Big red sports - Fall To texas tech

Lubbock, Texas – Doug Thennis’ walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth broke an 8-all deadlock, lifting Texas Tech to a wild 9-8 victory over No. 16 Nebraska Saturday afternoon at Dan Law Field.
Thennis ended a back-and-forth contest, as he sent the first pitch from Husker reliever Steve Edlefsen over the fence in right center for his fourth round tripper of the year to give the Red Raiders their second one-run win of the series.
“He did a good job and hit it out,” Anderson said. “It was a good well-fought game and both teams did a good job of fighting back in the late innings.”
Edlefsen (0-1) suffered his first loss, as the Huskers (10-7, 1-2 Big 12) overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth and a two-run deficit in the ninth, only to fall a run short.
Trailing 8-6 in the ninth, the Huskers rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the inning, taking advantage of a pair of Texas Tech miscues. After Mitch Abeita reached on a throwing error, Jake Mort singled to put two on with no outs to chase Tech starter Colt Hynes. Edlefsen then laid down a perfect sacrifice that reliever Travis Young threw into right field, allowing Abeita to score and Mort to get to third. DJ Belfonte then lined an infield single off the glove of pitcher Paul Gonzalez, scoring Mort with the tying run. The Huskers tried to score the go-ahead run on Craig Corriston’s fly ball to left, but Drew Evans fired a strike home and got Edlefsen at the plate.
“We would have liked to push another run across and get the lead,” Anderson said. “We were aggressive in everything we did (to get back in the game). We were fortunate to have runners on and kept being aggressive.”
Belfonte led NU with three hits and scored twice, while Corriston went 2-for-5 and scored a pair of runs in a losing effort. Andy Gerch also homered and drove in two runs for the Huskers.
Gonzalez (3-1) got the win, as he got the Red Raiders (17-8, 2-1) out of the ninth-inning jam.
Down 6-2, the Huskers roared back, scoring once in the sixth before Andrew Brown’s three-run homer tied it up in the eighth, setting the stage for a wild finish.
James Leverton, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, opened the eighth by reaching on an error by NU first baseman Thad Weber. The mistake proved costly, as Taylor Ashby executed a perfect hit-and-run, slapping the ball through the infield to put runners on the corners. Edlefsen came into face Baker, who broke the tie by sending his first offering up the middle past the drawn-in infield for the go-ahead run. Tech would later add a second run on a bases-loaded walk to take an 8-6 lead, only to see NU tie it up in the ninth.
Texas Tech used a big afternoon from Leverton, who homered and drove in three runs as part of a 2-for-4 afternoon. Leverton, who entered the game batting .247 in 22 games, sparked Tech’s three run fourth inning, as his first homer of the year – a two-run shot off of NU starter Johnny Dorn - broke a 2-all tie.
Nebraska jumped out quickly, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first on Gerch’s first homer of the season. Corriston began the rally with a double to right before Gerch drove him home two batters later with a blast to left.
Texas Tech pulled to within 2-1 in the bottom of the second on James Leverton’s RBI single that scored Kyle Martin, who reached on a one-out double to left.
The Red Raiders took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three times off Dorn with the big blow coming on a two-run coming off the bat of Leverton. A single from Matt Smith and a double by Kyle Martin put runners on second and third with no outs. Doug Thennis tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Leverton launched an 0-2 pitch into the bullpen in left to make it a 4-2 game. Tech chased starter Johnny Dorn in the fifth with a pair of runs, extending the lead to 6-2. The Husker starter allowed a single and double to open the inning before Matt Foust came in relief. Smith lofted a RBI sacrifice fly to center for the first run before a two-out wild pitch gave Tech a four-run lead.
Dorn, who was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in three career starts against Texas Tech, allowed six runs on eight hits over four innings, but did not factor into the decision, as the Huskers knotted the game at six on Brown’s team-best four homer of the year.
“He got some pitches up that that hurt him,” Anderson said. “He didn’t dominate the zone like he usually does. We also gave up three runs on 0-2 counts and that was a big factor in them getting ahead early.”
The Huskers, who had just one after scoring twice in the first, put together some offense in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Jeff Tezak. Belfonte opened the inning with a single and moved into scoring position two batters later as Brown’s grounder was misplayed for an error. Two batters later, Tezak cut the deficit to 6-3 with a single behind the second base bag.
Nebraska struck quickly in the eighth, as Belfonte coaxed a walk – just the fourth issued by Hynes in 43 innings of work – before a Corriston single put two one with no outs. Moments later, Brown launched Hynes’ 1-0 pitch off the scoreboard in right Hynes went eight innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits but did not factor into the decision.
The Huskers return home Tuesday