The sophomore outfielder from Omaha keyed the Huskers� offensive attack, setting a career high with his four hits and two stolen bases, as Nebraska (40-13) jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Creighton made a frantic comeback in the late innings.

Bruce, who is now hitting .308, had four of Nebraska�s 11 hits, while Drew Anderson matched a season high with three RBIs, as Nebraska completed the season sweep of the Bluejays and reached 40 wins for the fifth consecutive season.

Freshman Zach Kroenke earned the win, throwing five shutout innings to improve to 5-2 on the season. The left-hander from Omaha, who was making his first start since April 27, allowed just two hits and struck out three Bluejays before CU mounted a charge against NU�s bullpen.

Creighton trailed 8-0, but came roaring back, scoring two in the sixth and three more in the seventh, as the Bluejays batted around and took advantage of three NU errors. With the bases loaded and the winning run at the plate, Pat O�Neil came out of the bullpen and struck out Matt Daeges to end the threat. The junior left-hander from Littleton, Colo., continued to slam the door, fanning three and allowing one hit in 2.1 innings to earn his second save of the season and first since March 7.

Jeff Leise and Curtis Ledbetter added two hits apiece, as Nebraska, which has won the season series in each of the past five seasons, and has now won 12 of its last 15 games against its in-state rival dating back to 1999.

The Huskers wasted little time in the top of the first, scoring three times off Creighton starter Brian Furlong, who struggled with control in the frame. With two outs and runners on first and second, Alex Gordon put the visitors on the board with an RBI single to right. Two batters later, Anderson delivered a bases-loaded RBI single. Matt Wells then increased the Husker advantage to 3-0, as he was hit by a Furlong offering, the second hit batter of the inning.

Nebraska chased the Bluejay starter in the top of the second, as Leise opened the inning with a single before Simokaitis was hit by another Furlong offering. Matt Hopper then greeted reliever Brandon Bird with an RBI single to give NU a 4-0 cushion. Two batters later, Bruce extended the Husker lead with a run-scoring single before Anderson�s sacrifice fly gave the Huskers a six-run cushion.

Furlong (1-5) took the loss for Creighton, which used seven pitchers in the loss. The right-hander allowed five runs on four hits and faced just 11 batters.

The Huskers extended their lead to 8-0 in the fourth as Hopper walked and moved to second on Ledbetter�s single before Bruce drove Hopper home with an RBI single. Anderson added the second run of the inning on a grounder that scored Ledbetter.

After Creighton closed to with 8-5, the Huskers tacked on an insurance run in the ninth, as Ledbetter tripled to the wall in right and scored on an errant throw by Matt Daeges on the play.

Ryan Fitzgerald led Crieghton (19-32) with two hits, including his 10th homer of the season, while Pete Wiedewitsch and Matt Hammer had two hits each in the losing effort.

Nebraska returns home for its final regular-season series of the season, as the Huskers play host to Baylor at Hawks Field this weekend. Friday�s first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. before afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.