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March 16, 2003
A&M takes rubber game, 6-3
College Station, TX — Matt Hopper became Nebraska�s all-time home run king, but Justin Ruggiano�s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth broke a 2-2 tie, as the No. 22 Aggies took the decisive game of the three-game series over the 12th-ranked Huskers, 6-3, in front of a crowd of 4,516 at Olsen Field Sunday afternoon. Hopper, a senior first baseman from Golden, Colo., belted his 49th and 50th career homers - a two-run shot in the first and a solo blast to lead off the seventh - for his second multi-homer game of the season and sixth of his career. With the homers, his seventh and eighth of the year, Hopper broke Bobby Benjamin�s NU career record of 48 homers set from 1988 to 1990. Hopper, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, provided all of the offense for the Huskers (11-4 overall, 1-2 Big 12).
Ruggiano paced the Aggie offense, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, as Texas A&M (18-5, 2-1) overcame an early two-run deficit and relied on a strong pitching performance from A&M starter Matt Farnum, who hurled 6.1 innings of five-hit ball to improve to 5-0 on the season.
In the sixth, NU starter Jamie Rodrigue, who had not reached the fifth in his first two starts, retired the first two hitters before allowing an infield single by Cory Patton. NU Coach Mike Anderson brought right-hander Tim Schoeninger to face the right-handed hitting Ruggiano, but the Aggie centerfielder hit the first pitch over the fence in left center for his second homer of the season, giving Texas A&M the lead for good at 4-2 lead.
Rodrigue (0-1), who came into the contest with a 7.71 ERA, pitched well in defeat, scattering five hits and allowing three runs, while striking out four Aggies.
After being held to one run Saturday�s loss, the Huskers got off to a quick start, scoring a pair of runs in the first off Farnum, who was 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA entering Sunday. Jeff Leise led off the game with a double to right before Hopper crushed a 2-0 offering deep into Aggie Alley in left two batters later for his seventh round tripper of the season. With two outs and a John Grose on second, Alex Gordon singled to right, but A&M right fielder Cory Patton fired a strike to the plate to nail Grose, who was ejected for obstruction on the play, to end the inning.
The Aggies came right back, scoring single runs in both the second and third innings to tie the score at two. In the second, Scott Beerer�s sacrifice fly plated Ruggiano, who opened the second with a leadoff double, while Matt Alexander�s one-out RBI single scored Craig Stinson, who singled and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice.
Nebraska had a great opportunity in the fourth against the Aggie starter, putting two runners on with no outs on a double by Brandon Fusilier and a walk to Chad Steele, who came in for Grose. Alex Gordon�s sacrifice moved both runners into scoring position. NU eventually loaded the bases with two outs, but Farnum got out of trouble, as Joe Simokaitis flew out to left to end the threat, as the game would remain deadlocked into the sixth.
Trailing 4-2, with one out in the seventh, Farnum hit Mullinax and Simokaitis, putting runners on first and second with one out, but Kyle Parcus got out of the jam by getting Leise to fly out and striking out Drew Anderson to end the threat. After Hopper led off the eighth with his second homer of the afternoon, Fusilier singled and moved into scoring position on a Steele sacrifice, but NU could not calitize, as Parcus went the final 2.2 innings for his first save.
The Huskers continue the road trip on Tuesday evening, when they travel to Rice for a matchup with the second-ranked Owls. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network.
Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.