• Box Score: NU 13, HBU 4

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LINCOLN — The Nebraska baseball team got healthy in a weekend sweep of Houston Baptist, capped Sunday by a 13-4 win at Haymarket Park.

Just how healthy, though? We'll see soon as the Huskers, after a Wednesday game against South Dakota State, open Big 12 play at third-ranked Texas.

NU pitchers again thrived in the series finale against the Huskies, a transitional Division I program ineligible for the NCAA postseason until 2019. True freshman Tom Lemke sparkled in six innings, allowing one hit — Robbie Buller's dribbler that rolled up the chalk toward third base to open the second inning.

In three wins against HBU, Nebraska starting pitchers Casey Hauptman, Michael Mariot and Lemke combined to surrender three runs on seven hits in 22 innings.

“Three really good starts,” pitching coach Eric Newman said. “We filled the strike zone. All three guys were aggressive. They used their stuff to create mismatches. That's pitching. We did a good job attacking.”

Sophomore third baseman Cody Asche homered Sunday for the third time in three games, a three-run shot in the sixth inning, and finished 3 for 3 with a career-best five RBIs.

First baseman Tyler Farst drove in three runs, and right fielder Adam Bailey collected two hits and two RBIs in front of 1,124 on a cold and damp afternoon.

“I think we're taking the right steps to follow the path that we need to be at the top of the conference,” Asche said.

Chase Adams produced the only pitching blemish, allowing three runs on ninth-inning homers.

“We still have work to do to finish games,” said coach Mike Anderson, whose team reached .500 for the first time this season at 7-7.

Still, the starting pitchers especially encouraged the eighth-year coach. NU pitchers issued seven walks in 27 weekend innings and struck out 22.

“That might be the first time in the last 18 months we could say, ‘Here's a rotation,'” Anderson said. “There's still some work to be done, but it's a good start.”

Lemke improved to 3-0, rebounding from his lone rough outing a week ago when he lasted 1.2 innings and allowed four runs at UCLA. The 6-foot-8 right-hander from Phoenix beat the Huskies (4-9) on Sunday with his precision.

“I just focused this week on doing some of the things I wasn't doing that great at UCLA,” Lemke said.

He struck out four, walked one and retired 12 straight from the second through sixth innings.

“It's good to see a freshman doing that,” Anderson said. “I like to see how our pitchers commanded the zone all weekend. That's really, really good to see. I hope we got a little confidence back.

“It doesn't matter who's standing at the plate if you can find a rhythm and throw strikes at the plate.”

Contact the writer:

402-444-1031, mitch.sherman@owh.com

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