OMAHA, Neb. -- Tennessee designated hitter Brandon Hopkins sat in the Volunteers dugout wishing there was something he could do.

"Being the DH, it's kind of a helpless feeling sitting over there," Hopkins said after Miami beat Tennessee 21-13 late Saturday night in a wild game during which the teams combined to set College World Series records for combined hits (41), at-bats in a nine-inning game (89), earned runs (34), wild pitches (seven), and time of play (4 hours, 21 minutes).

The Hurricanes scored at least one run in six of eight innings, and three or more in four of those. That kept the Volunteers pretty busy in the field.

"Brandon was a little luckier than the rest of us because he got a rest in between innings," Tennessee second baseman Chris Burke said.

But Hopkins did his part, going 3-for-6 with a home run and five RBI as Tennessee, which trailed 9-0 at one point, scored all 13 of its runs after the third inning.

"I imagine I've been in a few games like this, but not where we battled back and got so close that it got to be a football game," Vols coach Rod Delmonico said.

Miami's Danny Matienzo could sympathize with Hopkins, but the Hurricanes DH was also a major reason for the offensive onslaught. Matienzo went 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBI.

"As a DH, it's so hard to stay focused," Matienzo said. "I just wanted to make sure I stayed focused for every at-bat, and it worked out at the end. Those last at-bats, the fifth or sixth at-bat of the game, it's so easy to just throw it away. But I kept saying, 'I've got to get a hit. I've got to get on base."'

And he did a good job of that after striking out in his first at-bat, but so did almost every other starter. Each player in both teams' starting lineups had at least one hit, except for Tennessee right fielder Dan Wilson, who went 0-for-2 before being pinch-hit for by Adam Smith in the fifth inning.

"I think it was probably a great game to watch if people were able to stay up late to watch it on the East Coast," Miami coach Jim Morris said.

Friendly winds
Georgia shortstop Jeff Keppinger insists he's been getting some help during his recent power surge.

"The wind's been doing a lot," said Keppinger, who has hit eight of his 17 home runs this season in nine NCAA tournament games, including one in the Bulldogs' 11-5 loss to Southern California on Saturday.

"Shoot, if that wind's not blowing out to left field I don't thing that ball gets out," Keppinger said of his homer off Trojans ace Mark Prior. "It may get over the outfielder's head, but I don't think it's getting out."

Coming into the season, the 6-foot, 180-pound junior had just 17 career homers.

"It's not like I've gotten any bigger or any stronger -- just hitting more pitches solid I guess," he said. "Having experience helps a lot."

Scoreboard shuffle
Nebraska finally got on the scoreboard.

During the Huskers' game against Cal State-Fullerton on Friday, the scoreboard read "UNL" for Nebraska-Lincoln because the word "Nebraska" maxed out the space allotted for team names. On Sunday, scoreboard operator John Heine made the Huskers faithful happy by spelling out Nebraska.

"I think it looks more professional that way," said Heine, a 21-year-old finance major at Creighton who works the scoreboard during Triple-A Omaha Golden Spikes games.

Stadium sounds
This certainly beats a day in the office for Stan Bartak.

Bartak, a manager for a local software billing company, sold refreshments in the stands at Rosenblatt Stadium while playing the Nebraska fight song on his harmonica during the Huskers' elimination game against Tulane on Sunday.

"Oh, they love it," the 36-year-old Bartak said as Huskers fans filled the stadium.

Bartak, who usually spends nights and weekends working as a refreshment vendor during Triple-A Omaha's games, said he was filling in for Nebraska's marching band. "Same sound power," he said with a smile.

Around the bases
Tulane starter Beau Richardson's second balk of the game against Nebraska on Sunday broke the College World Series record for most total balks in a series with six. ... After Richardson retired Nebraska in order in the third inning Sunday, official scorer Lou Spry drew chuckles in the press box when he announced that it had been the first 1-2-3 inning in 23 hours, 40 minutes -- going back to the bottom of the sixth inning of Southern California's 11-5 victory over Georgia on Saturday. ... Heading into Sunday night's game between Stanford and Cal State-Fullerton, there had not been a shutout in the College World Series since the Titans beat Tennessee 11-0 in 1995 -- a span of 75 games.