Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations Dustin Timm earned the win with 4.0 innings of relief.
Lincoln – Alex Gordon went 4-for-5, while Dustin Timm allowed one unearned run over 4.0 innings of relief, as fifth-ranked Nebraska overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat No. 17 Missouri, 7-5, in front of 6,026 at Hawks Field Saturday afternoon.
While Gordon, a first-team All-American, posted his first four-hit game of his career, Timm gave the Husker offense a chance to win, coming in the game in the fourth after Missouri scored four runs off Husker starter Zach Kroenke in the first three innings.
Timm, who was one of three Husker players to participate in graduation ceremonies earlier today, went four innings – his longest relief stint since February - holding the Tigers scoreless until allowing an unearned run in the eighth. The senior scatted four hits while improving his mark to 4-1 on the season.
"Dusty Timm was outstanding today and that is why we won," Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "He came in and carried us through some tough situations and gave us a chance to win. Without Timm, we wouldn't have won this game today."
Brett Jensen came in after Timm allowed a leadoff double in the eighth to Hunter Mense, a run which eventually scored on Joe Simokaitis’ first fielding error since March 12 (159 straight attempts), pulling the Tigers within 7-5. The Husker closer then struck out the side in the eighth and retired MU in order in the ninth for his eighth save of the season, as Nebraska improved to 38-10 on the year and moved into sole possession of second in the Big 12 with a 13-7 mark.
Missouri (32-15, 12-8 Big 12) jumped to a 4-0 lead, scoring a run in the second on J.C. Field’s RBI single before adding three runs one inning later on a Jacob Priday RBI single and a two-run double by Greg O’Neill, as Kroenke allowed four runs on seven hits in just three innings.
The Huskers, who have 14 come-from-behind wins this season, began to claw back in the fourth, as Brandon Fusilier reached on a two-base error, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Jeff Christy’s grounder to second.
One inning later, the Huskers capitalized on a pair of Tiger miscues to tie the game at four and chase MU starter Nathan Culp after 4.2 innings.Gordon, who now has 21 multi-hit games on the year, started the rally with a single before Curtis Ledbetter’s base hit was misplayed by Mense in center, allowing Gordon to score on the play. After a walk to Andy Gerch, Culp struck out Fusilier for the second out before Ryan Wehrle greeted reliever Nick Admire with an RBI single to pull NU within 4-3. Christy then hit a grounder that was misplayed by John McKee, allowing the tying run to score before Bryce Nimmo’s single gave the Huskers a 5-4 lead.
Culp allowed just two earned runs on five hits, but was hurt by five walks and didn’t factor into the decision, while Admire (2-1) suffered the loss, allowing one hit and a run without retiring a hitter.
Nebraska, whose four-run deficit was the largest overcome this season, continued to apply pressure, manufacturing runs in the sixth and seventh to extend the margin to 7-4. In the sixth, Simokaitis reached on Mense’s second error of the day and moved to third on Gordon’s fourth hit of the afternoon. The Huskers then executed a double steal, as Simokaitis swiped home for the second time this season.
In the seventh, Wehrle, who went 2-for-2 and scored twice, was hit by a pitch and then promptly stole second and advanced to third on Trey Adams’ ground out to first. Christy then laid down a safety squeeze, scoring Wehrle on the play to give NU a three-run lead.
That was more than enough for Timm and Jensen, who combined to allow one unearned run over the final six innings. The run snapped a streak of 28 scoreless innings for the Husker bullpen, as they have allowed one unearned run over the last 30 innings.
The series continues Sunday afternoon with a first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. Johnny Dorn (7-1, 1.89 ERA) takes the hill for NU, while Doug Mantis (4-4, 3.12 ERA) goes for the Tigers.
Missouri IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
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Culp, Nathan........ 4.2 5 4 2 5 2 19 24 100 3.19
Admire, Nick........ 0.0 1 1 0 1 0 2 3 15 3.67
Johnston, Andrew.... 2.1 2 2 1 0 0 8 10 31 2.77
Wendte, Travis...... 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 7 2.74
Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
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Kroenke, Zach....... 3.0 7 4 4 1 4 14 16 60 3.24
Timm, Dustin........ 4.0 4 1 0 1 1 15 16 52 2.08
Jensen, Brett....... 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 7 7 33 1.95
Win - Timm, D. (4-1). Loss - Admire (2-1). Save - Jensen, B. (8).
WP - Culp(2); Kroenke, Z.(5). HBP - by Johnston (Wehrle, R.). PB - Christy, J.
2(11). Pitches/strikes: Culp 100/53; Admire 15/8; Johnston 31/19; Wendte 7/7;
Kroenke, Z. 60/37; Timm, D. 52/35; Jensen, B. 33/21.
Umpires - HP: Chris Coskey 1B: Doug Williams 3B: Randy Bruns
Start: 2:06p.m. Time: 2:54 Attendance: 6026
Admire faced 3 batters in the 5th.
Timm, D. faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Game: NU48
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
