Freshman left-hander Zach Kroenke (Omaha, Neb.) went six innings for his first career win, scattering four hits and striking out four to improve to 1-1 on the season, while relievers Tim Schoeninger (Denver, Colo.), Pat O�Neil (Littleton, Colo.) and Justin Pekarek (Staplehurst, Neb.) each tossed an scoreless inning, as the Huskers handed Cal Poly its first shutout in 120 games, dating to March of 2001.

"Our pitching was great today," Head Coach Mike Anderson said of the Husker pitchers, who tossed their third shutout of the year. "Zach had some good stuff today."

The Huskers, who improved to 16-6 heading into Friday�s game at Oklahoma, needed the strong pitching performance, as Kroenke and Cal Poly starter Josh Kougl were matched in a scoreless battle until the bottom of the fifth. After being held to one hit in the first four innings, the Huskers got to the Mustang starter in the fifth on a one-out single by Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.) and a two-out walk to Bubbs Merrill (Omaha, Neb.). Brandon Fusilier (Coppell, Texas) then came off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit RBI single to left, giving the Huskers a 1-0 advantage.

Cal Poly, which dropped to 14-13-1, threatened in the sixth, as Scott Anderson drew a leadoff walk and was on second with two outs. Josh Mayo then lined a single to center which Daniel Bruce (Omaha, Neb.) picked up on a hop and threw a strike to John Grose (Henderson, Nev.) to the plate, getting Anderson by a step to end the inning.

Bruce, who replaced an injured Jeff Leise for the second straight day, quickly gave the Huskers 2-0 cushion, opening the sixth with a towering homer that cleared the secondary fence in left. Bruce�s first homer of the season jump-started NU�s offense, as the Huskers scored three runs in the sixth of Kougl. With two outs, Grose was hit by a pitch and Ledbetter, who went 2-for-2 and reached base all four times, was intentionally walked, putting runners on first and second. Pinch hitter Alex Gordon (Lincoln, Neb.) greeted reliever Nolan Moser with an RBI double to right before Ledbetter scored NU�s final run of the inning on a passed ball.

Kougl allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits to drop to 0-5 with the loss.

The Huskers extended their lead to 6-0 in the seventh, stringing together three straight hits with two outs, including an RBI double by Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.) and a run-scoring single by Matt Hopper (Golden, Colo.).

The Huskers return to action this weekend, as the Huskers will travel to Oklahoma for a three-game series with the Sooners. Friday�s first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., with afternoon games set for Saturday (2:05, Fox Sports Net) and Sunday (1:05). All three games will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, while both Friday and Sunday�s games will be streamed live on the Internet at HuskersNside.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.