It wasn't pretty, but the Nebraska baseball team opened regional play Friday with a 13-10 win over Eastern Illinois in action at Haymarket Park.
The Husker bats broke out in a big way as the Huskers hit a season-high four home runs to overcome a shaky performance by the Husker pitching staff in front of 6,367 fans. Nebraska (41-14-1) pounded out 16 hits and scored in every inning except the second to advance to this evening's 6:05 p.m. game against UC Irvine, a 9-7 winner over Oral Roberts in the other regional matchup.
Haymarket Park seemed more like a launching pad than a baseball park, as the two teams combined for seven home runs on the day. The Huskers launched the first bomb when Jake Opitz hit the first of his two round-trippers in the bottom of the first to give Nebraska a 2-0 lead.
Eastern Illinois came back in the third on a two-run homer by Zach Skidmore off starter Dan Jennings to tie the game, but Nebraska reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning on D.J. Belfonte's sacrifice fly, scoring Mitch Abeita to make it 3-2.
The upstart Panthers responded with three runs in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead, but Nebraska came right back when Abeita plated a pair with a single to right to tie the game and Tyler Farst drilled a long bomb to center field to give Nebraska the lead for good at 7-5.
After a Jake More sacrifice fly in the fifth, Abeita hit an RBI single to give Nebraska a 9-5 lead. Eastern Illinois made a game of it, though, with two runs in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit in half at 9-7.
Once again, the Husker bats responded when Craig Corriston singled home belfonte, who led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple. Opitz followed with his second home run of the game and Corriston added a two-run blast in the eighth to give Nebraska a 13-7 advantage.
Eastern Illinois made it interesting in the ninth, as Alex Gee hit a three-run homer to bring the Panthers within three. The fourth-seeded Panthers could get no closer, though, as the Huskers held on for the win.
Eastern Illinois plays Oral Roberts in an elimination game this afternoon at 1:05 p.m., while the Huskers meet up with the Anteaters at 6:05 p.m. tonight. Johnny Dorn is expected to get the ball on the hill, so it should be a good matchup tonight as the Huskers try to advance toward a trip to the College World Series.
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