Husker BaseballManhattan, KS -Three freshman, David Stewart, Dan Johnston, and Mike Nesseth came through in a big way for the Huskers (14-2, 3-0) to complete the three game sweep of the Kansas State Wildcats (7-10, 0-3) 5-3 in the Sunday afternoon finale.  The win was the 13th in a row for the Huskers, the longest winning streak in the past 8 seasons for the Huskers.

In the top of the 9th, all hope seemed lost.  The Huskers were down 3-2, All-American closer Daniel Edwards is on the mound for Kansas State when true freshman David Stewart ripped a double to lead off the inning for the Huskers.  Dan Johnston came in to run for Stewart and eventually scored the tying run on a DJ Belfonte sacrifice fly.

Mike Nesseth nailed down the Cats in the bottom frame and the very next inning, Dan Johnston delivered the go ahead two-run single to left to put the Huskers up for good.  Sophomore Erik Anderson came on for the bottom of the 10th and faced the minimum 3 batters on just 15 pitches to earn his 3rd save of the year.  Nesseth and Anderson have been great all year for the Huskers as they have yet to give up an earned run.

The pitching as a whole was sharp today as starter Aaron Pribanic took a no-hitter into the 5th, but gave up 2 runs (both unearned) on 2 hits, a walk and an error when 2nd baseman Jake Opitz mishandled a ball and couldn’t recover in time to get the runner.

Nebraska jumped up early on a 2-run blast by senior catcher Mitch Abeita on a 1-0 pitched that he drilled over the left field wall.  KSU battled back with the two unearned in the 5th by Pribanic and the followed with another off reliever Zach Herr in the 6th after a walk, a sacrifice and an RBI single to take the lead.

Nick Sullivan and Jake Opitz both had a good day at the plate.  Opitz went 3 for 5 with a pair of runs scored and Sullivan went 3 for 3.

The Huskers return home to begin a two-game series against former Nebraska coach Dave Van Horn’s Arkansas Razorbacks beginning Tuesday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.



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Husker BaseballManhattan, KS - The Huskers (13-2, 2-0) give Thad Weber plenty of runs to work with as they continued their winning ways against Big XII North opponent Kansas State (7-8, 0-2) 11-4.  Thad Weber, who has continued to improve since the rough outing in his first start versus Stanford, threw 7 innings and allowed just 4 hits and a run while striking out a career high 9. 

Thad kept the Cats guessing all day long, striking out 4 of the first 6 batters he faced. In the process, he lowed his ERA from 7.16 to 5.40 and increased his win/loss record to 3-1.

The Husker offense certainly showed up to play as well.  Craig Corriston and Jake Opitz led the way with a combined 7 for 9 with 5 RBIs as the Husker as a team pounded out 16 hits.  Opitz hit a 2-run homer in the third inning gave the Huskers a 3-0 lead.  Corriston came back in the next inning and pounded a two-run double with runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs to break it open to a 6-0 lead.

Opitz then came back with a sacrifice fly in the 5th for a 7-0 Husker advantage.  The run support was more than enough for Weber.  He allowed a single run to plate in the 7th, before turning it over to the Husker bullpen.  Dan Jennings and Joe Hatasaki had a little trouble in the 8th and 9th, giving up 3 runs, but the damage had already been done as the Huskers plated 4 in the top of the 8th for an 11-1 lead.

Corriston, who started the season very modestly (sub .200 average after a few games) finished 4 for 5 on the day bumping up his average to a stellar .396.  His hot hitting all week (10 for 15) has been a much needed push in the middle of this Husker lineup.

The Huskers send Aaron Pribanic (2-0, 0.96 ERA) to the mound to finish the series with Kansas State today at 1 pm.   Pribanic has thrown two complete games in his first to starts and looks to continue his hot hand on the mound.



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