The Huskers, who improved to 7-2 on the year with their fifth straight win, rolled through the three-day tournament, outscoring the Gophers, and nationally ranked Wake Forest and Notre Dame by a combined score of 28-3.

Senior center fielder Jeff Leise was named the tournament�s most valuable player after the Omaha, Neb., native went 4-for-6 with four runs scored against the Gophers, tying career bests in both hits and runs. Leise, who also added his second homer of the year, finished the weekend hitting .467 (7-for-15) with two homers, two triples, six RBIs and five runs scored, leading seven Huskers (pitchers Aaron Marsden and Brian Duensing, Matt Hopper, Joe Simokaitis, Brandon Fusilier and Drew Anderson) on the all-tournament team. Fusilier was awarded the Silver Stick Award for the highest batting average for the weekend, hitting .500 (7-for-14) during the tournament.

Junior right-hander Quinton Robertson picked up the victory in his first Division I start, scattering two hits and allowing one run, a third-inning RBI single by Luke Appert, in six innings to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Richland, Miss., native struck out three in his longest outing of the year, as he pitched a total of 4.2 innings in two relief appearances before Sunday�s start.

The Huskers, who belted out a season-high 17 hits, also received big offensive days from Simokaitis and designated hitter Chad Steele (Omaha, Neb.). Simokaitis went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and tied a career high with three RBIs, while Steele added three hits in his first collegiate start.

The Huskers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the top of the first as Drew Anderson�s sacrifice fly scored Leise, who opened the game with a triple to the gap in right center.

The Huskers, who were shut down by Minnesota starter Craig Molldrem in a 5-3 loss last season, had no such problem on Sunday, knocking the Gopher hurler out in the second inning after allowing six runs - five earned - on five hits, as he dipped to 0-1 on the year.

Nebraska took advantage of a pair of Gopher errors en route to a five-run second to build a six-run cushion. With runners on second and third with one out, Simokaitis brought home a pair of runs with an RBI single to center, giving the Huskers a 3-0 advantage before Leise plated another run with an infield single. Hopper chased the Gopher starter two batters later with a two-run blast deep into the stands in left for his fourth round tripper of the season. With the homer, Hopper became Nebraska�s all-time leader in total bases, passing former All-American Darin Erstad, who had 446 total bases between 1993 and 1995.

After UM, which was held to five hits in falling to 3-4 on the season, trimmed the Husker lead to 6-1, the Gophers� fourth error of the game led directly to NU�s next two runs, as Simokaitis walked to open the fourth before Leise�s bunt single was misplayed by UM reliever Glen Perkins for a two-base error. The miscue allowed Simokaitis to score on the play, and Leise to go to third before he scored on a wild pitch to put NU ahead 8-1.

The Huskers tallied another run in the fifth, on Fusilier�s two-out double before scoring three more in the seventh on an RBI single by Simokaitis and a two-run homer by Leise and three more in the ninth.

The Huskers will return home tonight to begin preparations for their home opener at Hawks Field against UW-Milwaukee Friday, March 7, at 2:05 p.m.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.