Morris, who drove in all four of Nebraska’s runs in Friday’s 4-3 come-from-behind win, belted his Big 12-leading 17th homer of the season in the first off Mustang starter Brett Larson, as NU jumped to a 5-0 lead after two innings and cruised to their fourth win in the last five outings.

Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn was impressed with the performance of the Huskers, who played error-free ball and held Cal Poly to nine singles in the win.

“I thought we played well,” Van Horn said. “We played good defense and got off to a good start at the plate offensively. We hit the ball hard, went the other way and our pitchers threw strikes.”

The Huskers, who improved to 34-17 on the season, broke out of the gate quickly, as Daniel Bruce reached on an infield single before the Husker catcher ripped the next pitch from Larson over the wall in right center, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead. It was the fourth consecutive game that Morris had homered, dating back to last Saturday.

NU knocked Larson, who allowed five runs on five hits in just 1.2 innings to fall to 1-4 on the season, out of the game in the second, scoring three times including Will Bolt’s second homer of the season, a solo shot to left, that gave the hosts a three-run cushion. With one out, Joe Simokaitis laid down a bunt single before NU loaded the bases on a Jeff Leise walk and a hit by pitch to Daniel Bruce that chased the Cal Poly right-hander after 26 pitches. Reliever Josh Kougl then hit Morris to score NU’s second run of the inning before the Huskers tacked on their third run of the frame on a fielder’s choice by Matt Hopper

Jamie Rodrigue was the beneficiary of the Huskers’ early offensive success, as the junior picked up his sixth win of the season, and first since April 6, allowing three runs of eight hits in five innings of work. Rodrigue struck out two and walked one in snapping his personal three-game losing streak.

Cal Poly trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the fifth, scoring three runs off Rodrigue on Kyle Wilson’s two-run, bases loaded single to left and a sacrifice fly by Brian Haskell put the visitors within two runs. The Mustangs, who dropped to 26-26-1 with the loss, out-hit the Huskers 10-9, as Bryan Gant went 4-for-4 with a run scored in the loss.

Komine, who entered with a standing ovation from the over 2,200 in attendance on dark, overcast day, walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, then promptly erased the base runner, inducing Jason Berringer into a double play. A two-time All-American, Komine allowed one hit and struck out a pair of Mustangs in a 38-pitch stint.

“I was a little rusty on the mound,” Komine said. “I felt a little more comfortable getting the first inning out of the way. I still have a long way to go to get to where I was before the injury.”

“If he is not 100 percent, he is pretty good at where he was,” Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. “I’d say he was probably 90 percent. The key is for him to go out there and throw and get his confidence up, so he can feel like he can let it fly a little bit.”

“They have very good offensive team and I thought the first inning it was almost like Shane felt his way through it, Van Horn said. “The last two innings he really attacked, and I thought I saw the old Shane Komine out there in the seventh and eighth.”

The Huskers extend the margin to 7-3, scoring single runs in the sixth and seventh. Morris’ sacrifice fly in the sixth scored Leise for NU’s sixth run, while Jeff Blevins, who had a pair of hits, belted his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot to left, for the final run of the day.

The teams conclude the series Sunday morning as the teams will begin the series finale at 11:05 a.m.. Freshman Brian Duensing (3-1, 4.59 ERA) will take the hill for the Huskers and will be opposed by right-hander Kevin Correia (10-4, 4.68 ERA)

Notes: Nebraska has now scored in the first inning in 30 of 51 games this season …With the two wins, NU is assured of its fourth straight series victory…Rodrigue tied R.D. Spiehs (1999-2001) for fifth place on Nebraska’s career wins list with 21…Komine’s relief appearance was his first since May 22, 1999, when he got the save in NU’s 8-7 win over No. 1 Texas A&M…He now has a school record 468 career strikeouts in 392 innings…Morris has six homers and 16 RBIs in his last seven games dating back to April 28…Bolt’s homer - his first since March 30 - was his first homer at home since April 28, 2000 against Iowa State.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.