CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, June 9, 2005 7:00 pm
Nebraska's baseball team knows that it'll take a lot of competitive fire this weekend as they tackle the University of Miami at Haymarket Park. For that, they need to look no further than the first two pitchers in their starting rotation. More Super Regional coverage in Huskerextra
BY CURT McKEEVER | Lincoln Journal Star
Let's say you're a Miami baseball player and today you notice, across the way in the Nebraska dugout, Brian Duensing and Zach Kroenke.
You know these guys were taken early in the major-league draft on Tuesday Duensing went in the third round; Kroenke in the fifth. You also remember that as you were going through the scouting reports for this weekend's NCAA Super Regional, there were a couple of other pitchers who figured more prominently. That Duensing, 17-2 in his career and the winner of his last 11 decisions, won't even start, and that Kroenke is scheduled to start only if the series gets to a decisive third game.
At this point, you take a long swallow, realizing how difficult the challenge will be to make it out of Haymarket Park and move on to the College World Series.
Indeed, Duensing and Kroenke are soon to be Bonus Babies. But the Huskers like they've done since mid-May, with the exception of the Big 12 Conference Tournament will pin a lot of their hopes on the 1-2 punch of right-handed sophomore Joba Chamberlain and right-handed freshman Johnny Dorn.
While the first-team all-league performers can't match the experience of the left-handed juniors Duensing and Kroenke, they lack nothing when it comes to competitive spirit.
Flash back to last summer, when the two locked up in an American Legion duel refusing to give any quarter.
Dorn's Grand Island Home Federal team walked away with a 1-0 victory over Chamberlain's team from Lincoln Northeast.
In 15 innings.
For the first 12, Dorn and Chamberlain matched pitch for pitch before being forced to leave because they'd reached the maximum number of innings allowed for a week.
"We argue about it every once in awhile, but his comeback is Who won the game?'" Chamberlain said. "I'll try to stay away from it now, because that's what he always says."
Chamberlain finished the game with 21 strikeouts. Dorn had 10.
At the time, Dorn had already signed with the Huskers, while Chamberlain, who pitched his freshman year at Nebraska-Kearney, was weighing his options.
"He kind of looked at me like Man, I might be better than that guy, so I've got to go out and there and show him up,'" Dorn said. "That's why he put 21 strikeouts up."
Of course, when Dorn found out Chamberlain was headed to NU, he got more excited.
"To be added to the staff we already had was going to make it that much better," Dorn said.
Both players agree the memory of their Legion battle has served to push them as teammates. "We kind of felt the competitiveness that we've got to be better," Dorn said, "and the competitiveness is still here trying to get each other's spots."
While Dorn has won 11 straight decisions to improve to 11-1, and Chamberlain is 8-2, both struggled a bit in last week's regional. Chamberlain allowed a season-high nine hits, and five runs, while throwing 5 1/3 innings in Nebraska's 8-6 Friday win against Illinois-Chicago.
Against Creighton on Saturday, Dorn gave up five hits and two runs in the first two-plus innings, then settled down and worked through two game delays to go 6 2/3 innings while allowing three earned runs in the Huskers' 10-8 win.
Each admits now to being overly juiced for their outings. "In the bullpen I felt fine. I was as calm as ever and then I got out on the mound I won't say I was nervous, I was just trying to throw as hard as I could," Dorn said. "Nothing was spinning or dropping or doing anything I wanted it do, then that delay came and kind of settled me down, so I might've been a little nervous."
Chamberlain, though, has no fear of the jitters.
"I think when you stop getting butterflies is when you need to stop playing the game," he said. "At any level, there's always that nervous energy. That's the sign of being competitive and the sign of loving the game.
"It's great to be on this field and on this team in the super regionals."
Playing a team like Miami, which is trying to make it to the CWS for the 10th time in 12 years, only adds to the fun.
"Any team you play this time of the year is going to be good," Dorn said. "But you want to face Miami (or) those Texas teams. The fans have a better time. It's just better for baseball."
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.