Seely, the senior from Nacogdoches, Texas, posted his first four-hit game of the season and drove in four of the Huskers’ seven runs, including a pair of doubles and a homer before his ninth-inning RBI gave Nebraska, who improved to 32-17 overall and finish conference play with a 16-11 record.

Byers notched his third save, striking out a pair, as he helped Texas strand the tying run at third, as five Husker pitchers allowed two runs in 4.2 innings, as UT stranded 10 runners on base. Steve Hale earned the win in relief for NU to improve to 2-2 on the season.

NU pounded out 13 hits, including a pair by Daniel Bruce and three hits by Matt Hopper, as NU won the series in Austin for the second straight time, as UT fell to 39-13 overall and 16-8 in the league. NU needs Texas to get swept against Texas A&M in two weeks in order for the Huskers to have a chance at their second straight Big 12 regular-season title.

Nebraska took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, scoring a run on Will Bolt’s RBI single. Matt Hopper reached on an infield single and advanced to scoring position when UT starter Alan Bomer hit Justin Seely with a pitch. Two batters later Bolt blooped a soft single to center, scoring the Huskers’ first run.

Texas threatened in the second, putting runners on second on consecutive one-out doubles by J.D. Reininger and Ryan Hubele, but Husker starter Brian Duensing got out of the jam, getting Michael Holliman to pop out before striking out Kalani Napoleon to end the inning.

The Huskers used the long ball to chase Bomer in the third on back-to-back homers by Daniel Bruce and Jed Morris, the fourth and 15th homers of the season, respectively, before Hopper picked up his second hit of the day, ending Bomer’s day after he allowed four runs on five hits to drop to 7-3 on the season. Jeff Blevins greeted reliever Eugene Espinelli with a single before Justin Seely pushed the Husker lead to 5-0, clearing the bases with a two run double to dead center.

Nebraska had a chance to seemingly put the game out of reach in the fourth, loading the bases with one out, but Espinelli induced Matt Hopper into an inning-ending double play to keep the Longhorns in the game.

Texas sliced into the Husker lead, scoring a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to cut the NU lead to 5-3. Jeff Ontiveros led off the fourth with solo homer, his 13th of the season, to deep left to make the score 5-1. In the fifth, Tim Moss’ RBI single off Duensing plated UT’s first run before pinch-hitter Dustin Majewski roped an RBI double into the right field corner off Husker reliever Steve Hale. Duensing went the first 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, but was not involved in the decision.

Texas closed to within 5-4 in the sixth on Kalani Napoleon’s RBI double to right off Jeremy Becker and had runners on first and third with two outs, but Jeremy Becker got Omar Quintanilla to ground out to end the inning.

Seely gave the Huskers some breathing room in the seventh, belting a one-out solo homer off Espineli to right, extending Nebraska’s lead to 6-4. The homer was Seely’s third of the season and his third extra base hit of the afternoon.

The Longhorns trimmed the Husker lead to 6-5 in the bottom the seventh. After Majewski opened the inning with a strikeout, Ontiveros struck out, but the ball bounced into fair territory and the base runner went on contact. Ontiveros argued the call and was ejected, but in the commotion, the UT base runner scored from second. NU caught a break later in the inning when Michael Holliman singled off first base umpire Larry Donovan. The rope down the line would have scored J.D. Reinenger from first, but the carom off the umpire forced the runner to stay at third.

NU pushed the lead to 7-5 in the top of the ninth, as Jeff Blevins reached on a fielder’s choice before the NU third baseman stole both second and third, setting the stage for Seely’s fourth hit of the afternoon, a bloop single past the drawn in infield.

The Huskers have finals exams this week before hosting Cal Poly in a three-game series beginning Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Hawks Field. The series with the Mustangs begins a stretch where Nebraska plays six of their final seven regular-season games at home.

Notes: Bruce and Morris’ back-to-back homers marked the second time the Huskers had accomplished the feat (Jed Morris/Justin Seely at Fresno State on March 1)…Nebraska hitters have been hit 74 times, the most in a season since 1994 and a total that is tied for second in school history…Seely also had a four hit game against Oklahoma on April 1, 2001…Nebraska has won 9 of 12 against Texas over the past four seasons, including series wins in Austin in 2000 and 2002…it was NU’s second straight conference road series win.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.