Disciplined Huskers Eager To Begin Bolt Era

Jaxon Hallmark thought he had hit his snooze button.
 
He didn't. He inadvertantly turned off his alarm clock instead.
 
"Two hours later I woke up," Hallmark said, "and I was like, 'Uh-oh. I'm in trouble.' "
 
Hallmark knew he'd be punished for breaking the "breakfast rule" new Nebraska baseball coach Will Bolt had implemented. The rule states every player must sign in and eat breakfast every morning, or face consequences. Namely, running.
 
"I woke up at 9:31, breakfast ended at 9:30," Hallmark said, "and I texted Coach Bolt at 9:32 to see whenever he was going to be up here (at Haymarket Park), so I just came straight here. Went ahead and got my running out of the way and then ate after."
 
That was in the fall, when the weather was warmer. Hallmark ran stadium steps. He doesn't intend on finding out where the punishment would take place with the cold and ice.
 
"I've only missed once," Hallmark said. "That was enough for me. I haven't missed since."
 
The "breakfast rule" is more than the principle of eating breakfast (although Hallmark says he sticks with basic eggs and bacon every morning).
 
"It's a discipline thing. It's creating good habits," Hallmark said. "And I think it's really worked, because this team has great habits. I see stuff. Like, our locker room is so much cleaner now than it was last year. The hitting cages are always clean, always set up, always ready for the next person.
 
"Guys have been waking up on time. They haven't been missing nearly as many weights, nearly as many running, nearly as many practices. I think this team's in a very good place. I think we're very disciplined."
 
Jaxson, a junior infielder/outfielder from Midland, Texas, spoke with optimism and excitement on Friday, the first day of baseball practice in Bolt's first season. The former Husker player takes over for Darin Erstad, who retired after last season.
 
"You know, I thought it was going to be some big, drastic change, but it really wasn't," Hallmark said. "I mean, Coach Erstad and Coach Bolt are very similar people. They both demand respect. They both demand you play the game the right way. You play hard and you play fast. That hasn't changed."
 
Sophomore pitcher Colby Gomes echoed that thought.
 
"Coach Bolt and Coach Erstad are two very similar guys. They both demand respect," Gomes said. "They would do anything to win. In that aspect, it's been really easy. All of the other coaches have been great. I'm just happy with where we're at."
 
Bolt is encouraged, too. He's been pleased with the character and make-up of the team and how the players have embraced change.
 
"The good news is they showed up in shape, ready to rock," Bolt said. "We're having some encouraging signs already of them taking what they learned in the fall and already applying it to the spring.
 
"I think by now they expect to be put in uncomfortable spots in practice so they are much more ready for it. I guess the handling of failure is getting a little better because of that."



Gomes Makes Move
 
Gomes, a right-hander from Omaha, has been pitching his entire life, so his transition from bullpen to starter has been rather easy, he said.
 
"The one thing I will say is I get bored really easily, going from 'going-going-going,' to playing catch and then catching fly balls in the outfield," Gomes said. "That's the worst part about it. But I'm happy with my decision and I can't wait to get out there."
 
Gomes, noting his "body was shot" after last season, said he and Bolt mutually agreed on the move.
 
Gomes received first-team NCBWA freshman All-America honors as a relief pitcher after serving as Nebraska's closer in 2019. He recorded 13 saves, which ranked tied for 11th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten.
 
"Last year I mainly threw fastballs and that was about it; threw it as hard as I possibly could," Gomes said. "But when you're a starter, you have to learn how to spot up all of your pitches instead of just one. That's been the biggest thing for me through the end of last year all the way through fall, is just fine tuning all my pitches."
 
Bolt said Gomes had a strong ending to the fall season, and he expects Gomes to be in the mix for a spot in the weekend rotation.
 
"With Colby, I want him to prepare every day like he's going to be the best pitcher in the country, and just go out and earn it every day with his work habits," Bolt said. "He's got a lot of talent. I think he's got a chance to pitch as long as he wants to pitch.
 
"With him, it's going to be about those work habits, establishing those. When you have that, you have a chance to turn a lineup over multiple times."
 
Gomes is motivated to atone for last season's finish, when top-seed and host Oklahoma State scored four runs in the ninth inning to defeat Nebraska 6-5 in the NCAA Regional. The loss dropped Nebraska to the consolation bracket, where it suffered a season-ending loss to Connecticut.
 
"I mean, yeah, I take responsibility for that. I threw that pitch," Gomes said of a three-run home run he allowed in the ninth inning to Oklahoma State. "But we were there. We were one out away, one pitch away. That obviously stings a little bit.
 
"But we can compete with the best of them. We beat Michigan, and they almost won the College World Series. We are that caliber of a team. I'm just excited to get back out there and see what we can do."


 
Finding a rotation
 
Bolt said he and his staff have a general idea of what Nebraska's starting pitching staff might look like, but that the decision will largely hinge on how the next three weeks of practice go.
 
The Huskers must replace their entire weekend rotation.
 
"We got to try to identify, as best we can, who's going to help us win," Bolt said. "I mean, honestly, the first weekend we don't have time to kind of ease our way in and say, 'Well hopefully this guy goes in and gets the job done.' It's an inexact science. But we've got try to pare it down right now the best we can."
 
Although Nebraska lacks overall experience, it does welcome Gibbon native Gareth Stroh, a senior who sat out last season after transferring from Purdue, where he played two seasons after playing one season at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.
 
While with the Boilermakers, Stroh went 10-6 with a 4.34 ERA in 32 appearances with 86 strikeouts over 159.2 innings. As a junior in 2018, he went 5-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 16 starts, recording 33 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.
 
"I do think you have a guy in Gareth Stroh who's pitched a lot of Big Ten games in his career," Bolt said. "He's a senior. He's been around the block. I think he's a guy that profiles that way (as a starter).
 
"Other than that … I think we have a lot of talented options. It's just a matter of who's going to be built to go through the lineup more than once."
 
Hallmark, who threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings over four appearances last season, and said he'll pitch this season if needed, expressed deep confidence in Nebraska's arms.
 
"I'm not really worried about our pitching staff. We have a good pitching coach," Hallmark said of Jeff Christy, who spent the last two years mentoring catchers as a volunteer assistant at Texas A&M.
 
"He's going to get them right. We're going to be good. I mean, look at what A&M's done pitching-wise the last couple years. Nobody could hit those guys. They were the best in the SEC last year. He obviously knows what he's doing."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.