The Colorado Rockies didn’t get much offense last night, but one run would have been sufficient. Clayton Mortensen and five relievers combined on a six-hit shutout as the Rockies defeated the San Diego Padres 3-0 in San Diego. Mortensen worked the first six frames, four pitchers took care of the seventh and eighth, and Huston Street worked a clean ninth for his 16^th save. Offensively, Troy Tulowitzki’s RBI single in the first inning looked like it might have to hold up on its own before the Rockies scored twice in the top of the ninth on an RBI triple by Seth Smith and an RBI single by Chris Iannetta. The Rockies now have two chances to win their first three-game series since mid-April. Tonight in San Diego, Ubaldo Jimenez takes the mound for the Rockies in search of his second straight win. First pitch is at 9:05.

 

Darin Erstad’s first act as Nebraska’s head baseball coach will be to bring another former Husker into the dugout with him. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Will Bolt, a four-year starter at Nebraska from 1999 to 2002 and the current head baseball coach at Texarkana College, will be joining Erstad’s coaching staff for the 2012 season. Sources told the paper that Bolt has told at least one of his players that he’s leaving for Lincoln. Bolt was unavailable for comment yesterday, while Erstad declined to comment when approached by the World-Herald. After graduation, Bolt spent a year as a graduate manager at Nebraska, followed by a year as a volunteer assistant. He then assisted at Texas A&M for two years before taking the junior college head coaching job. It was widely reported the day of Erstad’s hiring that Bolt was a serious candidate to be Erstad’s lead assistant.

 

Bubba Starling’s friends and family won’t have far to go to see him in the big leagues. The Gardner, Kansas product was taken with the fifth overall selection of the Major League Baseball Entry Draft by the Kansas City Royals last night. Starling, a five-tool outfield prospect, will be in line for one of the largest signing bonuses of the draft class. He will have until August 15^th to choose between the Royals’ offer and his football scholarship at Nebraska. The Colorado Rockies had two picks in the first night of the baseball draft. With the 20^th overall selection, the Rockies tabbed left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson from the University of Oregon. Anderson set the career strikeout record at Oregon this past season. With the 45^th pick in the supplemental first round, the Rockies took prep shortstop Trevor Story from Irving, Texas.

 

It’s becoming a painful recurring theme for the Colorado Rockies season – a stellar pitching performance wasted by putrid offense. The Rockies fell to the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in San Francisco yesterday afternoon, wrapping up a three-game series in which the Rockies scored just four runs. Chris Iannetta’s solo home run in the fifth inning would be the lone source of offense for the Rockies on the day. Jason Hammel worked seven innings and allowed just one run on two hits, but has only a no-decision to go for it. Andres Torres singled in the go-ahead run off Rockies reliever Matt Lindstrom in the eighth inning to send the Rockies to their fourth loss in six games on their current road trip. The trip concludes with three games in San Diego against the Padres. Catch game one of the series tonight on ESPN Radio 1410, with pregame coverage at 8:30 and the first pitch at 9:05.

 

It’s becoming a painful recurring theme for the Colorado Rockies season – a stellar pitching performance wasted by putrid offense. The Rockies fell to the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in San Francisco yesterday afternoon, wrapping up a three-game series in which the Rockies scored just four runs. Chris Iannetta’s solo home run in the fifth inning would be the lone source of offense for the Rockies on the day. Jason Hammel worked seven innings and allowed just one run on two hits, but has only a no-decision to go for it. Andres Torres singled in the go-ahead run off Rockies reliever Matt Lindstrom in the eighth inning to send the Rockies to their fourth loss in six games on their current road trip. The trip concludes with three games in San Diego against the Padres. Catch game one of the series tonight on ESPN Radio 1410, with pregame coverage at 8:30 and the first pitch at 9:05.
 

The Creighton Blue Jays came so close to earning a chance to play for an NCAA Regional championship, but their dream ended with a 5-4 11-inning loss to Georgia in Corvallis, Oregon last night. The Jays had beaten the Bulldogs in their first game at the tournament but lost to Oregon State on Saturday, necessitating the elimination contest last night. Alex Staehley and Anthony Bemboom each drove in a run in a two-run eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie and put the Jays in the drivers seat, but Georgia immediately responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game back up at four. In the 11^th inning, Blue Jay closer Kurt Spomer retired the first two hitters before allowing a single, a stolen base, and an intentional walk. Georgia’s Brandon Stevens then singled to drive in the winning run. Creighton’s season ends with a record of 45-16.

 

Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne has announced that Darin Erstad has been hired as the head coach of the Husker baseball program.

“Darin is very passionate about Nebraska and especially our baseball program,” Osborne said. “Nobody is going to work harder than Darin. He showed that both here at Nebraska and in Major League Baseball, and that will be the same as our head coach.”

Erstad, a two-time Major League All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft and spent 14 years in the majors, before retiring following the 2009 season. A two-sport standout at Nebraska, Erstad was a first-team All-American and Big Eight Co-Player of the Year in his final season as a Husker in 1995.

“It is a great honor to be the new head coach of the Nebraska baseball program,” Erstad said. “My family and I believe strongly in what the University stands for, and I am excited to have this opportunity to help influence kids’ lives in a positive way and help them turn into young men. I am committed to helping them grow as people.”

Nebraska conducted a thorough search that included interviews with head and assistant coaches from around the country. Osborne said he was impressed by the interest in the job, and the reputation of Nebraska baseball on a national level.

“Coaches from major conferences in all parts of the country were interested in this job,” Osborne said. “They know we have first-class facilities and a strong commitment to having a successful baseball program.”

Erstad spent the 2011 season as a volunteer assistant coach with the Huskers. In his role, he helped lead a pair of Huskers to All-Big 12 honors, including second-team All-American Cody Asche, NU’s first position player to earn All-America honors since 2006. Asche hit .327 with 12 home runs and a school-record 27 doubles this season.

“It is nice to have a feel for what’s here in our program,” Erstad said. “That will help in evaluating players. I know their mindsets, and for the players’ sake, it is probably nice to have some continuity in the program. They are familiar with me, and I am familiar with them. They are good kids, and I am excited to have the chance to work with all of them again.”

Osborne, who coached Erstad on Nebraska’s 1994 national championship football team, said Erstad carries the traits of a successful leader.

“Character, integrity and loyalty are the types of things that are always difficult to assess, but Darin has  a great track record in those areas. I have seen that first-hand. He knows our players and they have a lot of trust and confidence in him, which gives him a head start over other coaches,” Osborne said. “He is a very knowledgeable baseball person, and he will put a good staff together.”

Erstad is just the fifth head coach of the Nebraska program since 1947. A native of Jamestown, N.D., the 36-year-old Erstad and his wife, Jessica, have a daughter Jordan, 5, and two sons Zack, 3 and Adam, 1.

 

Ubaldo Jimenez earned his first win of the season with a flourish last night, and the Colorado Rockies have hope that perhaps June will proceed differently than their miserable May. Jimenez tossed a four hit shutout as the Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 at Dodger Stadium last night. It was Jimenez’s first win since September of 2010, and he was dominant, striking out seven batters while not walking a man. It was Jimenez’s third career complete game shutout, and only the second time the Rockies had won a Jimenez start all season. Offensively, Jose Morales and Carlos Gonzalez had sacrifice flies, and Todd Helton hit a solo home run, his seventh of the campaign. The Rockies remain 4.5 games back of Arizona in the NL West. They’re off today before beginning a three-game series in San Francisco tomorrow night.

 

The search for Nebraska’s next head baseball coach has begun in earnest, with sources close to the program telling the Lincoln Journal Star that three candidates have interviewed for the position. TCU assistant Randy Mazey, Arkansas assistant Todd Butler, and Texarkana College head coach Will Bolt have spoken with Tom Osborne about the vacancy, according to the sources. Of the three, Bolt has the closest ties to Husker baseball, having played for Dave Van Horn at Nebraska from 1999 to 2002 as a four-year starter in the infield. He was also a grad assistant coach for the Huskers from 2003 to 2005. He’s helmed the Texarkana program for the last four seasons. Butler has assisted Van Horn as the Razorbacks’ hitting coach since 2006. He has previously been a head coach at McNeese State. Mazey has been TCU’s pitching coach since 2007 and formerly headed the East Carolina program.

 

The North Platte First Nationals seniors won one and lost one at Bill Wood Field against Omaha Roncalli yesterday afternoon. The opening game of the day went to the visitors, 9-4, as the First Nationals committed eight errors in the contest. North Platte rebounded to win the second game, 5-3, behind a complete game performance from ace hurler Joe Smidt, who fanned five batters in the victorious effort. The First Nationals seniors record moves to 8-2 on the season. They head to Grand Island this weekend for four games, two on Friday and two on Saturday in tournament play. The First Nationals juniors were in action in Omaha against Omaha Roncalli. The juniors earned a sweep, winning 8-1 in the opener thanks to a complete game pitching effort from Dalton Pflughaupt. The juniors then pulled out a 6-5 victory in the nightcap. The First Nationals juniors are now 8-3.