Anderson�s homer, his first of the year, off Kansas State reliever Frank Bauer capped a five-run inning, as the Huskers (14-6, 4-2 Big 12) overcame a 6-1 deficit by scoring four times in the third and five more in the fifth, highlighted by Anderson�s first homer since April 14, 2002.

“Any time you get a sweep in the Big 12, it is good,” Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. “It doesn�t matter who you play or where you play.”

The comeback made a winner out of reliever Tim Schoeninger (Denver, Colo.), the third of four Husker pitchers used on the day. The freshman from Denver threw a career-long 4.2 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) to earn his first career win, while improving to 1-1 on the season. Junior Jason Burch (Papillion, Neb.) earned his first save, throwing 1.1 innings of no-hit ball, including a school and Big 12 record four strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Trailing 6-1 after three-run homers by Ty Soto off NU starter Jamie Rodrigue (St. Clair, Mo.) in the first and Ryan Baldwin off Steve Hale (Yukon, Okla.) in the third, the Huskers roared to life, scoring four times of KSU starter Brett Bagley, one of four Wildcat pitchers used in the loss. NU loaded the bases on two base hits and a walk before Brandon Fusilier (Coppell, Texas) ripped a double past third, putting NU within 6-3. The Huskers continued to chip away, closing to within 6-5 on John Grose�s (Henderson, Nev.) sacrifice fly and a run-scoring double by Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.).

"Our hitters didn�t panic," Anderson said after the Huskers� posted biggest comeback of the season. "We didn�t start thinking we needed to hit five-run homers, and Tim Schoeninger kept us in it. We met up after that third inning (top of the third) and said �let�s do anything we can to cut this lead.� I didn�t see us do anything special."

Fusilier paced an eight-hit Husker attack, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, upping his team-high RBI total to 28 in 19 contests.

The Wildcats (10-10, 0-3 Big 12) extended their lead to 7-5 on Tim Doty�s solo homer off Schoeninger in the top of the fifth, but NU would respond in the bottom half of the inning, sending eight men to the plate off Bagley and Bauer, who allowed three runs (two earned) in 1.1 innings to drop to 1-1 on the year.

With the bases loaded and one out, pinch hitter Chad Steele (Omaha, Neb.) grounded into an in apparent inning-ending double play, but the throw by KSU shortstop Marc Chabot was high of first, allowing the Huskers to score two runs on the play, knotting the score at seven. Bubbs Merrill (Omaha, Neb.) walked to put runners on first and second before Anderson sent Bauer�s next offering over the fence, giving NU a 10-7 advantage.

NU pushed the lead to four runs in the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Alex Gordon (Lincoln, Neb.) that scored Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.), but KSU would not go away, cutting the lead to 11-9 on a two-out two-run homer by Pat Maloney in the eighth off Schoeninger.

The Wildcats got the tying run to the plate in the eighth before Burch got Soto, who went 2-for-3, to line out to short to squelch the threat. In the ninth, Burch struck out the first three batters, but an error by Grose gave KSU one final chance. Burch then fanned Chabot for the final out, as NU has now won eight straight against Kansas State in Lincoln dating back to the 1997 season.

"The other thing that impressed me was Jason Burch," Anderson said. "He made the most of his opportunity today. That is what good pitching staffs and good teams do."

The Huskers conclude the five-game homestand with a pair of midweek games against Cal Poly (14-11-1) on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. on both days.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.