2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team

The 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team was Mike Anderson's 3rd year as head coach. The Huskers played their home games at Hawks Field.

2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational champion
Big 12 regular season champion
Big 12 Tournament champion
College World Series, 5th place
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
2005 record57–15 (19–8 Big 12)
Head coach
Hitting coachAndy Sawyers
Pitching coachRob Childress
Home stadiumHawks Field
2005 Big 12 Conference baseball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T PCT  W L T PCT
No. 6 Nebraska ‍†‍‡‍y 19–8–0 .704  57–15–0 .792
No. 4 Baylor ‍†‍‍y 19–8–0 .704  46–24–0 .657
No. 1 Texas ‍‍‍y 16–10–0 .615  56–16–0 .778
Missouri ‍‍‍y 16–11–0 .593  40–23–0 .635
Oklahoma ‍‍‍y 14–13–0 .519  35–26–0 .574
Oklahoma State ‍‍‍ 12–15–0 .444  34–25–0 .576
Kansas ‍‍‍ 11–15–0 .423  36–28–0 .563
Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 9–16–0 .360  34–25–0 .576
Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 9–18–0 .333  30–25–1 .545
Kansas State ‍‍‍ 8–19–0 .296  30–25–0 .545
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball [1]

2004

Nebraska posted a 36–23 record, with 14 of the losses being by two runs or less as they barely missed their first NCAA regional appearance since 1998. However, the Huskers were the only Big 12 team not shut out during the whole season, and they established a school record and ranked eighth nationally with a .975 fielding percentage shattering the previous best of .971. A few honors include Big 12 player of the years and first-team All-American third baseman Alex Gordon and All-Big 12 selections Zach Kroenke, Curtis Ledbetter and Joe Simokaitis.

Preseason
  • The Huskers returned six everyday position players along with three of their top four weekend starters[2]
  • Will Bolt was promoted to volunteer assistant coach overseeing the infielders and assist with the hitters. He was on the staff serving as a graduate manager for the 2004 season.[3]
  • Collegiate Baseball rated Nebraska's class of 23 newcomers, which includes 16 freshmen, six junior college transfers and Nebraska-Kearney transfer Joba Chamberlain, 16th nationally ranking which is the highest ever for a class of Husker newcomers.[4]
  • Four high school seniors and four junior college transfers have signed National Letters-of-Intent to play baseball at Nebraska beginning in the 2005-06 season.[5]
  • Alex Gordon was selected to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, Preseason NCBWA All-America First-Team, and was the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Player of the Year.[6]

Roster
Number Name Height/Weight Position Class
2Joe Simokaitis6-1 / 195ShortstopSenior
3Jake Opitz5-11 / 190Second baseFreshman
4Alex Gordon6-1 / 215Third baseJunior
5Adam Moore6-3 / 220Catcher Junior
8Jesse Boyer6-1 / 195OutfieldSenior
9Trey Adams6-1 / 190OutfieldJunior
10Ryan Wehrle6-3 / 195Second base / ShortstopFreshman
11Tyler Vaughn6-2 / 205Infield Sophomore
12Daniel Bruce6-0 / 185OutfieldSenior
13Ryan Hines6-5 / 225PitcherFreshman
14Brandon Fusilier6-3 / 220OutfieldSenior
15Curtis Ledbetter6-3 / 215First baseSenior
16Jeff Christy6-1 / 210CatcherJunior
17Casey Klapperich5-11 / 185Infield Freshman
18Brian Duensing6-0 / 195PitcherJunior
19Brandon Buckman6-6 / 220DH / First baseJunior
20Luke Wertz6-1 / 175PitcherFreshman
21Nick Sullivan5-11 / 200Outfield Freshman
22Jon Klausing6-6 / 200PitcherSophomore
23Johnny Dorn6-3 / 205PitcherFreshman
24Bryce Nimmo5-11 / 170OutfieldFreshman
25Ryan Bohanan6-1 / 200PitcherFreshman
26Andy Gerch6-1 / 205OutfieldFreshman
28Matt Wagner6-4 / 225Infield Freshman
30Tony Watson6-4 / 195PitcherFreshman
31Tim Radmacher6-0 / 170Pitcher Freshman
32Al Smith6-2 / 225First baseSophomore
33Brett Jensen6-7 / 190PitcherJunior
34Zach Kroenke6-2 / 205PitcherJunior
35Phil Shirek6-3 / 210PitcherSenior
36Matt Foust6-3 / 220PitcherFreshman
38Dustin Timm6-4 / 185PitcherSenior
39Mike Harmelink6-0 / 200PitcherSophomore
40Charlie Shirek6-3 / 190Pitcher Freshman
42Jeremy Becker5-11 / 220PitcherSenior
43Deric Manrique5-10 / 175Outfield Freshman
44Joba Chamberlain6-3 / 225PitcherSophomore
45Mark Hightower5-11 / 195CatcherFreshman
47Drew Schwab6-4 / 185Pitcher Freshman
50Jake Mort5-10 / 170Infield Freshman

Schedule
2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball Game Log[7]

Season review

Summary

While the 2005 Nebraska baseball season will be remembered for many things, it was the never-say-die attitude that captured the hearts of Husker fans around the state.

Heading into the final weekend of the season, the Huskers were two games behind Baylor in the conference race. Nebraska won its first two games against Kansas State, while Baylor and Missouri split their first two contests, putting the Huskers in position to earn a share of the league crown. Behind Kroenke's complete-game gem on Senior Day, Nebraska posted a 3-1 victory, while Missouri capped NU's title hopes by beating Baylor in Waco later that day, giving the two teams a share of the Big 12 crown. The two teams would meet one week later with the Big 12 Tournament title on the line. The game was scoreless until the sixth when Andy Gerch's sacrifice fly plated Gordon for the game's only run. Duensing and Jensen combined on a three-hit shutout to give NU a 1-0 win over the Bears and the Huskers’ fourth Big 12 Tourney crown since 1999 and winning the regular-season and tournament titles in the same season for the second time in school history (2001).[8]

Never was the Huskers’ true spirit more evident than on college baseball's grandest stage – the College World Series in Omaha. Trailing 5-3 in the ninth inning, the Huskers were down to their last at-bat, looking to extend the most successful season in school history. As they had done 20 times during the season, Nebraska began to rally, opening the inning with two hits before Alex Gordon's RBI single pulled NU within 5-4. Two batters later, freshman Andy Gerch provided one of the most memorable moments in school history, sending an 0-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers, giving the Huskers a 7-5 lead. Alas, the lead was short-lived, as Arizona State scored twice in the bottom of the ninth – including a game-tying homer by Jeff Larish – before ending one of the most memorable games in recent CWS history two innings later for an 8-7 ASU win.

For Head Coach Mike Anderson, the heart shown by the Huskers was a characteristic that he saw develop throughout the year. "This was a resilient group all year long," Anderson said. "We fought and fought, and it didn’t surprise me at all that we scored those runs in the ninth." While its resiliency allowed the Huskers to never be out of a contest, Anderson credited the team's selflessness as the catalyst for going from eighth to first in the Big 12 and returning to the College World Series for the first time since 2002.

For Nebraska's eight seniors, 2005 capped a remarkable five-year run in which NU won 237 games, claimed three Big 12 titles and made three College World Series appearances.

"We’re at the World Series this year because we had a group of young men that gave of themselves for their team," Anderson said. "It's the most unique group of young men that I’ve ever been around. They bought into the team concept. They understood the team concept and got to where they are at because of the team concept. I can’t say how proud I am of them."

A total of six Huskers were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including four players in the top 10 rounds. Alex Gordon became Nebraska's fifth first-round pick, as he was chosen by Kansas City with the No. 2 overall pick. Brian Duensing and Zach Kroenke joined Gordon as players taken in the first five rounds, as they were picked in the third and fifth rounds, respectively. The trio's selections marked the first time that three Huskers were taken in the first five rounds of the draft.

Joba Chamberlain in 2008 spring training for the New York Yankees

Pitching

Nebraska relied on the combination of a dominant pitching staff, strong defense and clutch hitting to put together a 57-15 record and sweep the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles en route to a berth in the College World Series. The 57 wins not only led the nation, but easily topped the previous school mark of 51 set in 2000. The Huskers finished the year ranked as high as fifth in the national polls after opening the year at No. 50 in Baseball America's preseason issue. Also, their No. 2 ranking in Baseball America heading into the College World Series is its highest in any national poll since the 2001 season (a year the Huskers were ranked first for two weeks by Baseball America).[8]

On the mound, Nebraska put together one of the most dominant staffs in Big 12 history. The Huskers ranked second nationally with a Big 12-low 2.69 ERA, the best by a Husker staff since 1969, holding 54 of its 72 opponents to four runs or less tying for the second lowest single-season ERA in school history. It also finished .03 off the Big 12 mark of 2.66 set by Texas in 2004.[8] NU set single-season records for wins (57), saves (23) and strikeouts (538), while holding opponents to a .227 average. The heart of the staff was a four-man rotation of right-handers Joba Chamberlain and Johnny Dorn and southpaws Brian Duensing and Zach Kroenke. They won 15 straight decisions until Johnny Dorn's loss to Florida on June 19 at the College World Series.[8] The quartet combined for a 37-6 record, as all earned All-Big 12 honors in 2005.

A transfer from Division II Nebraska-Kearney, Chamberlain took the Big 12 by storm, going 10-2 with a 2.81 ERA en route to third-team All-America honors. The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and a first-team all league pick, Chamberlain was second in the Big 12 with 130 strikeouts and ranked in the top 10 in seven categories. The sophomore right-hander recorded five double-digit strikeout performances, including 15 against New Mexico in just his second start as a Husker. Chamberlain saved his best performance of the year until the Super Regional against Miami, which he fanned 13 and allowed one run over eight innings to out-duel Cesar Carillo in a 3-1 win.

Dorn became one of the Big 12's top freshmen, going 12-2 to capture third-team All-America honors. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a first-team all conference selection, Dorn went 12-2 with a 2.16 ERA, tying for the league lead in wins and ranking among the top five in the Big 12 in wins, ERA and opponent batting average. Dorn was superb in conference play, going 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA, as he earned the clinching win in five of NU's eight series victories.

Duensing returned from missing nearly two full seasons with an elbow injury to post an 8-0 record and earn All-Big 12 honors. Duensing split time between the rotation and the bullpen, but saved his best effort for the Big 12 title game, when he tossed 7.2 innings of shutout ball, as NU blanked Baylor, 1-0, to win the conference tournament title.

Kroenke rounded out the quartet, going 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA to pick up second-team all-conference accolades. The Omaha native saved his best efforts for NU's biggest moments, tossing a complete game against Kansas State to help clinch the Big 12 title. Two weeks later, Kroenke struck out a career-high 13 in a complete-game masterpiece against Creighton in the regional title game.

While NU's rotation was the envy of much of college baseball, the Huskers also relied on a talented bullpen led by closer Brett Jensen. The junior ranked third in the country with 16 saves to earn All-Big 12 honors, while set-up man Dustin Timm also earned All-Big 12 honors.

Alex Gordon was the #2 overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft

Offense

Offensively, the Huskers were led by the leadership and all-around abilities of third baseman Alex Gordon. A two-time All-American, Gordon etched his name in Husker history by becoming the first NU baseball player to be named national player of the year. The junior from Lincoln hit .372 with 19 homers, 66 RBIs and 23 stolen bases, as he topped the Big 12 in six categories and became the first player in seven years to repeat as conference player of the year.

Gordon was one of four hitters to receive All-Big 12 honors in 2005. Senior first baseman Curtis Ledbetter garnered first-team All-Big 12 honors, hitting .319 with 13 homers and 55 RBIs. He ranked fourth in the Big 12 in homers and was named MVP of the Big 12 Tournament, leading NU back to its fourth conference tournament title since 1999.

While Gordon and Ledbetter provided most of the offensive firepower, seniors Joe Simokaitis and Daniel Bruce provided leadership with their relentless aggressiveness on the field to instrumental roles in 2005.

Simokaitis finished his career as the Big 12's alltime leader in assists and routinely made spectacular plays look routine. A 10th-round pick in the MLB Draft, Simokaitis put together the best offensive year of his career, hitting .310 with three homers, 37 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.

Bruce shined in both the classroom and on the diamond in 2005. A second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, he was named Nebraska's Male Student-Athlete of the Year and earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. Bruce also hit .322 with five homers and 32 RBIs to earn All-Big 12 honors.

Fans also turned out in record numbers to watch the Huskers in 2005, as NU averaged a school-record 4,984 fans per home game to rank sixth nationally. Hawks Field drew seven of its 10 largest crowds in 2005, highlighted by a school-record crowd of 8,771 for the Super Regional clinching win over Miami. NU enjoyed immense success at home, going 33-4 at its home park, including a perfect 5-0 during the NCAA Tournament breaking the previous single-season home mark for wins of 29 set five times (1980, 1988, 2002, 2003 and 2008).[8]

While Nebraska was dominant at home, the Huskers put themselves in position to reach the postseason with success on the road. NU went 15-6 in road games during the regular season, a total that ranked third nationally. In Big 12 play, the Huskers stayed in contention for the league title, going 8-4 away from Hawks Field and winning every conference road series for the first time since 1938.

Nine of Nebraska's 15 losses this season were by one run, as the Huskers finished 11-9 in one-run games. After having just one multi-homer game in 2004, Nebraska had eight this season, including four by first baseman/catcher Curtis Ledbetter and two by All-American third baseman Alex Gordon.[8]

Stats

Hitting[9]

PlayerGBAABH2B3BHRTBSLGRRBIBBSOSB
Adams, Trey52.2381012433136.35618919157
Bohanan, Ryan28.306621930125.4031114790
Boyer, Jesse49.27117748111164.362341720294
Bruce, Daniel69.322230742225115.500473215489
Buckman, Brandon49.33516154100270.435263019284
Christy, Jeff67.2371904550153.279323233364
Fusilier, Brandon57.28218853611297.5163745174314
Gerch, Andy57.3641515572478.517333514233
Gordon, Alex72.3722539422419181.7157966633823
Hightower, Mark18.4001040004.40013131
Ledbetter, Curtis71.3192889218113151.524525515473
Nimmo, Bryce46.207821710224.293191212124
Opitz, Jake52.2561293360348.372191417243
Simokaitis, Joe69.31027786803103.3725337343318
Wehrle, Ryan57.2751494161049.329262521174

Pitching[10]

PlayerAppGSWLSVERACGSHOIPHRERBBSO
Becker, Jeremy1001002.57007.082205
Bohanan, Ryan2111112.790029.0251191022
Chamberlain, Joba181810202.8110118.791443733130
Dorn, Johnny201312212.1610104.07533252176
Duensing, Brian23108003.001184.06928282852
Foust, Matt500012.57007.062235
Harmelink, Mike500003.00006.052248
Jensen, Brett33035161.960046.0361710946
Klausing, Jon20000-002.7800010
Kroenke, Zach20167212.784197.08037302888
Shirek, Phil1474113.320040.74217151026
Timm, Dustin1904112.130038.030139923
Watson, Tony2356112.820044.74120142639
Wertz, Luke1021004.430018.32299518

Awards

Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final 
Coaches'[11] NR NR* NR* NR 21 22 21 16 16 10 11 9 6 5 5 7 5 4 4 4 6 
Baseball America[12] 50 NR NR NR NR NR 23 20 20 17 17 11 8 7 6 7 4 3 4 2 5 
Collegiate Baseball^[13] 31 30 NR 27 18 23 21 9 7 4 10 7 5 5 3 5 4 4 4 3 6 
NCBWA†[14] NR RV RV 32 19 25 20 19 8 8 10 8 6 4 3 6 5 4 4 3 6 
D1Baseball

^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
 † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
 * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

Huskers in the MLB Draft
  • Did not sign

See also

References
  1. "2020 Big 12 Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 4–8. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  2. "Huskers Look to Return to NCAA Regionals in 2005". Huskers.com. 2004-02-14. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  3. "Huskers Name Will Bolt Volunteer Baseball Assistant Coach". Huskers.com. 2004-10-07. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  4. "Husker Baseball Newcomers Ranked Among Nation's Best". Huskers.com. 2004-10-08. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  5. "Huskers Ink Eight During Fall Signing Period". Huskers.com. 2004-11-19. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  6. "Gordon Named to Wallace Award Watch List and to NCBWA Preseason Team". Huskers.com. 2004-11-24. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  7. "2005 Schedule/Results". Huskers.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  8. "Baseball Wraps up Historic Season". Huskers.com. 2005-06-23. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  9. "Nebraska 2004-05 Baseball stats". NCAA. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  10. "2005 University of Nebraska Baseball Statistics". Huskers.com. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  11. "2005 College Baseball Polls". WarrenNolan.com. 2005-06-29. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  12. "Big 12 Baseball Final Season Review Release" (PDF). Big 12. 2005-06-29. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  13. "2005 NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls". Collegiate Baseball. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  14. "News from the 2005 College Baseball Season". NCBWA. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  15. Kaegel, Dick (2005-06-07). "Royals select Gordon with first pick". Royals.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-22. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  16. "2005 First-Year Player Draft Tracker - Round 3". MLB. 2005-06-07. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  17. "2005 First-Year Player Draft Tracker - Round 5". MLB. 2005-06-07. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  18. "2005 First-Year Player Draft Tracker - Round 10". MLB. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  19. "2005 First-Year Player Draft Tracker - Round 18". MLB. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  20. "2005 First-Year Player Draft Tracker - Round 23". MLB. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  21. Feinsand, Mark (2006-06-07). "Yanks' Class of 2006 is complete". New York Yankees. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  22. "Christy Selected by Minnesota Twins". Huskers.com. 2006-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  23. "Three Huskers Added to Husker Draft Total". Huskers.com. 2006-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  24. "Buckman Picked in the 19th Round". Huskers.com. 2006-06-07. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  25. "Foust Drafted by Pirates". Huskers.com. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  26. "Seven Huskers Added to Impressive Draft Haul". Huskers.com. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  27. "Opitz Taken by Chicago Cubs in 12th Round". Huskers.com. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  28. "Dorn Drafted in 15th Round by Florida". Huskers.com. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
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