Hardly anything about Nebraska's 4-3 victory over Creighton Tuesday night came as a surprise to Cornhuskers' coach Mike Anderson.
For No. 8-ranked Nebraska, it was just another in a long line of close contests this season and yet another instance of a hard-fought game against the intra-state rival Bluejays.
"I thought that both teams played very well and it was a pretty typical kind of a baseball game for us," Anderson said. "This is something that we've been doing and continue to do."
Ben Kline's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning was the difference as Nebraska (29-7-1) came from behind for the 13th time to win and improve to 11-2 this season in games decided by two runs or less. The Huskers also continued their trend of success at home, improving to 22-2-1 at Haymarket Park.
Trailing 1-0, the Huskers pulled even at 1-1 in the sixth when Mitch Abeita's line-drive single to left scored Jake Mort from second. Mort led off the inning against Creighton reliever Jeremy Hauer (6-2) with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Nebraska wasn't finished as Craig Corriston and DJ Belfonte walked to load the bases with two out and Creighton reliever T.J. Roemmich hit Dan Johnston with a pitch, forcing home Abeita for a 2-1 Huskers' lead. Kline then delivered a two-run single off Bluejays reliever Kevin Dooley for a 4-1 margin.
For Creighton coach Ed Servais, who used five relief pitchers in the game, it was an all-too-familiar scene.
"We've had this scenario happen here way too often," Servais said. "We just get a situation where we can't find a guy to shut an inning down and they scored four in the one inning and that's been it."
Klein, who finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs, singled his last two times up after grounding out in his first two at-bats. The freshman had failed to come through with runners at the corners and one out in the fifth, but was encouraged to forget about it by his teammates in the dugout.
"He was very focused in his last (at-bats)," Anderson said of Kline. "I think that has a lot to do with his teammates, I really do."
Klein said the key to his success in the later innings was letting go of his earlier failures.
"We all struggled early on, but baseball's a game of failure and you've got to put things behind you, especially your last at-bats," Klein said. "You can't go up there thinking about your last at-bat.
"It's important to lose that and then just go out there, get a pitch to hit and drive it."
Nebraska's rally made a winner out of starting pitcher Dan Jennings (5-0). The left-hander allowed three hits and one earned run over six innings, snapping his string of scoreless innings at 30 1/3.
"I thought he held them down pretty good," Anderson said of Jennings. "I thought Dan was great and he was on a pitch count, so he's still set up with three days rest to go get them on Friday, too."
The Bluejays (25-14) cut their deficit to 4-3 in the seventh on Nick Nordgren's two-run homer to left field off Nebraska reliever Erik Anderson. The Huskers got out of the inning on a double play as Brandon Knox struck out swinging and was called for interfering with the catcher as teammate Brett Mieras stole second.
Nebraska relievers Zach Herr (2/3 of an inning) and Mike Nesseth (1 1/3 innings) combined to hold Creighton scoreless in the eighth and ninth. Nesseth struck out two, earning his third save.
Creighton starter Greg Hellhake pitched five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out three. Despite Nebraska's early struggles at the plate, Mike Anderson said he didn't lose confidence.
"I felt really good about our kids and their attitude, even when we were down," Anderson said. "I thought (Creighton) pitched great in the beginning and did a lot of things that kept us off-balance."
After going down in order in each of the first three innings, the Bluejays took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Steve Winkelmann's sacrifice fly scored Robbie Knight. Belfonte, Nebraska's right-fielder, made a diving catch on the foul line on the play, but was unable to throw Knight out at the plate, ending Jennings' scoreless streak.
If history is any indication, Anderson said he expects another tight battle when the Huskers and Bluejays rematch at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. MyTV (G.I. cable channel 17) will televise the contest.
"It's going to be hard-fought," Anderson said. "They're never going to give up. We know that."
Game notes
- Nebraska first-year football coach Bo Pelini threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Tuesday night's game. A left-hander, Pelini fired a one-hopper from the mound, but Huskers' bullpen catcher Brooks Wells -- a Grand Island native -- saved the coach, reaching out to stab the errant toss. "He had a great catcher," joked Anderson, who added that Pelini spoke to the team earlier in the day and stayed in the dugout for a couple of innings.
- Jennings' scoreless streak of 30 1/3 innings was the second-longest in school history. Justin Pekarek (2001-04) holds the mark of 33 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.
- The Huskers haven't committed an error in 44 innings.
- Nebraska is expected to start junior right-hander Erik Bird on Wednesday against Creighton. The Bluejays' starter is to be announced.
Creighton (25-14) 000 100 200 -- 3 4 1
Nebraska (29-7-1) 000 004 00x -- 4 9 0
W -- Jennings (5-0). L -- Hauer (6-2). Sv. -- Nesseth (3). 2B -- Creighton, Soto (2); Nebraska, Mort (8), Belfonte (13). HR -- Creighton, Nordgren (6).
Big 12 Standings
Big 12 Overall
Texas A&M 15-3-0 34-7-0
Nebraska 13-4-1 29-7-1
Oklahoma State 11-7-0 27-11-0
Missouri 9-6-0 29-10-0
Texas 9-10-0 24-16-0
Baylor 8-11-0 23-18-0
Kansas 5-10-0 25-19-0
Kansas State 5-10-0 18-21-0
Oklahoma 4-10-1 26-15-1
Texas Tech 5-13-0 19-23-0
Tuesday's Games
Texas Tech 12, New Mexico State 2
Missouri 8, Eastern Illinois 2
Texas A&M 14, Texas State 11
Texas 13, Baylor 12, 11 innings
UC Irvine 4, Kansas State 3
Nebraska 4, Creighton 3
Wichita State 6, Kansas 4
Oklahoma 11, TCU 6
Wednesday's Games
Texas Tech at New Mexico State, 5 p.m.
Baylor at Texas State, 6 p.m.
UT-San Antonio at Texas, 6:05 p.m.
Missouri at Southern Illinois, 6:30 p.m.
UC Irvine at Kansas State, 6:30 p.m.
Wichita State at Oklahoma State, 6:30 p.m.
Friday's Games
Oklahoma at Texas Tech, 6:05 p.m.
Kansas at Oklahoma State, 6:30 p.m.
Missouri at TexasA&M, 6:30 p.m.
Nebraska at Baylor, 6:30 p.m.
Texas at Kansas State, 6:30 p.m.
