spring preview
I
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After!
seasons in 1
baseball teaji haveliigh expectation!
“A lot ofguys played hard and did
a great job fast year,” Van Horn said.
“But this y&fr, we think we can match
what we dklfast year and maybe even
surpass it.”;- ••• . ^
The Huskers won the'Big 12
Tournament, traveled to a regional;
tournament in Ohio and finished the
season ranked in the top 25 irf some
polls.
They finished the season with a
42-18 record recording die most wins
since 1990-and the best winning per
centage smeg.1984.
Thisyeaifthe teamwifibe without
Ken Harvey, a Golden Spikes Award
finalist who left school early to enter
the Major League Baseball draft.
The Husker team is ranked at the
bottom of onpttop 40 poll because of
Harvey’s absence.
BntV^njiom said this team has
the p0ter)rtial4b be much better than
last year’s tea*.
“Last year,4£ we wouldpave been
ranked in a pre-seasotttfp 40 poll,
ipfff y* 3
en happy^
3M *This yeaj, fee kids are disap
. •' -• " "*
-jt concerned
asoa pblls. He’s ready to
...... _oatthefield.
With the loss ©f Harvey, this year’s
team will have to be more balanced,
Win Horn said.
* “Siire we lost a big one in
Harvey,” Van Horn said. “He carried
~us in some games, but I think we’ve
got some guys who can split time and
match his productivity.
“We don’t have a bona fide super
star this year, but we have a more con
sistent lineup one through nine.”
The batting order features speed
at the top and bottom with some pop
in the four, five and six holes, Van
Horn said.
Senior center fielder Jamal Strong
brings his .346 batting average and 34
stolen bases to the lead-off spot, and51
Adam Shabala, a senior who hit .373
and stole 28 bases, will bat second
and play right field.
Catcher Justin Cowan, third base
man Brant Vlieger and shortstop Will
Bolt will add power to the middle of
the lineup. -
Cowan, a senior who hit .312 with
nine home runs and 60 RBI last year,
wiR he counted on to have another
*Olk|seasbn, Van Horn said.
* Vliegef/a senior, hit .348 with 41
RBI ]a$ ye%but a foot injury in thr:
fall mfy hindter him at ^beginning
Bolt/ a sophomore/ shifted
between secohd base and shortstop
last year, while hitting .278 with 43
RBI.
Sophomores John Cole and Adam
Stem will be counted on to solidify
the outfield, Van Horn said.
“I think the fans will see a lot
more stolen bases with this lineup,”
Van Horn said. “We’ve got a lot of
guys who can handle the bat well, so
we’ll probably hit and run a lot, too.”
The pitching staff, which is under
the control of Pitching Coach Rob
Childress, returns many young but
experienced players, Van Horn said.
“The pitching staff will be a defi
nite strength this year,” he said. “We
return a lot of young guys who made
big contributions last year.”
Sophomore right-hander Shane
Komine, 6-2, with a 3.58 ERA, was
one of the top pitchers on the staff as a
freshman last year, Van Horn said.
Chad Wiles, a senior right hander,
won some important games toward
the end of the season and is a proto
typical big-game pitcher, Van Horn
said. -jW
** have a bona fide superstar
have a more
one through nine ”
Dave Van Horn
Nehraska hasehall rnarh
Senior ieft-hander Scott Fries
returns after leading the team in
innings pitched last year. Sophomore
right-hander R.D. Spiehs and fresh
man right-hander Steve Hale will be
counted on to eat up innings this
spring.
Brian Rodaway, a junior left
handed pitcher, said both the pitchers
and the hitters have looked good thus
far. i
“Everybody has really stepped up
their intensity,’* he said. “The pitchers
are throwing well; and the hitters look
sharp. We’re ready lb get on the field
and show that last year wasn't a
fluke.” . _•_. r.. - ~ *• '•
The team’s main goal is to
advance further this yedr,.,which
means winning a regional andtfiaking
a trip to a supOf regjoriai^ .
Andy Bent; a juniofxighi-handed
pitcher, transferred firom ajunib’rcol
lege in Kansas to play ball for the
Huskers. He said the team’s showing
last year inspired him to transfer.
“They won the Big 12
Tournament by beating some of the
best teams in the nation,” he said.
“They showed that they’re on their
way to being one of the best teams in
the country, and I wanted to be part of
that.”
Van Horn agreed that the program
is making important strides.
“People aren’t going to take us for
granted this year,” he said. “So it’s
going to be tough to improve, but I
think we have the talent to do it.”
Van Horn said the team has set
short-term goals to reach its overall
goal of improving on last season.
“We want to get off to a good
start,” he said. “That’s the most
important thing. After we get some
confidence, then we can start thinking
about conference championships and
super regionals.”
Voss, Lizama expected to lead
NU to College World Series
By Sean Callahan 1
Staff writer i . :
In Division I softball you play for one goal, and that is to
make it to Oklahoma City for the College World Series.
In 1998 the Nebraska softball team achieved this milestone
that only eight teams can share. Last year the Comhuskers were
one game away from making back-to-back trips to the CWS.
With eight returning starters on this year’s squad and a
strong pitching staff, the Huskers are hoping they can get back
to they want to be again.
“I think the expectations of the group are very high,” Coach
Rhonda Revelle said. “We’re not one to say we’re going to this,
we’re going to do that, but we’re on a silent mission, if you will.”
Compared to the 1998 team, Revelle said this year’s team
has much more depth.
evei
and
and
rani
on tiic x xcxu cuiu pxay again.
“I think we’re to the point now that
Revelle said. %
“We need to be competitive against somebody else besides
ourselves.” , v
This year’s non-conferehco.schedule has many tough chal
lenges ahead for the Huber'S. , •
Revelle said she purposely Scheduled the better teams and
tournaments to prepare her team for May.
Nebraska’s opening tournament features four ranked teams
alone. NU also will play in two tournaments in San Jose, Calif.,
and Columbus, Ohio.
NU will opemtheir 2000 season on Feb. 11 against
Wisconsin in the Arizona State tournament.
Men’s golf team inexperienced
but hard-working, says coach
By Matthew Hansen 1
Staff Writer
The Nebraska men’s golf team enters
the 2000 spring season full of optimism,
according to Coach Larry Romjue.
But the coach also said his team
would have to face the reality of its situa
tion.
That reality is that only one golfer,
sophomore Seth Porter, has any spring
experience at the collegiate level. And,
like during the fall season, the other four
varsity positions will be filled by fresh
men.
Romjue said the knocks his inexperi
enced squad took the fall season will help
during the spring, but also said there were
many more knocks to come.
“When you have four freshmen and a
sophomore in the Big l a things just are
not always going to go youirway,” he said.
“We are going to use this year, to a certain
extent, to expose the young guys to the
•I
. r
competition and let them gain experi
ence.”
Not that Romjue expects his team to
roll over for more experienced squads.
The coach said he had already set a team
goal to reach the NCAA regionals and is
optimistic that they can do so.
Porter, the top-ranked Husker golfer,
will have an integral part in any success
the team has, according to his coach.
A year ago, the sophomore was the
youngest member of a team dominated
by four talented seniors. Now, Porter is
expected to be the mainstay of a team in
which six freshmen will compete for the
remaining four varsity spots.
Romjue thinks Porter is up to the task,
and points to his performance in the fall
as proof.
“A year ago, Seth was No. 779 in the
Sagarin ratings,” he said. “I think he
knocked 400 spots off just in the fall, and
he has a chance to get a lot higher this
spring. I think he will play some really
good golf for us, and I hope he can carry
the younger guys with him.”
Two of those freshmen that Romjue
hopes Porter will help are even less
adjusted to college golf than the other
four ffosh.
Marty Smith and Himesh Patel, both
from England, began classes this semes
ter and will challenge for varsity time.
The coach hopes Smith and Patel will
contribute immediately.
At the very least, the two Brits will
increase competition for the four remain
ing varsity spots.
It is competition that Romjue wel
comes, because, despite his optimism for
the spring, he knows the team’s best days
are in the future.
“We have a lot of talented guys here,”
he said.
“They’re just young. In a couple of
years, we are going to be really good.
Now, we are just trying to speed up that
learning curve so we can become good.”
Women’s golf
team ready to
..enter its element
■According to Krapfl,
the team heads into the
season with high hopes
and NCAA dreams.
**:*$&«*’. •*>
By Matthew Hansen
Staff writer
' *
. Coming off a fall season filled
with success, the Nebraska
women’s golf team enters the
spring hoping to reach new
heights.
Coach Robin Krapfl said one
team goal eclipses the rest - the
NCAA Championships.
“We want to go to nationals,
which means we have to finish in
' the top 11 teams at regionals,
which means we have to finish in
the top 11 at districts,” Krapfl said.
“Our whole season will lead up to
qualifying for nationals.”
Nebraska has never qualified
for the NCAA Championships.
But Krapfl said that the confidence
her team gained in the fall while
winning two tournaments would
help the Huskers to believe they
could be the first.
“We knew we had the talent
and the desire coming into the fall
season. Now we have the confi
dence that we can play with any
body, too.”
Sophomore golfer Sarah Sasse
_ is one who gained much from the
fall, according to Krapfl.
Sasse finished in the top 10 in
four of the five fall tournaments,
with her highest finish at seventh.
She also had or tied for the lowest
Husker score in every event.
Krapfl said she expects more of
the same from the Lincoln native in
the coming months and years.
“Sarah is a very dedicated play
er,” Krapfl said. “She will do
everything she can to make sure
she keeps playing well and keeps
improving. She hung with the top
players in the country4uring the
fall, so I'm confident she can he on
the top players in the conference
and country this season.”
One Husker who didn't exceed
expectations during the fall was
Elizabeth Bahensky. The senior
managed one top-10 finish, in the
Razorback Invitational, which the
Huskers won.
Her next-highest showing was
16th place.
Her coach said that although
Bahensky’s fall wasn’t perfect, It
wasn’t a cause for concern.
“Bahensky is our leader,"
Krapfl said.
“She’s proven herself day in
and day out since she got here. She
struggled a little bit last fall, which
might have something to do with
the expectations placed upon her.
She’ll come back this spring,
though, and she’ll have a good
year.”
Junior Amy Roux, sophomores
Catha Fogelberg and Amanda
Sutcliffe and Amanda Krane. a
freshman, all saw varsity action in
1999 and will compete for the three
remaining spots in 2000.
Although the top six include
only two upperclassmen and
Bahensky is the only senior, Krapfl
thinks the time is now for the team.
“I think we can reach our
potential this .year,” she said.
“Elizabeth is a tremendous
player and leader and it will be hard
to replace her. We can accomplish a
lot this spring, and if everything
works out, we will.”