Nebraska coach Mike Anderson faces a significant challenge Tuesday night when his No. 5-ranked Cornhuskers take on intra-state rival Creighton at Rosenblatt Stadium.
With all due respect to the Bluejays, perhaps Anderson's most difficult task is getting Nebraska (36-8-1) whipped into a competitive frenzy just two days after the Cornhuskers pulled off a pair of remarkable comeback victories against highly ranked Texas A&M. The doubleheader sweep allowed NU to take two of three games from the Aggies in a key Big 12 Conference series at Lincoln.
"This was an emotional weekend and they're going to have people patting them on the back for a day or two and we've got to play Creighton," Anderson said. "So in the game of baseball, you get about three or four minutes to put a smile on your face and say, ’Good job,' and you move on, whether we win or lose."
After losing to the Aggies 6-3 in 16 innings Friday night, pushing the Huskers near the brink of elimination in the race for the Big 12 regular-season title, Saturday's scheduled game was rained out. Nebraska then bounced back Sunday with 9-8 and 13-10 victories, pulling to within 1 1/2 games of league-leading A&M.
While thrilled with Sunday's results, Anderson said he's been aware all along of what awaits the Huskers Tuesday. Creighton (33-17) will no doubt be keyed up to avoid getting swept in a three-game season series by Nebraska in the 7 p.m. contest that will be televised by NET and CBS College Sports.
"If we would've lost (the A&M) series, that would've been my No. 1 task -- to make sure we're back on task and back focused, trying to play the next game," Anderson said. "Since we won this series, it's the same thing.
"We've got to get back on task, keep the emotion in check and just keep playing good baseball."
On Sunday, it wasn't just that Nebraska went toe to toe for 18 innings with the Aggies, but more the way the games were won. The Huskers scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to overcome an 8-4 deficit in game one and trailed 9-4 after 5 1/2 innings in the nightcap before scoring nine runs in their last three at-bats.
The comeback victories were the second- and third-largest for Nebraska in Anderson's six years as head coach. Senior catcher Mitch Abeita said the Huskers simply cemented their believe that they're never out of a game.
"We've been saying it all year long," said Abeita, who produced the game-winning RBI single with two out in game one against the Aggies. "We're going to take it one pitch at a time, but we will never give up at all. All nine innings, every pitch, we're going to compete."
Nebraska senior pitcher Johnny Dorn, who got a no-decision despite pitching eight solid innings in Friday's series opener, said he had the best seat in the house to watch the Huskers' impressive comebacks
"We just kept fighting all weekend," Dorn said. "We're a scrappy bunch and I think we showed how scrappy we are.
"It's non-stop with these guys -- always positive, always ready to make that comeback and it's just a lot of fun."
While Anderson will try to convince the Huskers to put last weekend's A&M series behind them, he said there's one aspect he hopes they won't forget.
"What we need going forward is remember the energy and remember the fight that we had," Anderson said. "We just keep figuring out a way to win."
Game notes
- Creighton comes into the contest riding its own momentum with a three-game Missouri Valley Conference sweep at Indiana State over the weekend. The Bluejays are looking to avenge two previous losses to Nebraska this season (4-3 at Lincoln on April 22 and 16-7 at Rosenblatt Stadium on April 23).
- Abeita enters the Creighton contest with a 16-game hitting streak, which is the longest by a Nebraska player since Luke Gorsett's 19-game hitting streak in 2006.
- The Huskers are bidding for their fourth season series sweep of Creighton in the past nine years. Nebraska went undefeated against the Bluejays in 2000, 2003 and 2006 during that span.
- Nebraska is scheduled to start Erik Bird (4-1, 3.12 ERA) against Creighton. The Bluejays are slated to start left-hander Greg Hellhake (3-0, 2.97 ERA).
