Boyer went 3-for-4 and matched season highs in both stolen bases (three) and runs scored (four), as he has reached safely in his last 10 at-bats over the last two games, helping NU (32-16) to 24 runs in wins over No. 21 Oklahoma State and Northern Iowa.

"Jesse had a great night getting on base and establishing some things for us," Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "Once we got the lead, it was just a matter of putting pressure on them each inning. I liked the way our guys were aggressive on the base paths. We made some mistakes, but they were aggressive mistakes."

While Boyer paced the Huskers� 17-hit outburst, Ledbetter went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, while Grose had two hits, including his fifth round tripper of the year, and drove in two runs.

The Huskers struck early, scoring four runs in the first, highlighted by Ledbetter�s eighth homer of the season, a three-run shot to left, and chased UNI starter Brandon Rinnan. Boyer opened the game with a single and stole second before Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second for Ledbetter, who lofted an 0-1 pitch over the fence left, giving the Huskers a 3-0 lead. Chad Steele, who had two hits and a pair of RBIs made it 4-0 three batters later with an RBI single.

"The first inning set the tone for the whole game, and then (Brad) Furnish came out and shut them down and did a good job," Anderson said.

Rinnan (0-5) took the loss, allowing seven runs � six earned �on nine hits in 3.1 innings for Northern Iowa, which dropped to 20-26 on the season.

The Huskers, who scored runs in each of the first four innings, broke the game open with five runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Simokaitis, who drove in two runs, a run-scoring double by Ledbetter and Grose�s fifth round tripper of the year, a two-run shot to left center off of reliever Jim Bauer.

The early offensive support was more than enough for freshman Brad Furnish, who improved to 3-0, allowing five runs on six hits in a career-high 5.2 innings. The southpaw struck out three in earning his third win in four career starts. Tim Schoeninger scattered two hits in the final 3.1 innings to earn his second save.

Six different Huskers had at least two hits, including three each by Boyer and senior Jake Mullinax, while five players drove in two or more runs, helping NU to its highest run total since Feb. 22.

Nate Trumm paced the Panther offense with a three-run homer in the fifth, as he went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Sean LeCoste and Armando Lara also had two hits apiece in the losing effort.

The Huskers and Panthers will conclude the series Wednesday afternoon at 2:05 p.m., as Jon Klausing (0-0, 5.06 ERA) will be opposed by Bill Zenk (4-2, 6.21 ERA). The game will be carried on KRNU (90.3 FM) in Lincoln and on Huskers.com.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.