Watson (1-0) overcame a rocky start to throw six
solid innings, allowing one run on four hits for the victory. The left-hander
struck out four and didn’t allow a hit after the second, retiring 12 in a row at
one point. Watson fanned four en route to picking up his second straight
opening-day win.
“Our pitching pitched well today,” Nebraska Coach
Mike Anderson said. We had a couple of mental errors that hopefully won’t happen
when we are 10 games into the season. I’m pleased, but there is a lot to learn
and a lot to get better on.”
Anderson said that Watson’s strong performance in the
third inning turned the tide, as he needed only seven pitches after throwing 42
over the first two frames.
“Our first two innings were bad, both offensively and
on the mound,” Anderson said. “Tony did a good job in the third with a
seven-pitch inning that changed momentum and that helped us tremendously.”
“That was a big inning for us,” Watson said. “The
first two innings were long and our guys were on the field for a while. We were
able to get through the inning quickly and it gave us a spark It was the turning
point of the game,”
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, the Huskers
took the lead for good on a two-run single by Corriston, scoring Jeff Lanning
and DJ Belfonte. Lanning doubled to right with one out before Belfonte’s infield
single to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring
position before Corriston sent a 2-2 pitch into center to get the Huskers on the
board.
“Corriston had a good day for us” Anderson said. “He
clutched up on the base hit with two outs in the third that got us on top.
Without that, it is probably a different game.”
The Lobos, who got an RBI single in the first from
Daniel Stovall and threatened in each the first two frames, were held in check
by the Husker left-hander, who didn’t allow another baserunner until
surrendering consecutive two-out walks in the sixth.
By then, the damage was done, as the Huskers had
built a 5-1 cushion, scoring two more runs in the fourth and adding another in
the fifth of UMN starter Ryan Escarcega, who allowed five runs on seven hits
over five frames in dipping to 0-1 on the year.
In the fourth, the Huskers needed just two hits to
plate a pair of runs off the Lobos (2-4). A single by Jake Opitz and a double by
Andy Gerch put a pair of Huskers in scoring position. A passed ball scored the
first run before Jeff Tezak plated NU’s second run with a well-placed safety
squeeze.
NU put together a two-out rally in the fifth, as
Bryce Nimmo singled and advanced to second on an error before scoring on
Corriston’s second hit of the afternoon, an RBI double to left. Corriston
went 2-for-3 with a walk on the day.
The Huskers tacked on an insurance run in the sixth,
as back-to-back doubles by Tezak and Thad Webber gave NU a five-run lead.
New Mexico made a charge in the ninth, scoring a run
off of reliever Steve Edlefsen and had the bases loaded before Erik Bird came in
and struck out Stovall to collect his first save.
The Huskers return to action again tonight at 7 p.m.,
as they take on New Mexico in the second game of today’s day-night
doubleheader.
Nebraska 6 (1-0), New Mexico 2 (2-4)
Feb 16, 2007 at Arlington, Texas (Clay Gould Ballpark)
New
Mexico
AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
FOOTE, Matt cf........... 4 1 2 0
1 1 3 0 0
RUSSELL, Jay lf.......... 5 0 2 1
0 0 1 0 1
PACHECO, Jordan 2b....... 3 0 0 0
1 0 1 2 2
STOVALL, Daniel 1b....... 5 0 1 1
0 2 6 2 3
HOLLICK, Ian 3b.......... 3 0 0 0
1 0 0 2 0
HIBBITTS, Matt dh........ 3 0 0 0
1 1 0 0 0
MCDONALD, Drew c......... 3 0 0 0
0 2 9 0 5
HAMILTON, Dane ph....... 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
COURCHA, Adam rf......... 3 0
0 0 0 1 1 0 0
ROCKEY, Mark ph......... 1 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
GRACEY, Scott ss......... 1 1
0 0 2 0 1 2 0
ESCARCEGA, Ryan p........ 0 0
0 0 0 0 1 2 0
HILL, Brian p........... 0 0
0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Totals................... 32 2 5
2 6 8 24 10 11
Nebraska
AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
Nimmo, Bryce cf.......... 5 1 1 0
0 2 3 0 4
Corriston, Craig 3b...... 3 0 2 3
1 0 0 4 0
Wehrle, Ryan ss.......... 3 0 0 0
1 1 2 7 0
Opitz, Jake 2b........... 4 1 2 0
0 1 1 3 2
Gerch, Andy lf........... 4 1 1 0
0 1 0 0 1
Tezak, Jeff dh........... 3 1 1 1
0 2 0 0 0
Weber, Thad 1b........... 3 0 1 1
1 2 11 0 0
Lanning, Jeff c.......... 3 1 1 0
1 0 9 0 0
Belfonte, DJ rf.......... 2 1 1 0
2 0 1 0 0
Watson, Tony p........... 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
Harmelink, Mike p....... 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
Bowman, Drew p.......... 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Edlefsen, Steve p....... 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bird, Erik p............ 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 30 6 10
5 6 9 27 14 7
Score by
Innings
R H E
New
Mexico.......... 100 000 001 - 2 5 1
Nebraska............ 002 211 00X - 6 10
3
E - COURCHA; Opitz, J. 2; Lanning, J.. DP -
Lobos 2; Huskers 2. LOB - Lobos
11;
Huskers 7. 2B - FOOTE; Corriston, C; Opitz, J.; Gerch, A.; Tezak, J.;
Weber, T.; Lanning, J.. HBP - PACHECO;
GRACEY. SH - Tezak, J.. SB - GRACEY.
New
Mexico
IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
ESCARCEGA, Ryan..... 5.0 7 5 3 3 5 18
22 95
HILL,
Brian......... 3.0 3 1 1 3 4 12 15
57
Nebraska
IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
Watson, Tony........ 6.0 4 1 1 4 4 21
25 93
Harmelink,
Mike..... 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 4
5 20
Bowman, Drew........
1.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 14
Edlefsen, Steve..... 0.2 1
1 1 2 1 3 6 27
Bird, Erik.......... 0.1 0 0
0 0 1 1 1 -
Win - Watson, T. (1-0). Loss -
ESCARCEGA (0-1). Save - Bird, E. (1).
WP - ESCARCEGA. HBP - by Harmelink (GRACEY); by Edlefsen, S. (PACHECO).
PB -
MCDONALD. Inherited
runners/scored: Edlefsen, S. 2/0; Bird, E. 3/0.
Pitches/strikes: ESCARCEGA 95/55; HILL 57/27; Watson,
T. 93/54; Harmelink 20/9;
Bowman, D.
14/9; Edlefsen, S. 27/13.
Umpires -
HP: Cale Smith 1B: Dale Luker 2B: Tim McLester
Start: 11:30a.m Time: 2:45
Attendance: