Huskers Lose To Tulane, 6-5, To End First College World Series Appearance
No ninth inning magic this time
June 10, 2001
The Huskers headed back to Lincoln after falling to Tulane, 6-5, but they left Rosenblatt Stadium to a well-deserved standing ovation.
In their first-ever appearance at the CWS, the Huskers lost two games by a total of two runs. And before they were shown the door, they showed the world they were a baseball team that belonged in this tournament with the rest of the nation’s best.
Nebraska fell to top-seeded Cal. State-Fullerton, 5-4, on Friday.
On Sunday, NU trailed in the Tulane half of the ninth inning, 6-5. The Green Wave had the bases loaded with no outs and the outlook was grim – and that might have been an optimistic assessment.
Then, a double play. And then, Adam Stern made a fantastic catch at the wall to end the inning. It was the second time the Green Wave had loaded the bases to no avail. They did the same in the second inning.
So it came down to Nebraska’s final three outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Guess who came to the plate? You bet. Adam Stern. On the day, he had walked, hit a two-run triple and grounded out twice. This time he smacked the first pitch long, deep … and foul, to left field. The hopeful, spontaneous “Ohhhhhhhhh from the stands died down. Husker hearts were sky high, but Stern’s next swing gave off a grounder and a close play at first. He was out.
The end came quickly thereafter. A strikeout, and then a routine grounder to second by Dan Johnson. It was over.
NU (50-16) was the first team to exit the eight-team, double-elimination NCAA championship series. The Huskers were the No. 8 seed, Tulane, No. 5. It was the first CWS appearance for both schools.
Nebraska had rallied in the ninth inning to win the NCAA regional and super regional. The Huskers didn’t find a way to work that magic Sunday.
Tulane’s Jake Gautreau’s played a big role in undoing the Big Red.
In the first inning he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Tulane’s first run. In the sixth inning he smacked a lead-off homer that started the Green Wave on a four-run roll. That was the one the Huskers never overcame.
Nebraska had scored three runs on four hits in the second inning to lead the Green Wave, 3-1.
Tulane’s Jon Kaplan hit a sacrifice grounder in the fifth inning to score Anthony Giarratano. Score: Nebraska 3, Tulane 2.
Fast forward to the sixth inning. Gautreau homered. Jeff Jurries walked and went to second on a balk. Mike Aubrey singled and scored Jurries. Aubrey scored on a Matt Groff bunt – a bunt that combined with a defensive disaster on NU’s part and put Groff on third base. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Giarratano. Score: Tulane 6, Nebraska 3.
Nebraska scored on a Jed Morris homer in the sixth and a Dan Johnson homer in the seventh.
Tulane (56-12) plays the loser of Sunday’s Stanford – Cal State Fullerton game.
Tulane led Stanford, 8-0, in the first game of the CWS. But the Green Wave faltered, Stanford found its stride, and the Cardinal beat the Green Wave, 13-11.
Huskers Lose To Tulane, 6-5, To End First College World Series Appearance
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