Nebraska continued its dominance in tournament play by scoring runs in every inning, including single runs in the first, second, third and eighth innings, while adding two runs in each of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings to make a winner of Komine.

After allowing just one unearned run through the first six innings, Texas Tech scored three earned runs to chase Komine with two outs in the seventh inning. Nebraska added two runs for an 11-4 lead at the end of seventh, but the Red Raiders scored four runs off reliever Brian Duensing to cut the lead to 11-8, before reliever Phil Shirek left the bases loaded for senior right-hander Jeff Blaesing, who came on with two outs and the go-ahead run at the plate. Blaesing got Jake Brown to fly out to right field to end the inning and the Texas Tech threat. Blaesing added a perfect ninth to pick up his first career save. Nebraska added an insurance run in the eighth inning on Will Bolt’s safety squeeze bunt to score Jeff Blevins from third for the final margin.

The Huskers, who improved to 41-17 and extended their overall winning streak to 10 games, and their Big 12 Tournament winning streak to 11 games, earned a day off on Friday and advanced to play in Saturday’s 11 a.m. contest. Texas Tech (41-17), which had its 16-game winning streak snapped by the Huskers, will square off with sixth-seeded Kansas State (29-24) in Friday’s first game at 4 p.m.

Komine, who struck out seven Texas Tech hitters, improved to 7-0 on the season. The 5-10, 175-pounder from Honolulu, Hawaii, increased his school record strikeout total to 482, while improving his career record to 38-7 to edge closer to becoming just the fifth pitcher in NCAA history to record 40 wins and 500 strikeouts.

The two-time All-American and two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year allowed four runs, three earned on eight hits, in 6.2 innings for his longest outing since throwing a nine-inning complete game against Texas Tech on March 22. Before being touched for three earned runs in the seventh, Komine had not allowed an earned run in 14.2 innings dating back to his April 5.

Nebraska hitters pounded five Texas Tech pitchers for 14 hits and 12 runs, including seven runs off starter Nathan Fouts, who lasted just 4.2 innings to fall to 8-6 on the season. The Huskers 12 runs were the second-most scored by a Nebraska team in 16 Big 12 Tournament games, trailing only NU’s 14 runs in a 14-7 win over Oklahoma in the second round of the 1999 tournament. Nebraska got production throughout the lineup, as eight Husker starters notched at least one hit, as Joe Simokaitis went hitless but scored two runs with two walks and a sacrifice bunt, his third of the tournament.

Grose, a sophomore catcher from Henderson, Nev., drove in three of Nebraska’s first seven runs, while Leise added three hits for his 33rd multiple-hit game of the season, leaving him just one shy of Ken Harvey’s 34 multiple-hit games in 1999. Leise contributed two RBIs and scored two runs.Freshman outfielder Daniel Bruce added his second straight 2-for-5 performance in the tournament, while driving in two RBIs. Bruce has five RBIs in two tournament games to lead the Huskers. Jed Morris added two hits, including his 22nd double tying Baylor’s Chris Durbin for the league lead, while contributing two RBIs and a run scored. Morris’ two RBIs pushed his Big 12-leading total to 74. Will Bolt added more punch to the Husker offense by extending his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI single in the fourth inning. He added another RBI on an eighth-inning squeeze but, while also scoring two runs. Jeff Blevins set a career high with three walks, while adding a single and three runs scored.

In Thursday’s first game, sixth-seeded Kansas State (29-24) eliminated seventh-seeded Baylor (34-24), 6-2, to hand the Bears their fifth straight loss in Big 12 Tournament play and seventh straight loss of the season. It was Kansas State’s first-ever Big 12 Tournament victory.

In game two, top-seeded Texas (44-14) eliminated fifth-seeded Oklahoma State (37-21) with an 8-6 victory to advance to Friday’s 7 p.m. contest with the winner of Thursday’s final game between fourth-seeded Oklahoma (34-23) and eighth-seeded Texas A&M (35-22).

Nebraska notes
• Nebraska extended its longest winning streak of the season to 10 games with the win over Texas Tech. It was the Huskers’ first win over Texas Tech in the two teams’ first meeting in Big 12 Tournament history.
• With 14 hits against Texas Tech on Thursday, Nebraska produced its sixth consecutive game with double-figure hit totals. The Huskers pounded out 15 hits in its opening-round win over Baylor on Wednesday. As a team, the Huskers are hitting .426 (29-68) in the tournament.
• Nebraska, which has scored at least one run in nine consecutive innings, has scored in 13 of 16 innings at the Big 12 Tournament this season, combining for 23 runs in their first two tournament games.
• Nebraska’s 12 runs were the second most scored by the Huskers in 16 Big 12 Tournament games, trailing only their 14 runs in a 14-7 win over Oklahoma in the second round of the 1999 Big 12 Tournament (May 20, 1999).
• The Huskers extended their Big 12 Tournament winning streak to 11 games, while improving their overall tournament record to 15-1 under Coach Dave Van Horn.
• Shane Komine improved to 2-0 all-time in five Big 12 Tournament appearances with four starts. Last season, Komine picked up his first tournament win by allowing one run in eight innings with 12 strikeouts in a 7-1 second-round win over Oklahoma State.
• Before being touched up for three earned runs in the seventh inning, Komine had not allowed an earned run in 14.2 innings dating back to his April 5 outing against Oklahoma. His 6.2 innings of work marked his longest outing since a nine-inning complete game win over Texas Tech on March 22.
• Nebraska senior right-hander Jeff Blaesing, who got Jake Brown to fly out to right field with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth inning and Nebraska clinging to an 11-8 lead, pitched a perfect ninth to collect his first career save.
• Junior outfielder Jeff Leise went 3-for-5 to improve to 4-for-9 (.444) in the tournament. It was Leise’s 33rd multiple-hit game of the season, while also extending his hitting streak to eight games. Leise needs just one more multiple-hit game to tie Ken Harvery’s school record of 34 multiple-hit games set in 1999.
• Matt Hopper’s third-inning triple was just the third triple of his career.
• During Bolt’s 13-game hitting streak, he has six multiple-hit games, including a 3-for-4 performance against Baylor in the opening round. During his hitting streak, Bolt is 20-for-49 (.408).
• Freshman outfielder Daniel Bruce went 2-for-5 for the second straight day to improve to 4-for-10 (.400) in tournament play. Bruce, who leads the Huskers with five RBIs in the tournament, has 10 multiple-hit games this season.
• Justin Seely was hit by pitch in both the fifth and sixth innings to increase his season total to 11 HBP, trailing only Daniel Bruce’s team-leading 22 HBP on the year. It is the third time this season that Seely has been hit twice in the same game.
• Jeff Blevins set a career high with three walks. The senior from Sand Springs, Okla., added a single and scored two runs against Texas Tech.
• With a sacrifice bunt against Texas Tech and two sacrifice bunts against Baylor in the opening round, Joe Simokaitis has three sacrifice bunts in two tournament games, just one shy of his total of four sacrifices in 40 games entering the tournament.
• With one run in the first inning, Nebraska produced at least one first inning run for the 34th time in 58 games this season.
• Nebraska has scored at least one run in 255 straight games, the second-longest active streak in college baseball.

Nebraska Head Coach Dave Van Horn
On the Game
“I can’t remember since I’ve been at Nebraska that we have scored in every inning. That’s what I told the team after the game, I said, our offense was just relentless, and we just kept finding ways to score runs. Every time they made a little bit of a run at us, almost like last night against Baylor, we countered and kind of slowed them down a little bit.”

“We had an eight-run lead, and then we started walking people and getting behind in the count and those big bats of theirs came back. They have won 16 games in a row, and we knew they weren’t going to go away quietly.”

On the Performance of Shane Komine
“His pitch count was anywhere from 110 to 120. We are trying to get him back to where if he is going to pitch in a regional, we have got to test him and see if he can get back to where he was. He is in shape, it is just a matter of getting it done. Shane pitched tonight. He threw a lot of changeups and breaking pitches. He threw a get ahead type of fastball and then he would pop it every now and then. He just pitched.

On Nebraska’s Hitting
“I didn’t expect us to come in here and get 27 hits or whatever we have gotten the past couple of days. Not against teams No. 1 and No. 2s (starters) and pretty fresh bullpens. You have got a lot of options. It has been good, that is what it takes to put together a win streak. You can’t just get it done on the mound, winning 3-2 games, you have to get it done winning 9-8 games as well. “

Nebraska Pitcher Shane Komine
On his being back from the injury
“Well, control wise, I’m not there yet. I’m still trying to work my way back like Coach (Van Horn) said. Tonight was one of those games that was a lot easier as a pitcher because the offense was scoring a lot of runs. You knew you had that kind of support. It was a pretty good game all around for us. I think I started throwing well as the game went on.”

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.