody, Abe p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -
Totals................... 31 3 6 3 3 8 24 8 6
Nebraska 4 (34-8,10-5 Big 12)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
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Bruce, Daniel rf......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .326
Simokaitis, Joe ss....... 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 4 0 .284
Gordon, Alex 3b.......... 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 0 .406
Ledbetter, Curtis 1b..... 4 1 1 1 0 1 10 0 5 .331
Gerch, Andy lf........... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 .343
Adams, Trey lf.......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
Fusilier, Brandon dh..... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .303
Buckman, Brandon ph..... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .336
Wehrle, Ryan 2b.......... 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 3 0 .250
Nimmo, Bryce cf.......... 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 .258
Christy, Jeff c.......... 3 0 1 2 0 0 8 1 0 .236
Duensing, Brian p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Dorn, Johnny p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals................... 31 4 8 4 3 7 27 10 6
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
Baylor.............. 021 000 000 - 3 6 1
Nebraska............ 000 220 00X - 4 8 1
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E - Dillon(3); Christy, J.(6). LOB - Bears 6; Huskers 6. 2B - Brees(11);
Bruce, D.(13); Christy, J.(4). HR - Gordon, A.(14); Ledbetter, C(12). SH -
Russo(5). SB - Reynolds(9); Simokaitis(11). CS - Witt(2). Reached on CI -
Reynolds.
Baylor IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
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VanAllen, Cory...... 6.0 7 4 4 3 4 24 27 95 3.90
Woody, Abe.......... 2.0 1 0 0 0 3 7 7 28 2.36
Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
Duensing, Brian..... 2.0 3 3 3 1 1 8 11 25 3.49
Dorn, Johnny........ 7.0 3 0 0 2 7 23 25 101 2.15
Win - Dorn, J. (6-1). Loss - VanAllen (6-3). Save - None.
BK - VanAllen(2). CI - Christy, J.. Pitches/strikes: VanAllen 95/60; Woody
28/18; Duensing, B. 25/15; Dorn, J. 101/67.
Umpires - HP: Jeff Henrichs 1B: Bob Homolka 3B: Tim Norman
Start: 1:06p.m. Time: 2:26 Attendance: 5584
Duensing, B. faced 1 batter in the 3rd.
Game: NU42
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
