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March 22, 2003
Huskers upend Kansas State, 10-4
Lincoln — John Grose (Henderson, Nev.) had four hits and drove in a career-high four runs, while Quinton Robertson (Richland, Miss.) pitched seven strong innings, leading No. 15 Nebraska to a 10-4 win over Kansas State in front of a crowd of 3,509 at Hawks Field Saturday afternoon.
Grose went 4-for-4 for the second straight day with a homer, his second of the season, and four RBIs, matching his previous best also set against Kansas State in 2002. Grose, who is 8-for-8 with five runs scored and a sacrifice during the series, raised his average from .304 to .407 over the last two contests. With the win, Nebraska improved to 13-6 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12, notching its seventh straight home win over KSU dating back to 1997.
Robertson went the first seven-plus innings, scattering seven hits and fanning a career-high seven Wildcats without issuing a walk to improve 4-1 on the year. The junior right-hander allowed only one earned run before Phil Shirek (Minot, N.D.) finished up with three strikeouts in two hitless innings of relief.
In the first, the Huskers loaded the bases with two outs for Grose, who drove a 2-2 offering from KSU starter Sean Clancy into center for a two-run single, giving NU a quick 2-0 advantage.
The Wildcats (10-10, 0-2 Big 12), cut the advantage to 2-1 on an RBI double by Terry Blunt in the top of the third, but the Huskers seized control in the bottom of the frame, scoring three times of Clancy, who was making his first career start. With runners on the corners and no outs, Brandon Fusilier (Coppell, Texas) gave NU a 3-1 lead with an RBI single to center Grose followed one batter later with another RBI single to right before Curtis Ledbetter�s (Lawrence, Kan.) ground out plated NU�s third run of the inning, giving the Huskers a four-run cushion.
Nebraska, which is 5-0 at home in 2003, extended the lead to 7-1, scoring single runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Matt Hopper (Golden, Colo.), who had two hits and scored twice, before Grose launched his second round tripper of the season in the fifth off Clancy, who allowed seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in four innings to fall to 1-1 on the year.
KSU closed to within 7-3, scoring a pair of unearned runs in the sixrh, plating one run on a Robertson balk and another on a throwing error by shortstop Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo), but NU broke the game open with three runs off Wildcat reliever Andrew Ehling, on a Ledbetter sacrifice fly, a wild pitch and two-out RBI double by Drew Anderson (Kearney, Neb.).
The series concludes Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m.
Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.