2008 Woodie Awards
Husker baseball optimistic after Stanford series
Spencer Schubert
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Sports
It was a cloudy, hazy and rainy weekend for the Nebraska baseball team, but after its season-opening series with Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., was finally completed, NU's coach said the future of the squad is clear and bright.
Nebraska (1-2) won just one of three games against Stanford (2-1), which has been a perennial college baseball power, but it was a series that Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson said taught him a lot about his team.
"We competed hard," Anderson said. "Our drive was very strong, and I loved the way our kids competed. We scrapped, and for us to come back and win game two was great."
The two teams had met only five times before last weekend, with Stanford holding a 4-1 advantage through those five games. In fact, last weekend was the first time the two teams took the field against each other in the regular season since 1993.
Anderson said it's a matchup that could become something of a rivalry between two baseball powers.
"Playing at this level helps our kids understand the level of play at its best," Anderson said. "Each weekend we are going to challenge ourselves, which helps us make the kids adjust to the level of high play."
The series kicked off on Friday as the two teams hooked up for a doubleheader involving designated hitters. The Huskers arrived in Palo Alto knowing they hadn't lost a season opener for the last 7 years, but the Cardinals changed that abruptly.
Stanford led 17-0 through six innings.
"It's almost a thing that you couldn't believe," said NU sophomore DJ Belfonte. "It's like a bad dream. I can't explain the feeling I had; it wasn't a great feeling, I'll tell you that. Once the game was over we just looked at each other and said 'Thank God, that game is over.'"
It was a barrage led by Stanford's Cord Phelps, who launched two home runs, one of them being a shot to start the game. Phelps added a second homer to go with four RBIs. Eight other Cardinal players also had at least one run batted in.
NU didn't let the 17-0 lead stand long, as the seventh inning saw the Huskers fight back to try to make it a game. Senior Mitch Abeita launched a home run, followed by assistance from fellow senior Jake Opitz who plated a couple of runs with his bat as well.
The comeback amounted to seven total runs through the last three innings, but NU was still 10 down and couldn't close the gap. The loss was credited to senior Thad Weber, who falls to 0-1 this season.
The loss was a tough one to take for the Huskers, considering it was the team's first-ever loss on opening day with Anderson as coach.
"I think we were shell-shocked, getting our team outside for the first time," Anderson said. "The rain was more of a problem than being outside, though, and you still have to go out and do the things right."
Game two turned around the fortunes for the Big Red in the Friday nightcap, however, as the Huskers stormed to a 9-2 win behind the arm of standout senior pitcher Johnny Dorn.
Dorn led the series to a 1-1 tie after he pitched six innings and collected seven strikeouts while facing 24 batters. Stanford starter Erik Davis faced 19 NU batters through just two and 2/3 innings of work.
The tough Nebraska defense turned out to complement the offense well in game two. After putting up seven runs in game one, the nine runs in game two showed that NU was swinging well.
At one stretch from the end of game one through the entirety of game two, NU had outscored Stanford 16-2, which Anderson said showed him how competitive his team can be at such a high level.
The headliner at the plate turned out to be Belfonte for the Huskers, as he went 4-for-6, tallying four RBIs. Other RBIs came from freshman Ben Kline, junior Jake Mort and Abeita who helped spur the NU route.
It was a win that Belfonte said was something he almost expected after the shock of game one.
"When you get knocked down, we knew we had to come back with a punch," Belfonte said. "We knew we had to respond with something like that and we knew Johnny (Dorn) was going to give a great performance."
The momentum seemed to be carrying over to game three (which became the final game because of poor weather), as the Huskers led 1-0 heading into the seventh inning. That was when Stanford attacked, however, plating four runs in the inning to take a 4-1 lead, which later turned into a 4-2 win.
Nebraska now looks forward to its first home series of the year when it will take on UC Riverside in a three-game series in Lincoln over the weekend.
After a tough, gritty series with Stanford, Belfonte said coming home will be an all-too-welcome sight for the team.
"I absolutely love playing in Lincoln," Belfonte said. "It's an awesome environment when you play at home. There's no other place that puts a better atmosphere together."
spencerschubert@dailynebraskan.com
Nebraska (1-2) won just one of three games against Stanford (2-1), which has been a perennial college baseball power, but it was a series that Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson said taught him a lot about his team.
"We competed hard," Anderson said. "Our drive was very strong, and I loved the way our kids competed. We scrapped, and for us to come back and win game two was great."
The two teams had met only five times before last weekend, with Stanford holding a 4-1 advantage through those five games. In fact, last weekend was the first time the two teams took the field against each other in the regular season since 1993.
Anderson said it's a matchup that could become something of a rivalry between two baseball powers.
"Playing at this level helps our kids understand the level of play at its best," Anderson said. "Each weekend we are going to challenge ourselves, which helps us make the kids adjust to the level of high play."
The series kicked off on Friday as the two teams hooked up for a doubleheader involving designated hitters. The Huskers arrived in Palo Alto knowing they hadn't lost a season opener for the last 7 years, but the Cardinals changed that abruptly.
Stanford led 17-0 through six innings.
"It's almost a thing that you couldn't believe," said NU sophomore DJ Belfonte. "It's like a bad dream. I can't explain the feeling I had; it wasn't a great feeling, I'll tell you that. Once the game was over we just looked at each other and said 'Thank God, that game is over.'"
It was a barrage led by Stanford's Cord Phelps, who launched two home runs, one of them being a shot to start the game. Phelps added a second homer to go with four RBIs. Eight other Cardinal players also had at least one run batted in.
NU didn't let the 17-0 lead stand long, as the seventh inning saw the Huskers fight back to try to make it a game. Senior Mitch Abeita launched a home run, followed by assistance from fellow senior Jake Opitz who plated a couple of runs with his bat as well.
The comeback amounted to seven total runs through the last three innings, but NU was still 10 down and couldn't close the gap. The loss was credited to senior Thad Weber, who falls to 0-1 this season.
The loss was a tough one to take for the Huskers, considering it was the team's first-ever loss on opening day with Anderson as coach.
"I think we were shell-shocked, getting our team outside for the first time," Anderson said. "The rain was more of a problem than being outside, though, and you still have to go out and do the things right."
Game two turned around the fortunes for the Big Red in the Friday nightcap, however, as the Huskers stormed to a 9-2 win behind the arm of standout senior pitcher Johnny Dorn.
Dorn led the series to a 1-1 tie after he pitched six innings and collected seven strikeouts while facing 24 batters. Stanford starter Erik Davis faced 19 NU batters through just two and 2/3 innings of work.
The tough Nebraska defense turned out to complement the offense well in game two. After putting up seven runs in game one, the nine runs in game two showed that NU was swinging well.
At one stretch from the end of game one through the entirety of game two, NU had outscored Stanford 16-2, which Anderson said showed him how competitive his team can be at such a high level.
The headliner at the plate turned out to be Belfonte for the Huskers, as he went 4-for-6, tallying four RBIs. Other RBIs came from freshman Ben Kline, junior Jake Mort and Abeita who helped spur the NU route.
It was a win that Belfonte said was something he almost expected after the shock of game one.
"When you get knocked down, we knew we had to come back with a punch," Belfonte said. "We knew we had to respond with something like that and we knew Johnny (Dorn) was going to give a great performance."
The momentum seemed to be carrying over to game three (which became the final game because of poor weather), as the Huskers led 1-0 heading into the seventh inning. That was when Stanford attacked, however, plating four runs in the inning to take a 4-1 lead, which later turned into a 4-2 win.
Nebraska now looks forward to its first home series of the year when it will take on UC Riverside in a three-game series in Lincoln over the weekend.
After a tough, gritty series with Stanford, Belfonte said coming home will be an all-too-welcome sight for the team.
"I absolutely love playing in Lincoln," Belfonte said. "It's an awesome environment when you play at home. There's no other place that puts a better atmosphere together."
spencerschubert@dailynebraskan.com
Be the first to comment on this story