The Nebraska baseball team bounced back from a lousy weekend against Oregon State by upsetting No. 3 Texas Tech 2-1 Friday night at the Frisco College Baseball Classic in Texas.
Freshman Colby Gomes delivered the go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the seventh, when the Huskers (4-5) scored both of their runs, then pitched a scoreless ninth inning to nail down the save.
Nebraska got a strong start from senior Matt Waldron, who allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven in five innings of work.
Waldron's impressive night came against one of the best offenses in college baseball in the early part of the season. Texas Tech (6-2) came into the game ranked 15th nationally in batting average (.321) and 17th in runs per game (9.2).
One week after Nebraska's pitching staff gave up 38 runs in four games against Oregon State, Waldron, Gomes and Chad Luensmann combined to hold the Red Raiders to one run on four hits. Texas Tech came into the game having scored at least four runs in each of its previous seven games.
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"That is what we have to do. Outside of a couple walks, we took care of the ball defensively," NU head coach Darin Erstad said on the Husker Sports Radio Network. "Offense wasn't good, but if you pitch like we pitched and you play defense, you got a shot."
The Nebraska offense did all its damage in the bottom of the seventh inning, getting a one-out double from Luke Roskam and a walk from Joe Acker before Mojo Hagge tied the game with a pinch-hit RBI single.
Roskam was 0-for-9 with six strikeouts in three games against Oregon State.
One batter after Hagge's big hit, Gomes, the true freshman from Millard West, drove Acker home with an infield single.
In the ninth, Gomes worked around a leadoff error to get a pair of strikeouts before a flyout to center ended the game.Â
Five of Nebraska's six hits were singles, but it was enough on a 42-degree night in the Dallas suburbs. Luensmann relieved Waldron, striking out four and walking four in three scoreless innings before Gomes closed it out.
Texas Tech's only run came in the third inning, when preseason Big 12 player of the year Josh Jung came up with a two-out double and scored on Dru Baker's single. Tech managed just one hit over the final six innings.
Nebraska takes on Sam Houston State at noon Saturday in Frisco. The game was moved from its original 2 p.m. start time because of expected rain in the area.
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