Steven M. Sipple: Can NU generate enough offense?
You know for certain a baseball game is important and intense when a pitcher is grunting as he releases the ball. Texas A&M reliever Travis Starling was grunting Friday night as midnight neared and neither Nebraska nor A&M seemed ready to budge or blink.
Boxers grunt in late rounds. Tennis players grunt during long volleys (think Monica Seles). Baseball pitchers seldom grunt unless circumstances become especially dire. Obviously, the circumstances Friday — Texas A&M prevailed 6-3 in 16 innings — warranted a grunt or three.
It was amazing theater. As for Nebraska, the standoff perhaps represented a degree of validation. If you were skeptical about the Huskers’ status as a Top-10 team — yes, I was a little skeptical — you probably weren’t after watching Big Red stand toe-to-toe for five-plus hours against an A&M outfit that’s a virtual lock to land a coveted NCAA Tournament top-eight seed.
“Nebraska has an incredible team,” Aggies coach Rob Childress said. “Their numbers on the mound, they don’t lie. They have a very good pitching staff. I mean, that’s as good a staff as we’ve seen all year.”
Nebraska — 36-9-1 overall and 15-6-1 in the Big 12 entering today’s doubleheader against A&M at Haymarket Park — began the weekend ranked ninth with a 3.46 earned-run average. It’s now down to 3.43. However, the Huskers are hitting only .281 as a team, which brings us to the question of the day:
As the postseason nears, can Nebraska generate enough offense to turn what has been a very good season — an overachieving season, to be sure — into a downright special season? Into a CWS season?
Nebraska already has surprised national pundits. The Huskers were picked by Baseball America to finish eighth in the Big 12. I figured Big Red to be about a fifth-place outfit.
Don’t look now, but Nebraska is eighth nationally in the pseudo-RPI compiled by boydsworld.com. Experts will tell you the Huskers are among about a dozen teams in the hunt for a top-eight national seed.
By landing a top-eight seed, a team thrusts itself into prime position to stay home for both NCAA regional and super-regional play. That’s huge. That means Nebraska practically would be able to smell Zesto’s all the way from Haymarket Park.
But what of Nebraska’s offense — the offense that was 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position Friday? You might notice something if you analyze the seven teams ranked ahead of the Huskers in the RPI. They all are hitting at least .307 as a team. The worst is Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets have slugged 83 home runs.
Nebraska? Try 25 home runs.
You have to wonder if Nebraska possesses enough pop on offense to reach Omaha. You wonder because every team in the top 10 of the RPI has at least 44 home runs, and seven have pounded at least 60.
Of those 10 teams, however, only second-ranked North Carolina (2.28) has a lower ERA than Nebraska. First-year Husker pitching coach Eric Newman obviously has done a marvelous job with a staff that features five freshmen and sophomores contributing at key times.
“One thing he always stresses is to pitch like it’s a nothing-to-nothing ballgame,” said Nebraska junior left-hander Dan Jennings (5-1), who took the loss in relief Friday. “What I’ve kind of taken from that is if we do our part on the mound, the rest will take care of itself.”
That’s the hope, anyway. It’s worked well to this point. Credit Mike Anderson’s coaching savvy. The sixth-year Husker skipper has had an outstanding season. Also, credit the players for their clutch hitting and willingness to embrace their roles in an offense that thrives on a “team approach.”
Team approach? That’s evidently what you use when your lineup lacks anyone who’s hit more than seven home runs on the season.
“I think we’ve got great kids, and I think we have nine kids each game who come to the ballpark and sell out to our offensive plan,” Anderson said. “That’s all I can ask of them.”
Texas A&M (42-8, 19-3 Big 12) needs one victory today to clinch its first league title since 1999. The Aggies are hitting .325 and have 61 home runs. They also pitch well (3.68 ERA).
“I’ve been around a lot of really good teams,” said Childress, who was Nebraska’s pitching coach from 1998-2005. “This team’s as tough as they come.”
Nebraska also is stout, resolute and businesslike. Outfielder DJ Belfonte embodies NU’s hard-nosed approach. He made two excellent diving catches Friday. After both plays, he popped up and sprinted straight to the dugout. No disgusting NBA-like mugging for cameras. No hot-dogging. Just popped right up like it was no big deal at all.
It’s easy to like Anderson’s crew. It’s also easy to appreciate how high the Huskers have risen this season, especially considering their challenges offensively.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
Boxers grunt in late rounds. Tennis players grunt during long volleys (think Monica Seles). Baseball pitchers seldom grunt unless circumstances become especially dire. Obviously, the circumstances Friday — Texas A&M prevailed 6-3 in 16 innings — warranted a grunt or three.
It was amazing theater. As for Nebraska, the standoff perhaps represented a degree of validation. If you were skeptical about the Huskers’ status as a Top-10 team — yes, I was a little skeptical — you probably weren’t after watching Big Red stand toe-to-toe for five-plus hours against an A&M outfit that’s a virtual lock to land a coveted NCAA Tournament top-eight seed.
“Nebraska has an incredible team,” Aggies coach Rob Childress said. “Their numbers on the mound, they don’t lie. They have a very good pitching staff. I mean, that’s as good a staff as we’ve seen all year.”
Nebraska — 36-9-1 overall and 15-6-1 in the Big 12 entering today’s doubleheader against A&M at Haymarket Park — began the weekend ranked ninth with a 3.46 earned-run average. It’s now down to 3.43. However, the Huskers are hitting only .281 as a team, which brings us to the question of the day:
As the postseason nears, can Nebraska generate enough offense to turn what has been a very good season — an overachieving season, to be sure — into a downright special season? Into a CWS season?
Nebraska already has surprised national pundits. The Huskers were picked by Baseball America to finish eighth in the Big 12. I figured Big Red to be about a fifth-place outfit.
Don’t look now, but Nebraska is eighth nationally in the pseudo-RPI compiled by boydsworld.com. Experts will tell you the Huskers are among about a dozen teams in the hunt for a top-eight national seed.
By landing a top-eight seed, a team thrusts itself into prime position to stay home for both NCAA regional and super-regional play. That’s huge. That means Nebraska practically would be able to smell Zesto’s all the way from Haymarket Park.
But what of Nebraska’s offense — the offense that was 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position Friday? You might notice something if you analyze the seven teams ranked ahead of the Huskers in the RPI. They all are hitting at least .307 as a team. The worst is Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets have slugged 83 home runs.
Nebraska? Try 25 home runs.
You have to wonder if Nebraska possesses enough pop on offense to reach Omaha. You wonder because every team in the top 10 of the RPI has at least 44 home runs, and seven have pounded at least 60.
Of those 10 teams, however, only second-ranked North Carolina (2.28) has a lower ERA than Nebraska. First-year Husker pitching coach Eric Newman obviously has done a marvelous job with a staff that features five freshmen and sophomores contributing at key times.
“One thing he always stresses is to pitch like it’s a nothing-to-nothing ballgame,” said Nebraska junior left-hander Dan Jennings (5-1), who took the loss in relief Friday. “What I’ve kind of taken from that is if we do our part on the mound, the rest will take care of itself.”
That’s the hope, anyway. It’s worked well to this point. Credit Mike Anderson’s coaching savvy. The sixth-year Husker skipper has had an outstanding season. Also, credit the players for their clutch hitting and willingness to embrace their roles in an offense that thrives on a “team approach.”
Team approach? That’s evidently what you use when your lineup lacks anyone who’s hit more than seven home runs on the season.
“I think we’ve got great kids, and I think we have nine kids each game who come to the ballpark and sell out to our offensive plan,” Anderson said. “That’s all I can ask of them.”
Texas A&M (42-8, 19-3 Big 12) needs one victory today to clinch its first league title since 1999. The Aggies are hitting .325 and have 61 home runs. They also pitch well (3.68 ERA).
“I’ve been around a lot of really good teams,” said Childress, who was Nebraska’s pitching coach from 1998-2005. “This team’s as tough as they come.”
Nebraska also is stout, resolute and businesslike. Outfielder DJ Belfonte embodies NU’s hard-nosed approach. He made two excellent diving catches Friday. After both plays, he popped up and sprinted straight to the dugout. No disgusting NBA-like mugging for cameras. No hot-dogging. Just popped right up like it was no big deal at all.
It’s easy to like Anderson’s crew. It’s also easy to appreciate how high the Huskers have risen this season, especially considering their challenges offensively.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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