The win by Nebraska, which improves to 6-3 on the season, was its fifth in the last six contests heading into its home opener on Tuesday and the Big 12 opener next weekend at Baylor. NU’s sweep of Fresno State, a team that has wins over then-No. 1 Stanford, No. 16 Cal State Fullerton and No. 21 Long Beach State this season, was the first by an Bulldogs opponent in Fresno since April of 2000, when eventual CWS participant San Jose State took a three-game series.

“When we scheduled this series two years ago, we wanted to use this weekend to prepare us for conference play,” Van Horn said. “We knew it would be a challenge to come out here and play a team that is traditionally one of the best programs in the west. To come out of here with a sweep gives us a lot of confidence heading into our Big 12 opener.”

A sophomore from Papillion, Neb., Burch scattered five hits to pick up his first win of the season. The 6-5 right-hander was especially tough with runners on base, getting three double play balls, to keep the hosts off the scoreboard during the final seven innings.

“Jason did an outstanding job cutting up hitters with his fastball,” Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. “He was effective in getting ground balls and we were able to turn some double plays to get out of trouble.”

“I relied on my fastball today,” Burch, whose six inning relief stint was the longest of his NU career. “It has a lot of sink on it and was able to use it to get ground outs. I felt that if we could keep them off the scoreboard, our bats would find a way to win.”

While Burch stymied Fresno State, which dropped to 6-11 on the season, the Husker bats came alive, taking the lead for good in the sixth off Bulldog starter Zach Minor, who allowed seven runs on nine hits to drop to 2-2 on the year. After Justin Seely opened the inning with a single, Jeff Blevins doubled to the alley in right center, scoring Seely with the tying run. John Groce, who had just one hit in six previous plate appearances, hit a slow roller for a hit, scoring Blevins with the decisive run.

The Huskers extended the lead to 10-6, scoring an unearned run in the eighth on Will Bolt’s RBI triple before adding two more in the ninth on an RBI single by Jeff Blevins, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, and a throwing error by Fresno catcher Ben Fritz that scored Hopper for the Huskers’ final run.

Early on, it looked like a replay of the first two games, as the Huskers jumped to a 4-0 lead, scoring a pair of runs in both the first and second innings. In the first, Jeff Leise singled to open the frame, extending his hit streak to nine games, before Jed Morris belted a two-run homer to right for his third round tripper of the season. Leise, who went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs to pace a 13-hit hit attack, extended the Husker lead to 4-0 in the second with a two-run single that scored Brandon Eymann and Will Bolt.

The lead would not last, as the Bulldogs, who had one unearned run on four hits during the first two games, batting around and scoring six times to take a 6-4 lead. A pair of walks, including one with the bases loaded, and an error helped Fresno State to five unearned runs, capped by Fritz’s three-run homer off Steve Hale to give the hosts a 6-4 advantage.

“Even after they scored the six runs, we knew we weren’t out of the game and the players and coaches thought we would win,” Van Horn said. “We knew we could score and Jason gave us a chance to get our offense untracked. We were able to get some runs late, which is something we had struggled with during the first two weekends.”

After the second, Hale and Burch held Fresno State off the scoreboard, setting the stage for NU’s comeback. In all, Husker pitchers allowed one earned run in the series, as Fresno State scored in only two of 27 innings all weekend.

The Huskers trimmed the lead to 6-5 in the third on Matt Hopper’s second homer of the season, a solo shot to right. It was the second homer in as many games for Hopper, who has hit safely in all nine games before NU got to Minor in the sixth.

The Huskers will return to Lincoln on Sunday and will practice Monday in preparation for the 2002 home opener this Tuesday, March 5 at 2 p.m. against Nebraska-Kearney.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.