Huskers fall to Arizona 11-10 in extra innings

After suffering three consecutive blowout losses, it appeared the Huskers would be headed for another when No. 23 Arizona took a 10-6 lead with a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning Saturday afternoon.

But Nebraska rallied with four runs in the bottom of the frame and forced extra innings. Unfortunately, the Wildcats plated a two-out run in the 10th and the Huskers could muster only a light threat before falling 11-10 in their second game of the Tony Gwynn classic.

Nebraska is now 1-4 on the season.

"It was a good job by the offense to continue to fight back," Darin Erstad said during his postgame appearance on the Husker Sports Network. "We couldn't close them out. I don't know how many two-out runs (Arizona had nine) they had, but it had to be a lot.

"We've got to find a way to stop giving up runs."

Things started off nicely for Nebraska, which had been outscored by a combined 20-0 in the first inning over its previous three games. Jake Placzek whacked a two-run home run in the first, giving the Huskers their first lead since the season opener.

But it wouldn't last. The Wildcats jumped all over Garett King, who allowed six hits, three walks and four earned runs in 3.1 innings. Arizona scored twice in the second an added three more in the fourth.

Nebraska bounced back and took a 6-5 lead with a four-run burst in the fifth, but the Wildcats came back with two in the seventh and three in the eighth. The Huskers didn't go away, however. Ryan Boldt and Placzek drove in three runs with back-to-back doubles and the red-hot Jake Meyers tied the game with a two-out single a few batters later.

After both teams failed to score in the ninth, Arizona's Alfonso Rivas led off the 10th with a single and moved to second on a passed ball. Chad Luensmann got the next two hitters out, but a two-out single by Louis Boyd - his first hit of the year - gave the Wildcats the advantage.

Ben Miller worked a one-out walk in the tenth, but Scott Schreiber and Meyers both popped out to end the game.

Nebraska's pitching remains a major issue. The Huskers allowed 18 hits for the second straight game, walked three batters and hit two more with a pitch. The Wildcats had at least one base runner in every inning.

The Huskers will conclude play in the tournament Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Their opponent will be determined by the results of other games Saturday.

"You've just got to believe," Erstad said. "We have the fight. We have the pieces. If there is ever a time you don't want to pitch well, it's right now. Let's get it out of our system. This game is about balancing things out. We are not going to give up this many runs per game the whole year.

"You have to maintain your confidence. You have to keep your focus and be able to go out there and start executing pitches... There are baby steps here. Do we want to win the game? Absolutely. But we're going to have to sit here and take some positives out of this."

***The game lasted four hours and 12 minutes, the longest contest of the young season for Nebraska.

***Miller has reached base at least three times in each of the last four games.

***Meyers is 6-for-8 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch in his 10 at-bats in San Diego.

***Placzek's home run was the second of his career.