Déjà vu, right through the heart - deep in the heart of the Lone Star State.

The Nebraska baseball team again had one of the best clubs in the nation - this time, No. 2 Texas - dead to rights with a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. NU freshman pitcher Kurt Giller had even forced two ground-ball outs to start the frame. And two strikes on the next batter.

Then that batter, UT’s Jordan Weymouth, hit a double, Kevin Keyes drew a walk and Cameron Rupp knocked a first-pitch, three-run homer over the right field fence for a walk-off 6-5 win as 7,240 fans at Disch-Falk Field roared into the Austin night.

Thus the Longhorns - punchless for most of the night - did what Fresno State, Rice and UCLA have already done to the Cornhuskers: Beating up the bullpen with a late, improbable rally.

NU, now 8-8, wasted two stellar offensive performances from Adam Bailey and Cody Asche, both of whom notched three hits and combined to drive in five runs. Husker starting pitcher Casey Hauptman bested Texas All-American Taylor Jungmann over six innings, but got no decision. And Nebraska, which could easily have 12 or 13 wins this season, watched its bullpen blow another win.

“Offensively, we did a good job against one of the best pitchers in the country,” head coach Mike Anderson said. “We put ourselves in a position to win. This team is troubled by the fact that we can’t finish. We need someone to step up that can do that and take charge.”

Anderson gambled by leaving Giller in the game for a third inning of relief after Hauptmann sat down. Since closer Mike Nesseth blew saves earlier in Fresno earlier this year, NU has been searching for a shutdown arm. Nesseth didn’t even warm up Friday night; junior college transfer Chase Adams did. And he was ready, it seemed, by the time Giller faced his final batter of the night in Rupp.

But Giller grooved a fastball that Rupp pounded over the Longhorns’ bullpen in right.

Texas, now 14-4 for the season, avoided what would have been a stunning loss for Jungmann, who entered Friday night with a 2-0 record and a 0.93 ERA. The Huskers only had seven hits, but they made them count. Bailey hit a solo homer in the first and knocked in another in the sixth. Asche knocked in two in the sixth, then hit Bailey home in the eighth for a 5-3 lead.

“We did a good job offensively and were disciplined,” Anderson said. “We took what (Jungmann) gave us and didn’t try to do too much. The balls we hit were mostly opposite field. I thought we were pretty determined in our at-bats tonight.”

Next game: Saturday at 3 p.m.

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