Huskers Say Aloha to 2005 Season This Week

This Week in Nebraska Baseball ? Feb. 13-20
Season Record (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Day Date Opponent Location Local Time (Lincoln Time)
Thurs. Feb. 17 at Hawaii-Hilo (1-12) Hilo, Hawaii 6 p.m. (10 p.m.)
Fri. Feb. 18 at Hawaii-Hilo (DH) Hilo, Hawaii 3 p.m. (7 p.m.)
Sat. Feb. 19 at Hawaii-Hilo Hilo, Hawaii 1 p.m. (5 p.m.)
Sun. Feb. 20 at Hawaii-Hilo Hilo, Hawaii 1 p.m. (5 p.m.)

Nebraska Pitching Probables
Game 1 - Zach Kroenke, Jr, LHP (7-5, 3.03 ERA in 2004)\
Game 2 - Joba Chamberlain, So., RHP (First Career Appearance at NU)
Game 3 - Brian Duensing, Jr., LHP (3-0, 2.42 ERA in 2003, redshirt in 2004)
Game 4 - Johnny Dorn, Fr., RHP (First Career Appearance at NU)
Game 5 - Phil Shirek, Sr., RHP (5-1, 3.07 ERA in 2004)

Media Information
Radio: None
TV: None
Live Stats: Huskers.com

Huskers Say Aloha to 2005 Season This Week
Nebraska becomes the final Big 12 team to open the 2005 campaign this week, as the Huskers head to Hawaii to begin a five-game series against Hawaii-Hilo. The series opens late Thursday evening, Feb. 17, with a 10 p.m. (CST) start and continues with a doubleheader on Friday and single games on Saturday and Sunday. All five games will take place at Wong Stadium in Hilo and live stats will be available on Huskers.com.

The Huskers return the bulk of a squad that posted a 36-23 record last season, including first-team All-American third baseman Alex Gordon and All-Big 12 selections Zach Kroenke, Curtis Ledbetter and Joe Simokaitis. Kroenke, a junior left-hander from Omaha, takes the hill for the opener against the Vulcans after going 7-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 104 innings of work in 2004. Kroenke will be the first Husker to start consecutive opening days in more than a decade.

A pair of newcomers will also make their first starts as Huskers during the trip, right-hander Joba Chamberlain, a transfer from Nebraska-Kearney, and freshman right-hander Johnny Dorn.

While the Huskers are opening their season this week, Hawaii-Hilo (1-11) will have played 13 contests, as they split a two-game series with Hawaii Pacific over the weekend.

The Vulcans, who had a doubleheader on Sunday rained out, lost a six-game series to Kansas and a five-game set to the University of San Diego in their season opener two weeks ago.

Huskers Trek to Islands is First since 1998

Nebraska’s trip to the islands is NU’s first since 1998 when the Huskers competed in the Rainbow Easter Classic, a tournament that the Huskers won with a 2-1 victory over Hawaii. That tournament also featured the last meeting with Hawaii-Hilo, a 6-2 win over the Vulcans. Nebraska leads the all-time series with Hawaii-Hilo, 3-2, splitting two games apiece in 1979 and 1984.

Leading Off
? Nebraska has won three straight season openers, including both under third-year coach Mike Anderson.

? Alex Gordon will look to become the first position player and only the second player in Big 12 history to repeat as conference player of the year. Baylor’s Jason Jennings is the only other player to win multiple Big 12 Player-of-the-Year awards (1998-99).

? The Huskers will hope the third time is the charm, as they have enjoyed multiple-homer games in each of the last two season openers (Curtis Ledbetter, 2003; Alex Gordon, 2004).

? Alex Gordon opens the 2005 season looking to extend a streak of 80 consecutive games, as he played all but four innings during the 2004 season.

? Nebraska is only one of 11 teams nationally - and one of only two schools in the Big 12 - to have team ERAs under 4.00 in each of the last three seasons.

? Nebraska was the only Big 12 team not shut out during the 2004 season, and has scored in 389 of the last 390 games dating back to the 1998 season.

Quick Look at the Huskers
Nebraska brings back the majority of its offensive attack from 2004, with five everyday starters back in the fold this spring along with left fielder Brandon Fusilier (.289-6-41), who missed all of 2004 with a shoulder injury.

Third baseman Alex Gordon is the catalyst of the NU attack, hitting .365 with 17 homers and 75 RBIs en route to first-team All-America honors. Gordon is one of three returning all-conference players in the Husker infield, as he is joined by first baseman Curtis Ledbetter (297-8-56) and shortstop Joe Simokaitis (.279-1-33). Freshmen Ryan Wehrle and Jake Opitz are battling for the starting second base position, as both players earned first-team all-state honors last season. Another newcomer who could figure prominently into NU’s plans is junior college first baseman Brandon Buckman, who hit .460 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs at Garden City CC.

In addition to Fusilier, the Huskers also return starting outfielders Jesse Boyer (.302-0-20, 14 SB) and Daniel Bruce (.243-8-33), who manned the corner outfield positions last spring. Junior College All-American Trey Adams, redshirt freshman Andy Gerch and true freshman Bryce Nimmo will also look for extensive playing time this spring.

Behind the plate, junior college transfer Jeff Christy will see a majority of the action after hitting .390 with six homers and 45 RBIs at Barton County Community College. Ledbetter and freshman Mark Hightower will serve as Christy’s primary backups in the wake of Adam Moore’s season-ending injury.

Offensive Totals Back from 2004 Season
Category Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Numbers 230 319 63 6 36 224 46
Pct. Back 59% 57% 56% 60% 69% 63% 72%

Pitching Coach Rob Childress brings back his most experienced staff in his eight-year tenure at Nebraska, as the six returnees feature fifth-year seniors Dustin Timm and Jeremy Becker, along with Phil Shirek and Brian Duensing, who have each been in the program for three years. Shirek (5-1, 3..07 ERA) and Timm joined junior Zach Kroenke, a second-team All-Big 12 selection, in the Huskers’ weekend rotation during conference play, giving Childress a stable foundation to build a staff around.

Kroenke (7-5, 3.03 ERA) headlines the Husker staff after allowing three runs or less in 11 of his 15 starts. Shirek tops all current Huskers in both wins (14) and starts. He went 5-1 with a 3.07 ERA, highlighted by nine innings of shutout baseball against No. 18 Oklahoma in his final regular-season start of 2004.

Timm (2-3, 3.89 ERA) made a remarkable recovery from Tommy John surgery, splitting time between the bullpen and the weekend rotation. Duensing was one of the league’s top pitchers before developing an elbow injury, went 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts in 2003 before missing nearly two full seasons with the injury.

The Husker bullpen features a pair of veterans in Becker and right-hander Brett Jensen. Becker (0-1, 5.06 ERA) has made 56 appearances as a Husker, including 22 last season. Jensen was used in a variety of roles out of the bullpen, going 1-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 20 outings.

A trio of other Huskers who missed the 2004 season because of injuries are anxiously awaiting the spring to make significant contributions. Tony Watson, a 23rd round draft pick out of high school who went 9-0 with a 0.10 ERA and 148 strikeouts, missed all of 2004 with a shoulder injury. Matt Foust, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Kansas two seasons ago, returns after being sidelined with a shoulder injury, while sophomore Mike Harmelink is back after Tommy John surgery in December of 2004.

Three of the newcomers who will be expected to contribute early on are sophomore Joba Chamberlain, a transfer from Nebraska-Kearney, and freshmen Ryan Bohanan and Johnny Dorn, who were two of the top high school seniors in the Midwest last spring.

Pitching Totals Back from 2004
Category Wins Starts Saves Inn. BB SO
Numbers 16 34 4 296 99 193
Percentage Back 44% 58% 33% 56% 60% 50%

Scouting Hawaii-Hilo
Under the direction of long-time coach Joey Estrella (528-670-5 in 29 seasons), the Vulcans enter the series with a 1-12 record after splitting a series with Hawaii Pacific over the weekend. The series was scheduled to be a four-game set, but Sunday’s doubleheader was cancelled because of rain.

Hawaii-Hilo, which is a Division I independent in baseball, opened the year with five losses to the University of San Diego and six losses to Kansas last week. The Vulcans are led by infielder Johnny Dudoit, who is hitting a team-high .378 with two homers and nine RBIs. He leads Hawaii-Hilo in nearly every offensive category, including hits (17), runs (six), homers and RBIs. He is the only player on the Vulcan roster hitting above .300, as Hawaii-Hilo is hitting .240 as a team through 13 contests. On the mound, UHH is paced by John Matson, who is winless in three starts with a 4.80 ERA, the best of any Vulcan starter, in 15 innings of work.

After their series with the Huskers this weekend, Hawaii-Hilo welcomes Wichita State and Florida State for a pair of five-game series. In fact, the Vulcans don’t leave the island until the first week of April.

Gordon Piles Up Numbers, Honors
After a season where he earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Year and unanimous first-team All-America honors, third baseman Alex Gordon has already racked in a number of impressive honors heading into the 2005 season.

Gordon, who spent the summer of 2004 playing with Team USA, hit .365 with 18 homers and 75 RBIs in his sophomore campaign, a year where he ranked in the top four in the league in nine offensive categories. With Team USA, he hit .388 with four homers and 12 RBIs, while hitting .523 at the World University Games in Taiwan.

Gordon’s Preseason Honors

• Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year
• First-Team All-American (Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America)
• Big 12 Player of the Year (Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America)
• Baseball America’s Top Junior in the Country
• Baseball America’s No. 1 College Prospect for the 2005 MLB Draft
• Wallace Award Watch List

The Lincoln native will look to become the fifth first-round pick in school history and the first since Darin Erstad and Alvie Shepherd in 1995. The following is a list of the previous No. 1 Husker draft picks.

Previous First-Round Husker Picks
Player No. Team Year
Steve Stanicek 11 San Francisco 1982
Bill McGuire 27 Seattle 1985
Darin Erstad 1 Anaheim 1995
Alvie Shepherd 21 Baltimore 1995

Enjoying the Great Outdoors
With a heated field and a warmer than expected winter in Lincoln, the Huskers have had the opportunity to get most of their work in at Hawks Field. Nebraska will have enjoyed 10 of its 22 preseason practices (45 percent) outside at Hawks Field - the highest total in recent memory.

Duensing, Fusilier Hope for Happy Returns
Two of the reasons for the excitement around the Husker program are the return to health of pitcher Brian Duensing and outfielder Brandon Fusilier.

Duensing, who missed all of the 2004 season with Tommy John surgery last March, was Nebraska’s No. 2 starter in 2003, going 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts, striking out 22 in 24 innings of work. In the three starts before the injury against UW-Milwaukee, he was 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA, including a complete-game shutout of sixth-ranked Wake Forest in the Metrodome.

Fusilier, who missed the 2004 season after shoulder surgery, was a starter on the Huskers’ Big 12 championship squad two years ago, batting .289 with six homers and 41 RBIs in 48 contests.

Kroenke Makes Second Opening Day Start
When junior left-hander Zach Kroenke takes the hill Thursday in the season opener, he will become the first Husker to make consecutive starts on opening day since Mike Zajeski, who started the season openers in both 1991 (Washburn) and 1992 (Peru State), although he threw only one inning in both outings.

Kroenke will look to duplicate his 2004 opening day start when he struck out a career-high 11 Wildcats in a 19-3 win over Northwestern. Shane Komine was the last Husker to make two opening day starts, taking the hill in Nebraska’s openers in 1999 and 2002.

Ledbetter Gets Defensive at First Base
One of the reasons for Nebraska’s school record .975 fielding percentage in 2004 was the performance of first baseman Curtis Ledbetter. A two-time All-Big 12 pick, Ledbetter committed one error in 473 chances, as his .998 fielding percentage was the best ever by a Husker with 400 total chances in a season. In addition to his defensive prowess, the senior from Lawrence hit .297 with eight homers and 56 RBIs, while leading the squad with 12 game-winning RBIs.

Simokaitis Climbs Career Assist List
Shortstop Joe Simokaitis enters his final season at Nebraska poised to become the school’s all-time assist leader. The senior from St. Louis, Mo., has paced the Huskers in assists in each of the last three two seasons, including a school-record 194 assists in 2003.

Career Assists
No. Mark Player Year
1. 639 Will Bolt 1999-02
2. 604 Darin Petersen 1992-95
3. 548 Bruce Wobken 1986-89
4. 472 Joe Simokaitis 2002-present
5. 450 Kurt Eubanks 1981-85

Moore to Miss Season with Knee Injury
Nebraska baseball coach Mike Anderson announced Feb. 6 that catcher Adam Moore will miss the entire 2005 baseball season after undergoing season-ending knee surgery. Moore, who suffered the injury during practice on Feb. 3, underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Feb. 5 in Lincoln.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Moore was a two-time Texas East Athletic Conference selection at Northeast Texas Community College, hitting .395 with 14 homers and 66 RBIs as a sophomore last spring.

Huskers Ranked Among Big 12’s Best
A trio of Husker baseball players were honored in Baseball America’s preseason issue. Third baseman Alex Gordon tops three categories (Best Pure Hitter, Best Strike Zone Discipline and Best Defensive Third Baseman), while Curtis Ledbetter (Best Defensive First Baseman) and Daniel Bruce (Best Outfield Arm) also garnered honors in voting by the league coaches. Ledbetter committed one error in 473 chances in his first season at first base, while Bruce has thrown out 13 runners from the outfield during his Husker career.

Big 12’s Best Tools
Categories Player
Best Pure Hitter Alex Gordon
Best Strike-Zone Discipline Alex Gordon
Best Defensive 1B Curtis Ledbetter
Best Defensive 3B Alex Gordon
Outfielder/Best Arm Daniel Bruce

Three Huskers Named to Baseball America’s Preseason All-Big 12 Squad
Three Husker baseball players were selected to Baseball America’s preseason All-Big 12 team. Third baseman Alex Gordon joined pitcher Zach Kroenke and first baseman Curtis Ledbetter, giving the three selections, as NU was tied with Baylor for second among Big 12 schools. Texas had six preseason All-Big 12 picks.

2005 Roster Features Seven Drafted Huskers
Nebraska’s 2005 roster boasts a total of nine Huskers who have been previously selected in the annual Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The list is led by fifth-year senior Dustin Timm, who was drafted in both 2000 (Kansas City, 41st) and 2004 (Milwaukee, 26th). Timm and pitcher Phil Shirek, a 44th-round pick by Cleveland, were selected in the 2004 draft, but elected to return for their senior seasons.

Drafted Huskers
Player Round Team Year
Jeff Christy 49th Los Angeles 2002
Brandon Fusilier 45th Seattle 2001
Brett Jensen 45th Baltimore 2003
Curtis Ledbetter 39th Cleveland 2000
Adam Moore 28th Los Angeles 2003
Jake Opitz 39th Seattle 2004
Phil Shirek 44th Cleveland 2004
Dustin Timm 41st Kansas City 2000
Dustin Timm 26th Milwaukee 2004
Tony Watson 23rd Florida 2003

Huskers Honored for Academic Work
A total of 16 current or former Huskers were honored on Feb. 12, as they were named to the 2004 Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Honor Roll. The list is highlighted by senior pitcher Jeremy Becker, who makes his ninth appearance on the conference honor roll. The fifth-year senior from Scottsbluff will graduate in May with a degree in agricultural engineering and has posted a grade-point average above 3.0 every semester of his college career. Daniel Bruce joins Becker as seniors who have been on the Big 12 honor roll every semester of their collegiate career, as he makes his seventh consecutive appearance. Bruce, a first-team academic all-district selection last season, carries a 3.866 cumulative GPA in English. Eight Husker newcomers also posted GPAs above 3.0 during their first semester in the Husker program.

The Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes who earned a 3.0 grade-point average or higher during the previous semester. Overall, Nebraska had 257 student-athletes named to the fall honor roll, including 28 who produced perfect 4.0 GPAs during the fall semester.

2004 Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Honor Roll
Player Yr. Major
Becker, Jeremy Sr. Agricultural Engineering
Bruce, Daniel Sr. English
Buckman, Brandon Jr. Civil Engineering
Christy, Jeff Jr. Business Administration
Duensing, Brian Jr. English
Foust, Matt Fr. Undeclared
Hoffart, Darren Sr. Finance
Klapperich, Casey Fr. Undeclared
Manrique, Deric Fr. Undeclared
Nimmo, Bryce Fr. Management
Schwab, Drew Fr. Undeclared
Sillman, Mike Sr. Business Administration
Smith, Al So. Undeclared
Sullivan, Nick Fr. Undeclared
Timm, Dustin Sr. Communication Studies
Wertz, Luke Fr. Broadcasting

Husker Baseball Show is On the Air
This spring, get a behind-the-scenes look at the University of Nebraska baseball program on the Husker Baseball Show. With in-depth interviews, highlights and features, the show gives Husker fans a chance to follow the Big Red in its bid for a third straight College World Series appearance this spring. The show, presented by the Midwest Ford Dealers, began on March 27 and runs for 10 straight weeks on the following stations. The show is also available on Huskers.com.

2005 Husker Baseball Show
Station Coverage Area Day Time
WOWT Omaha Sunday 10:35 p.m.
KOLN/KGIN Lincoln/Grand Island Sunday 10:35 p.m.
KSTF Scottsbluff Tuesday 7 p.m.
KNOP/KIIT North Platte Tuesday 5 p.m.
Lakes TV Northwest Iowa TBA TBA
Cable One Sioux City, Iowa Wednesday 9 p.m.

The Husker Baseball Show will be replayed on various cable systems throughout Nebraska, including Cox Digital Cable in Omaha and Time Warner Digital Cable in Lincoln, and is also available on-line on HuskersNside.

Up Next: Huskers Travel to Rice
Nebraska continues its early-season road trip next weekend, as the Huskers travel to Houston, Texas, to participate in the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational. NU will face New Mexico, Rice and Western Carolina.