Grose's year has been a bumpy ride

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by curt mckeever

The pain John Grose is trying to mask is much different than last season, when a stress injury in his right elbow forced him from catching and limited him at the plate for most of the final six weeks.

This stinging sensation the senior co-captain carries into the Nebraska baseball team's final regular-season series against 18th-ranked Oklahoma at Haymarket Park this weekend comes from the Huskers being in territory that's about as unfamiliar to them as Grose's .213 batting average is to him.

Unranked for the first time since the 2000 season, NU sits with a 34-19 record, the same as the Sooners.

OU, though, is 17-7 in the Big 12 Conference, just a half-game behind first-place Texas. Nebraska, on the other hand, is just 10-14 and can finish no higher than seventh. The fact the Huskers will wind up under .500 in league play for the first time since 1998 and finish below second for the first time in five years also has impaired their hopes of making a sixth straight NCAA regional.

"Every year is not going to be just an easy, smooth, downhill ride all the way to the playoffs," said Grose, who two seasons ago played a key role in getting Nebraska to a second straight College World Series. "This year has definitely been real tough. The best we can do is just keep competing and take it into the playoffs. Right now, we're up again, and hopefully we can stay up all the way through the weekend."

Even if that would occur, it might be a too-little, too-late case for the Huskers. Barring a Big 12 Tournament championship, they'd have to bank on an at-large bid to the NCAAfield. And in the last two years, there have been just three teams finish under .500 in league play -Florida and Arkansas last year and Arkansas in 2002 -that received such a berth.

"If we can get our foot in the door in the regionals, it's never too late," Grose said. "Anything can happen. . . like last year (with)Southwest Missouri State. They packed in their uniforms (after the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament). They weren't going to go anywhere, then all of a sudden they're in the College World Series."

But first things first. And for Nebraska, Grose maintain success hinges on an every-pitch, every-at-bat focus.

To his credit, he seems to be joining fellow senior captains Justin Pekarek and Jake Mullinax in taking the lead roles to that approach. Although Grose's uncharacteristic struggles at the plate lasted too long for him to erase, in the past seven games he's batted .355, hit three of his six home runs and driven in 10 of his 27 runs.

"Everything was primed for him to have a monster year and be the guy to lead this team back to the College World Series and ride off in the sunset," NUassistant Andy Sawyers said. "Our team stuff is yet to be finalized, but he has not had the kind of year that we all thought he'd have. It's hard to lead when you're not playing good.

"But I'm proud of how he's handled it. I think he came to a point where he said, 'My numbers aren't going to get great,' and he just focused on 'How could Ihelp this team win?' Ithink when you do that, it's going to help your play, too."

Grose's recent surge could provide a needed difference for a team that has gotten consistency from its other two captains.

Pekarek, a fifth-year Husker from nearby Staplehurst whose career has been riddled with injury, is 7-1 with a 3.34 earned-run average. During Tuesday's 12-1 win against Creighton, he struck out a career-high nine while blanking the Bluejays over a career-long seven innings. Pekarek has now gone 24 straight without allowing a run.

And Mullinax, though 0-for-his-last-12, is batting .328 with eight homers. He hit none last year.

"Johnny's the go-getter. Pekarek, he's pretty even keel. And Mullie's the married, mature guy," Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said. "It's a good combination."

Sophomore third baseman Alex Gordon applauds each for their attempts to lead. But no technique speaks louder than on-field performance, so naturally Gordon is cranked up about the decible level currently being produced by Grose and Co.

"It's a good thing that it's happening at the end of the season," he said of their production, "because we need to get hot and play well."

Added Pekarek, "We all want to leave here on good terms, and Ithink you're going to see wherever we go, whatever the results, we're going to lay it on the line every time we get out there. Hopefully, it's going to come around. It's been a tough season. I've never felt nothing like it, but you've gotta get over it."

Or at least believe better things are coming.

"Things are going to break. When you're as talented as we are, something's going to happen and we're going to start rolling," Grose said. "You've got to give credit to this team. We haven't once given up. There's a lot of teams we've faced in the past three years that, man, when the season was towards an end they didn't care any more. Our team, we want to win. We don't care if we're a below-.500 team or the best team, we're still going to come out and compete."

n Oklahoma needs one more win this weekend than Texas, which plays Texas A&M(twice in College Station and once in Austin), to snare its first league title since 1995. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech also have outside shots at winning or sharing the Big 12 crown, but both teams need sweeps and outside help. The Longhorns, Sooners and Cowboys are the only teams with a shot to be the top seed at next week's Big 12 Tournament.

n Nebraska has won 18 of the last 21 games against OU. The Huskers are 18-6 at home this year, 2-2 against ranked teams.

n Left-handed sophomore Zach Kroenke (7-3, 2.92) and right-handed junior Phil Shirek (5-1, 3.36) will be NU's starting pitchers tonight and Saturday, respectively. The Huskers' starter for Sunday will be determined by how the bullpen is used the first two games. OU's starting rotation is left-handed junior David Purcey (7-4, 2.76), and right-handed seniors Mark Roberts (8-4, 3.53)and Mike Swindell (4-2, 6.05).

n Gordon enters the weekend second in the league with 17 homers, one behind Kansas' Travis Metcalf. AHusker has led the Big 12 in that category each of the past four seasons (Matt Hopper last year, Jed Morris in 2002, Dan Johnson in 2001 and Johnson and Hopper in 2000).

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@;journalstar.com.