The Huskers, who improved to 16-5 on the season, jumped to a 9-1 lead after four innings and cruised to their second straight win over WIU, which dropped to 2-19 on the season. Nebraska has now won all 16 meetings between the two schools.

NU touched up WIU starter Brent Pocewicz for three runs in the bottom of the first. Drew Anderson opened the contest with a single to center before Bruce, who went 2-for-5 on the day, belted his second home run of the season, a laser shot to left, giving the Huskers a 2-0 lead. Later in the frame, Josh Birmingham, who drove in three RBIs in the win, provided NU’s third run of the inning, scoring Jed Morris on a sacrifice fly.

Pocewicz, one of five Western Illinois pitchers, took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year, allowing three runs before he was pulled in the second.

The Huskers pushed the margin to 5-0 in the third on Justin Seely’s RBI double and Birmingham’s second sacrifice fly of the afternoon. Seely finished with three hits, including a pair of doubles, in the win.

WIU pulled to within 5-1 on Joe Rooney’s RBI double in the top of the fourth, but NU quickly extended the lead to 9-1 in the bottom part of the frame, as Morris, who went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, delivered a two-run double to right before Hopper, who went 2-for-4 and scored three times, crushed his fourth homer of the season, a two-run shot that bounced to the second fence behind the 356-foot sign in left center.

The offensive output was more than enough for NU starter Phil Shirek, who picked up his first collegiate win to improve to 1-1 on the year. The right-hander from Minot, N.D., allowed one run on four hits, while striking out four in four innings of work.

Joe Simokaitis’ RBI single in the fifth gave the Huskers a 10-1 lead before Troy Shelby’s two-run double in the top of the sixth put WIU within 10-3. The teams traded a pair of late runs, as NU scored twice in the eighth on Birmingham’s groundout and an RBI single by Will Bolt, while Ryan Pospeck’s solo homer and an RBI single by Bryan Hinson in the ninth provided the final margin.

In all, seven different Huskers had at least two hits, including pitcher Jamie Rodrigue, who came off the bench to record a pair of hits in two at-bats, the first two at bats of his career.

The Huskers return to action this weekend, as NU travels to Manhattan for a weekend series with Kansas State. Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. and all three games will be on the Pinnacle Sports Network.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.