Nebraska desperately needed a comeback to shake its four-game slide. Johnny Dorn needed a solid effort to end a string of five no-decision outings.
Both got what they needed Friday, as Nebraska kept its Big 12 hopes alive with a 5-2 win over Kansas State Friday afternoon at the Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Dorn pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings and got some great help from Jake Opitz as the Huskers snapped its four-game losing streak. The win left them in the hunt for a shot at the conference championship game, as they need to beat Oklahoma State today and have Kansas State defeat Baylor to reach the championship game in the eight-team pool-play tournament.
Opitz had a huge game with three hits and three RBI's, hitting a two-run homer in the seventh that provided the final margin of victory and give the Huskers their 40th win of the year. Jake Mort also had three hits and added a pair of runs scored.
The game was tied 2-2 after the Wildcats scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth, but Tyler Farst's RBI single in the fifth gave the Huskers the lead for good. That was enough for Dorn, who struck out three and moved into second place on the Huskers' all-time list in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. The Huskers reached the 40-win plateau for the 17th time in school history and the eighth time in the last 10 years.
Nebraska plays Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Cowboys bombed Baylor 14-3 to give all four teams in the pool identical 1-1 records. Oklahoma State will advance to the championship with a win over Nebraska, while the other three teams in the pool will need a win and help from the team it defeated earlier. In Nebraska's case, that means a Husker win followed by a Kansas State win over Baylor.
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