Feb. 19, 2000

Box Score

ARLINGTON, Texas -- University of Nebraska catcher Justin Cowan went 2-for-4 with five RBI and hit a three-run home run to lead the Huskers to a 12-4 victory over the Washington State Cougar baseball team Saturday morning in tournament play of the Arlington Morning News Invitational at Allan Saxe Stadium.

The Huskers (3-2) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first inning behind the three-run homer from Cowan. After a leadoff single by Jamal Strong and a walk to Adam Shabala, Cowan redirected a pitch from WSU starter Nick Kenyon over the left field fence to give Nebraska the early advantage.

WSU (3-6) battled back in the bottom of the second to pull within one, 3-2. Hot-hitting freshman Stefan Bailie led the inning off with his second home run of the year over the left field fence. Two batters later, senior Steve Curran also took an offering from Nebraska starter Jamie Rodrigue over the left field fence.

After a two-run inning by Nebraska in the fifth fueled by a RBI double from Cowan, WSU crawled back to within one run in the bottom of the inning. Jordan Nilsen and Mike Knight led the inning of for the Cougs with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice bunt by Shawn Stevenson, Evan Hecker scored a run with a sacrifice fly. WSU tallied another run on a throwing error by Nebraska shortstop Will Bolt.

The one-run deficit was the closest the Cougs would get as solid relief pitching from Nebraska's Steve Hale and sloppy WSU defense pulled the Huskers away. Up only 6-4, the Huskers capitalized on four WSU errors in the eighth and ninth innings to score six runs and blow the game open to a 12-4 win.

Hale (1-0) notched the victory for the Huskers throwing 4.1 shutout innings of relief while allowing only two hits. Cowan, who is a Northwest native playing his high school ball at Tumwater High School in Olympia, led the Huskers with three hits and five RBI. Bolt also had a successful day at the plate going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. The Huskers out-hit the Cougars 17-9.

Kenyon (0-2) took the loss for the Cougars, giving up three early runs in his 1.1 innings pitched. A combined lackluster bullpen effort from five WSU pitchers yielded nine Husker runs and 12 hits. Hecker led the Cougs at the plate with a 3-for-4 game to bump his season average from .130 to .222. Bailie's second inning homer extended his team-leading hitting streak to nine games. Curran continues to hit the ball well when inserted into the lineup. In three starts the senior designated hitter is 5-for-15 (.333) with two home runs, a double and six RBI.

WSU will look to snap its two-game losing streak Sunday afternoon against tournament host Texas-Arlington at 1:30 p.m. Tyson Thompson (1-1, 6.75) is scheduled to start on the mound for the Cougars against the UTA Mavericks (7-4).

NEBRASKA   300  021  033 - 12  17  3
WSU        020  020  000 -  4   9  6
Jamie Rodrigue, Steve Hale (5) and Justin Cowan, Aaron Gozart (9).
Nick Kenyon, Matt O'Brien (2), Reggie Rivard (5), Donny Davis (6), Sean Donlin (6), Les McTavish (9), and Jon Baeder, Ryan Smith (7).
W - Hale (1-0),L - Kenyon (0-2), S - None,
HR - Cowan (1), Curran (2), Bailie (2).
T - 3:06,  A - 487.
Nebraska Hits - Strong 2, Shabala, Cole 3, Cowan 2, Wright, Hopper 2, Stern 2, Bolt 4.
WSU Hits - Stevenson, Hecker 3, Bailie, Hattenburg, Curran, Nilsen, Knight.
E - Cole, Hopper, Bolt, Stevenson (2), Gates (5), Baeder (1), Knight 2 (2), Donlin (1).
2B - Cowan, Stern, 3B - None.

Copy by Jeff R. Evans
WSU Sports Information