The No. 12 baseball team finally got the start it was waiting for out of junior pitcher Zach Neal in the Sooners’ 10-2 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first game of a three-game set in Lincoln, Neb.

Neal gave up a run in the first inning, but then it was smooth sailing for the right-hander from Flower Mound, Texas, while the Sooners (19-2, 2-0) pounded Nebraska pitching for 11 hits on their way to the blowout victory.

Neal (3-0) threw seven innings while allowing the one run on four hits, striking out 11 batters and walking nobody. The start was Neal’s best of the season.

All of the Sooners’ runs came during the middle innings.

OU tied the game at 1-1 on a home run in the fourth inning by sophomore shortstop Caleb Bushyhead, and took the lead the next inning on a solo home run by freshman right fielder Max White.

The Sooners broke the game open with three runs in the sixth inning and five runs in the seventh inning. White added two more RBIs on a double in the seventh to increase his game total to three.

White ended the game going 3-4 with the home run and double and three RBIs

The five runs in the seventh inning were the last runs of the game for OU and were highlighted by a three-run home run by sophomore third baseman Garrett Buechele. The home run was Buechele’s sixth of the season, which leads the team and is good enough for second in the Big 12.

Senior pitcher J.R. Robinson relieved Neal in the eighth inning and pitched the final two innings of the game to secure the victory. Robinson gave up one run during his work in relief and struck out two batters, including the final batter of the game.

The Sooners and Cornhuskers are slated to continue the series at 2:05 p.m. Saturday in Lincoln, Neb., and junior pitcher Bobby Shore will start on the mound. Shore has a 3-0 record and a 2.19 ERA in four starts this season.