[Husker] Baseball (Long, but hopefully good)

[Skylar Dodds]

Hello Husker Fans,

  Someone started it, so I'll run with it.  Here's some notes about
  the upcoming baseball season:

  Possible Lineup
  ===============
  1) LF - Nick Sullivan - Very decent hitter, .318 last year with 2
  homers

  2) SS - Ryan Wehrle - He's really good, led the team last year with
  a .368 avg, also put in 8 homers and 48 RBIs

  3) RF - Andy Gerch - Kind of had a rough stretch at the end of the
  year, finishing with a .290 avg.  Hopefully Anderson will have him
  ready to play.

  4) 1B / DH - Andrew Brown - Another good hitter, didn't have much
  room in the lineup this year, will be a big impact for 2007.  I
  would guess in the 15-20 homer 40-50 RBI category.

  5) C - Jeff Lanning - Hit .300 in spot duty, in HS his Senior season
  hit .509 with 14 Homers and 48 RBIs

  6) 2B - Jake Opitz - Hit .293 last year with 2 homers and a .385 OBP
  (May see him closer to the top, depending on what happens between
  now and then)

  7) CF - Bryce Nimmo - Bryce had a tough finish last year, hitting
  barely over .200 the second half of the season.  There was a time
  when he was competing for the top avg on the team and I'm hoping we
  can get that back.

  8) 3B - Jake Mort / Steve Edlefsen - I expect Jake and Steve to
  fight for this spot again and maybe the other in some DH duties.

  9) DH Mort / Edlefsen - Who knows!

  
  Other players (newcomers) to possibly make an impact:
  =====================================================

  John Lee (OF) - Not a bad all around player, the lefty hit .444 with
  4 homers, 28 RBIs and 59 runs as a Sr in HS

  Marc Hightower and Dominic Piazza should compete for the catcher
  job, although I think it's Lanning's to lose.

  
  Pitching
  ========

  Starting:
  Watson, Dorn, Shirek - all should be solid. As for mid week it's
  pretty wide open with Radmacher or Wertz probably in the lead. There
  are probably 3 or 4 other legitimate mid week starters and the fall
  will probably decide who gets a real shot.

  Relievers:
  Herr, Bird should be our top relievers and Foust, Klausing, Wertz or
  Radmacher will fill in if not starting.

  Closer:
  ??  Anyone want to replace a guy like Jensen?

  Young Arms with a lot of potential:
  Jr  Matt Foust (2004: Injury, 2005: 2.57 ERA/5 App, 2006: 3.18 ERA/3 App)
  RFr Mike Nihsen (Sr HS: 5-3 2.27 ERA 68 Ks)
  So  Drew Schwab (Sr HS: 7-1 1.70 ERA 58 Ks)
  So  Tim Scott (Sr HS: 10-1 0.44 ERA 116 Ks)
  RFr Wes Simmons (Sr HS: 0.17 ERA 105 Ks / 11 BBs)

  All of these guys have legitimate talent, but it's tough to predict
  which one will show something.

  
  Key Losses
  ==========
  Bohanan, Jaros, Joba, Gorsett, Buckman, Christy, Jensen

  All will be tough to replace.  Bohanan and Jaros hurt the most, IMHO
  because they were expected to contribute heavily to this year's
  team.  Oh well, what can you do.


  Summary
  =======
  Should be a good season.  I really think last year's team had more
  talent and had it not been for a black hole hitting Hawks field last
  year, I think they had a real shot at winning some postseason games.
  Our hitting might not be as good, though, but I think we still have
  the potential to be a top 2 or 3 team in the Big XII.  My guess is a
  regional host and (if we make it) a Super Regional travel.

  I know this sounds weird, but I think our pitching might be stronger
  this year.  Joba was not himself late last year and our young arms
  should be coming along.  We have some very good talented pitchers
  that just couldn't find room in the lineup to throw last year.

  Overall, I'm quite excited to see what these boys can do and see
  what Anderson can do with this young talent.
  
-- 
Go Skers,
 Skylar                            mailto:Sklarbodds at cox.net