V*
. By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
The Arizona Rookie League season was all but
wrapped up when Bryan Schmidt began looking
forward to going home - or at least getting out of
the desert heat he had worked in all summer.
It was always hot - even at 5 a.m., when
Schmidt would stumble out of bed and race his
teammates for a spot on the van every morning.
And every morning, upon arriving at the stadi
um, he’d eat breakfast, lift weights and prepare to
play games in front of no fans.
This was professional baseball?
More like baseball boot camp.
“When they say itb boot camp, they’re right,”
said Schmidt, a former Comhusker drafted in the
33rd round by die San Diego Padres last June. ‘It’s
grueling.”
Peoria, Ariz., marked the lowest rung on the
ladder in the Padres’ organization, where Schmidt
hit .289 in 194 at bats with 12 doubles and six
stolen bases.
~ . - Evidently, somebody noticed.
His hard work in the heat paid dividends as
Schmidt stood in the on-deck circle one morning
feeing the Cubs’ rookie-league team.
“Coach walked by and said, ‘Oh, by the way,
you’re going to Idaho Falls (Idaho)tonight”
Schmidt packed up the belongings in the hotel
room he had lived in for nearly three montitjp and
left on a plane at 6 a.m. for the advanced-rookie
league town of Idaho Falls.
It was a step in the right direction.
A big step.
Schmidt met Idaho Falls Manager Don
Werner, who put him in fee lineup that evening to
replace injured shortstop Jason Dunaway. It was
fee first time Schmidt had played before a signifi
cant number of fans since Nebraska ended its sea
son.
“When I went to Idaho, my jaw was on the
ground,” Schmidt said
Things improved for Schmidt on the field in
Idaho as welL
In the final six games of fee regular season, he
went 5 for 14, scoring five runs as Idaho Falls qual
ified for fee league championship.
“The pitchers were tougher in Peoria because
they weren’t around the zone, and they threw hand*
er,” Schmidt said “Up in Idaho, they were around
fee dish more often.”
After losing fee first game of a best-of-three
series wife Lethbridge, Idaho Bolls won fee final
two to claim fee league tide.
Schmidt, who had gone 0 for 4 in fee fipal
game, lined a single down the right field line in fee
11th inning, sending fee go-ahead run to third. He
also made the final two outs in the field.
But Schmidt still must go back to Peoria for
spring training next year and make a team.
“The only thing I can do is go out there and do
what I’ve been doing,” Schmidt said. “They
worked me hard, but fee one thing they saw is that
I did get better.”
His improvement in Peoria, he said, came in
part wife help from Aaron Guiel, who was sent
down from Triple-A Las Vegas for a 10-day reha
bilitation.
Guiel had played wife another former Husker,
Jed Dalton, in fee Anaheim Angels organization.
“I picked feat man’s brain,” Schmidt said. “I
asked him everything I could think of. He taught
me so much about fee game - about fee mental
aspect of the game and hittmg. It was awesome.
“If he didn’t come down, I don’t think I would
have improved as much as I did.”
Instruction in the Nebraska {xogram from for
mer Coach John Sanders and currait Coach Dave
Van Horn also helped his progress Schmidt said.
As a senior at NU last spring, Schmidt hit .324ina
team-high 173 at bats.
“The Padres teach John Sanders’ hitting style,”
Schmidt said. “It regurgitates everything that
Sanders says.
“But Van Horn and (Pitching Coach Rob)
Childress and (Hitting Coach Mike) Anderson also
prepared me.”
Schmidt said he wasn’t really counting on get
ting drafted last June, but it had crossed his mind.
He had spoken with scouts, but nothing was in
stone until draft day.
“My mom called and said, ‘Guess what? You
got drafted,'” Schmidt said. “I took a lap and then
just kind ofsat there shell-shocked.
“This is my dream. I never thought I’d make it
this far; but things worked out, and I got lucky.
“I only have one shot at this, and I have to give
it my all”
Sanderford hopes Huskers
ready for exhibition game
By Chbbtopher Heine
Staff writer
The Nebraska women’s basketball
team was running wind sprints at the
end ofMandayfc practice.
Members were preparing for their
first exhibition game tonight against
Myjava of Slovakia - and ultimately
much more.
Coach Paul Sanderford shouted
loudly during the running drill that they
were working on something that should
last a lot longer. .
“We’re building a house - a brick
house!” he said
neip evaluate now strong ms team is
right now.
However, the second-year coach
said he is more concerned with how his
team plays late in the season.
“March - that’s what I coach for,” he
said. “I want to be coaching when
everyone else is playing golf”
If his team improves from last year,
Sanderfotd shouldn’t be making tee
times too early this spring,
f Nebraska returns nine tetterwinners ?
from last yearh squad that won a team
record 23 games. The Huskers, wh$
beat three top-25 teams, lost in the sec
ond round of the NCAA tournament to
Old Dominion.
Junior guard Brooke Schwartz said
this year’s team is more confident than
lastyearfc
“I think last year we surprised our
selves,” she said “This year itfc almost
like itfs expected to get to the Sweet 16.”
“Last year our theme was ‘Believe.’
This year it’s ‘Achieve.’”
Sanderford said the Huskers have a
lot of room to show improvement
tonight
“We’ve really emphasized half
court defense,” he said “We gave 15) too
many points last year”
m (ms) fjm tetertfiddle1
Ki&ick. a better Cisco Gilmore than lastf
yean”
The Myjava game also will give NU
tans a chance to see four newcomers to
the program.
Former NU volleyball All
American Lisa Reitsma and Junior
College All-American Monique
Whitfield will make their Husker
debuts, along with true freshmen
Candace Blackbird and Jennifer Jaracz.
Sanderford said die game against
Myjava, a team of 18- to 36-year-olds,
should help the new players.
“IfU help get Ihe jttCts out’’
. . ,*W, ' ,... -. v . ' . * • -J" . '
Home fields tough in the Big 12
By Jay Saunders
Staff writer
A great deal is made in the Big 12
conference about playing on the road.
Coaches talk about the Sea of
■ T» -J -x*T-1 « —
XVW IH X lWlUOIUi
I and the 12 th
I man at Texas
A&M as two of
the toughest
places to play in
the conference.
But with
Nebraska hav
ing their 47
-—-—- KOU1V IIUIUV
winning streak
; ^spapped Saturday against Texas,
coaches around the league can't
agree on the stadium they fear the
most
“There certainly aren't any easy
places to play," Kansas State Coach
Bill Snyder said. “All of than make it
somewhat difficult”
Oklahoma already has played at
in-state rival Oklahoma State earlier
this season, but this week, the
Sooners travel to College Station,
Texas, to play Texas A&M.
A&M is undefeated at home this
season, including a win against
Nebraska. The tradition of the 12th
man is a concern to OU Coach John
Blake.
“We had a chance to simulate (die
crowd at A&M) playing at Oklahoma •
State”Rfakp.saiif trrivt
disciplined to put our players in posi
tion to just line up and play.
“Wb have to be ready for it in their
backyard.”
For years, the back yard of the
Huskers has drawn praise from
coaches and players.
Nebraska fans are not used to the
Huskers losing at home, with NUlos
ing.only twice in seven years at
Memorial Stadium.
Bid even in a loss, Texas Coach
Ma^jjc Brown said the Nebraska fans
were gracious to his team.
“I don’t know if I have ever been
around fans that have shown as much
class as the Nebraska fans did,**
Brown said. “They do agreat job dur
Newcombe returns to hometown for tests
NEWCOMBE from page 7
doctors,” Gill said “Thath the bottom
line”
Though he hasn’t been 100 percent
healthy since the injury, Newcombe
played in four games after resting for
two. He was removed after die first half
of the Nhssouri game Oct 24 and did
not play in the Huskers’ loss to Texas
last Saturday.
“The coaches are concerned with
continued swelling, and they raised that
concern with me,” Robert Newcombe
said “So naturally, I want to lode into it
from my own perspective.”
)
Despite suffering the most serious
injury of his career, Bobby Newcombe
is still in high spirits, his father said
r “Any athlete with any injury is
going to be concerned,” Robert
Newcombe said “But I think he has a
good idea of what he has to do to heal
himself mentally and physically.”
In Newcombe’s absence, redshirt
freshman Eric Crouch will start at quar
terback Saturday against Iowa State,
Solkhsaid.
Crouch, who mused three games
with a hip-pointer, returned to action
last week against Texas behind starting
senior Monte Christo.
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---- -•
“Itls been a situation where we have
not had die luxury of just playing one
quarterback throughout the season,”
Solich said. “We need to make sure that
we have more than (me prepared to go
because we already know that one isn’t
enough.”
I-back DeAngelo Evans, who has
missed the Huskers’ last three games
with a bruised tailbone, saw a doctor
Monday, Solich said, and should return
to practice today.
“Certainly, he’s not in any kind of
playing shapes,” Solichgatd “So even if
he started practice, where he’d be at,
I’m not sure.”
West Coast back
commits to NU
after UT game
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
Despite being on hand to witness
the Nebraska football team’s second
loss of the season Saturday, Robin
Miller left Lincoln impressed with die
Comhusker football program.
So impressed, in fact, that the 6
foot, 219-pound I-back from Kent,
Wash., verbally committed to play for
NU before he left
“There are a lot of good schools
after me,” Miller said, “but I think
Nebraska is the best fit for me.”
Miller, who runs a 4.6 electronic
timed 40-yard dash, had received
offers from Michigan, Arizona,
Northwestern and Colorado, but he
said he will cancel the rest of his vis
its.
As a senior this season at Kent
Meridian High School, Miller has run
for 1,477 yards and 15 touchdowns in
Washington’s largest class.