Huskers pick up rare sweep at Baylor

Jake Opitz homered and drove in five runs, powering eighth-ranked Nebraska to a 14-1 victory over Baylor to complete a doubleheader sweep at the Baylor Ballpark Saturday night.

The Huskers (32-7-1, 15-4-1 Big 12) took control early, scoring seven runs in the first inning en route to its first-ever Big 12 road twinbill sweep and first sweep on the road against a conference foe since 1994.

"I guess if we are going to break out of it, this is the way to do it," Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said following the Huskers' first wins in Waco since 2002. "In the first game, a few things went our way and we got some breaks. In the second game, we got off to a great start and that was the key to the whole thing.

With the two wins, the Huskers stay 1.5 games behind Texas, A&M, a 15-0 winner against Missouri earlier Saturday. The Huskers won game one 6-4 on a two-run 10th inning single from DJ Belfonte, who had four hits and drove in six runs on Saturday.

"Our M.O. for this team has been consistent pitching, solid defense and consistent clutch hitting," Anderson said. "The only constant is that it has been someone different every game. We don't score a bunch of runs all the time, but we've gotten big hits. Today was DJ's day with some big hits."

Opitz went 3-for-5 with a season-high four RBIs in the nightcap, while Belfonte continued his hot hitting by driving in three runs for the third straight game. The Huskers rapped out 16 hits and handed the Bears (24-20, 8-12 Big 12) the worst home loss since 1997, as the game was shortened to seven innings because of the 10-run rule.

Thad Weber (8-2) tossed his second complete game of the season, allowing one unearned run over seven innings, as he scattered four hits and fanned four.

"I thought we had two good starting performances on the mound, and when you do that, you give yourself a chance to win," Anderson said, as Weber and Dorn combined to hold Baylor to three runs over 14 innings.

The Huskers stuck early and often against Baylor starter Shawn Tolleson, scoring seven times and chasing the right-hander after 0.2 innings.  Tolleson struggled with his control, as he walked Bryce Nimmo and hit Jake Mort before Opitz cleared the bases with a two-run double. Another walk and a hit batter loaded the bases before Bryce Nimmo legged out an infield single to make it 3-0 before Cody Neer made it a 5-0 cushion with a two-run single. Ben Kline then squeezed home Nebraska's sixth run before Nimmo's RBI double pushed the lead to 7-0, as the Husker sent 12 men to the plate in the inning.

In the opener, Belfonte's two-run single in the top of the 10th inning broke a 4-all tie, as Nebraska rallied for a 6-4 victory.

Belfonte, who went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, delivered a two-out, two-run single to center off of Willie Kempf, as the Huskers rebounded after Baylor scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to get the game to extra innings. Down 0-2, Belfonte fouled off a pitch before slapping a single to center, scoring Opitz and Nick Sullivan with the go-ahead runs.

It was Belfonte's first game-winning RBI of the season and snapped an eight-game losing streak for Nebraska at the Baylor Ballpark.

 The hit made a winner of Mike Nesseth, who got the Huskers out of a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth to improve to 3-1 on the year, while Zach Herr kept the Bears off the scoreboard in the 10th for his fourth save.

Opitz opened the 10th with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Mitch Abeita before a walk to Sullivan put two on with one out. After a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Kempf got Craig Corriston to line out to third for the second out. Belfonte, who stayed alive with a pair of foul balls, including one that BU third baseman Shaver Hansen nearly made a spectacular play on as he fell into the camera well, came through with the clutch hit and drove three runs for the second straight game.

Corriston and Mort had two hits apiece for Nebraska, which has won seven of their last eight games to stay in second place in the Big 12, while Abeita went 1-for-1 with three walks and score twice in the winning effort.

Nebraska took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Corriston's third homer of the year. The senior first baseman ripped a 3-1 offering from Kendal Volz over the fence in left center to open the frame.

Nebraska starter Johnny Dorn was in control early, allowing one hit through the first four innings before the Bears struck for a pair of runs in the fifth. Beamer Weems reached on a one-out single, moved to second on a wild pitch as scored on Ben Booker's flair that hugged the right field line for a RBI double. Two batters later, Gregg Glime's single to shallow right scored Booker to put the Bears ahead, 2-1.

Nebraska fought back in the sixth, taking advantage of a Baylor error to tie the game up at two apiece.  Abeita opened the inning with a walk and moved to second on Sullivan's sacrifice. Corriston then singled to left and the ball was misplayed by Baylor's Adam Hornung, allowing Abeita to cross the plate with the tying run.

Volz allowed two runs on five hits over six innings, but did not factor into the decision, as he left after six innings.

The Huskers regained the lead in the top of the eighth, getting a two-out RBI single from Belfonte which scored a pair of runners on the play. One-out singles by Abeita and Sullivan put runners on first and second before Belfonte lined a 2-0 offering from Randall Linebaugh to center, scoring Abeita to put NU ahead.

Belfonte tried to take second and the throw from Dustin Dickerson sailed into center, allowing Sullivan to score on the play to make it a 4-2 lead.

Dorn turned in another solid performance, allowing two run on four hits over seven innings, while fanning seven as he left with two-run lead, but could not earn his sixth victory. The senior right-hander from Grand Island allowed two runs or less in eight of his 10 starts, but the Bears' comeback thwarted Dorn's opportunity for the win.

Baylor struck for a pair of runs on in the bottom of the ninth, getting a one-out pinch-hit homer from Brooks Kimmey to tie the score. Dan Jennings, who tossed a scoreless eighth, hit Aaron Miller to open the inning, and struck out Beamer Weems for the first out, but Kenny lined a 2-0 pitch over the fence in left center, just beyond the outstretched arm of Sullivan to tie the score.

The Bears had a chance to win the game in the ninth, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but Mike Nesseth got Raynor Campbell to ground out to end the threat.

The series will continue Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. with Aaron Pribanic looking for his fourth win of the season. The game will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com