Brandon Fusilier’s three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh broke a three-all tie Wednesday, as ninth-ranked Nebraska downed Western Illinois, 6-3.

Fusilier’s homer, his team-high eighth of the season, proved to be the decisive blow, as the Huskers improved to 19-2 on the season with their 11th straight win heading into Friday’s Big 12 opener at Kansas.

In the seventh, Andy Gerch was hit by a pitch from Western Illinois reliever Tim Navin to open the inning before Joe Simokaitis coaxed a walk to put two on with no outs. Two batters later, Fusilier sent Navin’s 3-2 offering over the fence in left center, giving the Huskers the lead for good.

The three-run cushion was more than enough for the Husker bullpen, as three relievers combined to fire four innings of no-hit ball, as only one Leatherneck reached base in that span. Freshman Tony Watson earned his third win of the season with two shutout innings, while Brett Jensen notched his Big 12-leading fifth save with a perfect ninth.

Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson was pleased with how the Huskers performed in tight game after Western Illinois tied the game on Tyler Johnson’s three-run double in the fifth.

“I liked seeing our team in a tight situation where we had to come up with some runs,” Anderson said. “We had two guys get on and then Fusilier came through with that big hit. It was good to see us put together a solid inning to win the game.”

Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI to extend his hit streak to 18 contests, while Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.) had a 3-for-4 afternoon as Nebraska totaled 11 hits.