Steven M. Sipple: Abeita helping to lead NU surge
“You’re a nine-hole hitter swinging like a four-hole hitter!” Nebraska baseball coach Mike Anderson used to not-so-gently inform Husker catcher Mitch Abeita.
Uh, no, it wasn’t a compliment.
A new kid on the team last season, Abeita was determined to prove himself. He took prodigious cuts. He would positively swing out of his shoes. He even connected once — he hit one home run in 133 at-bats. He started 40 games and had an OK season. Just OK. Same goes for his team.
You know where this is going. Abeita is now in fact Nebraska’s four-hole hitter, the cleanup man, and some would suggest he’s the poster boy for this rollicking bunch of never-say-die grinders that appears poised to play deep into June, perhaps even in the June 14-25 College World Series.
Yeah, right, we all saw it coming.
Not that Abeita is blowing anybody away with his power. He has seven home runs, which just happens to lead a Nebraska offense that is dogged and fundamentally sound but probably wouldn’t intimidate your average recreational-league softball squad. He also leads the team with a .340 batting average, and his 37 RBIs rank second. Last season, he hit .286 with 20 RBIs.
The reasons for his improvement?
“Couldn’t tell you,” Abeita says. “Baseball’s a funny game.”
Yeah, baseball’s funny, all right. Life’s kind of funny, too. Abeita learned about life last season, sometimes the hard way.
“He spoke first on everything he did,” Anderson says. “If you tried to instruct, he spoke first. If you tried to help, he spoke first. Mitch needed to listen first. He does that now. He’s done a good job of picking and choosing the times he needs to talk.
“Last year, he was very aggressive and very vocal, and not all of the times were good times to do it. This year, he’s become more mature and more composed and chooses his times to say, ‘Let’s get this done.’
“Good leaders find those times to do it.”
Abeita says having a year in the program under his belt has helped matters (he transferred last season from North Central Texas College). He no longer feels he has to prove himself to teammates and coaches.
Here’s the thing: The kid absolutely personifies this Nebraska team in that he almost seems to will himself to success. He definitely doesn’t wow you with raw talent or extreme athleticism. He stands 6-foot and weighs 185 — sort of small for a Division I catcher. He runs like, well, a catcher.
“He’s not your typical four-hole guy, but we’re not your typical second-place team in the Big 12,” says Nebraska senior pitcher Johnny Dorn. “We’re just scrappy. We just let it all hang out. It’s incredible what we’ve done so far.”
Nebraska takes a record of 38-9-1 into tonight’s game against Creighton (33-17) in Omaha. Picked to finish sixth in the Big 12, the Huskers remain in contention for the regular-season conference crown entering the final weekend of league play. If Big Red fans hadn’t taken to this outfit before this past weekend, they probably became believers Sunday as Anderson’s crew rallied to win both games of a doubleheader against league-leader Texas A&M.
Guess who smacked the game-winning hit in Sunday’s opener?
“Mitch doesn’t get very much credit for as much as he does,” says Nebraska junior right-hander Erik Bird. “He’s playing with a hurt thumb. He’s icing his knees every day after practice and after games. He does a lot of things people don’t see that really get the pitching staff going, let alone what he does with his bat.”
Ice is Abeita’s faithful companion. He applies it to his sore spots. Yes, his knees ache. So does his right arm. His shoulders. His elbow. His back. You get the picture.
Yet Abeita is like his team. He keeps coming at you. Nebraska’s always pressing and pushing and never backing down. It’s cliché, but there’s a lot to it.
Abeita caught all 16 innings of Friday night’s marathon, then all 18 innings Sunday. Anderson never considered substituting.
“I’m tired, but I’m not dead,” Abeita said after Sunday’s sweep, one of the most amazing days in program history. “I can still play.”
Of course he could. But look for Abeita to take tonight off.
“I don’t ask for nothing,” Abeita says. “But that would be nice.”
Abeita isn’t the type to complain much. So, Nebraska’s rather unlikely star in this rather unlikely season was patient with reporters who kept peppering him with questions Sunday as he packed his catcher’s gear into an oversized duffel bag. Yes, this was an appropriate time for Abeita to speak his mind. He’s earned it, by the way, and people are glad to listen.
He no longer has to worry about proving himself to anyone.
“I seem to be doing that these days,” he said quietly.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
Uh, no, it wasn’t a compliment.
A new kid on the team last season, Abeita was determined to prove himself. He took prodigious cuts. He would positively swing out of his shoes. He even connected once — he hit one home run in 133 at-bats. He started 40 games and had an OK season. Just OK. Same goes for his team.
You know where this is going. Abeita is now in fact Nebraska’s four-hole hitter, the cleanup man, and some would suggest he’s the poster boy for this rollicking bunch of never-say-die grinders that appears poised to play deep into June, perhaps even in the June 14-25 College World Series.
Yeah, right, we all saw it coming.
Not that Abeita is blowing anybody away with his power. He has seven home runs, which just happens to lead a Nebraska offense that is dogged and fundamentally sound but probably wouldn’t intimidate your average recreational-league softball squad. He also leads the team with a .340 batting average, and his 37 RBIs rank second. Last season, he hit .286 with 20 RBIs.
The reasons for his improvement?
“Couldn’t tell you,” Abeita says. “Baseball’s a funny game.”
Yeah, baseball’s funny, all right. Life’s kind of funny, too. Abeita learned about life last season, sometimes the hard way.
“He spoke first on everything he did,” Anderson says. “If you tried to instruct, he spoke first. If you tried to help, he spoke first. Mitch needed to listen first. He does that now. He’s done a good job of picking and choosing the times he needs to talk.
“Last year, he was very aggressive and very vocal, and not all of the times were good times to do it. This year, he’s become more mature and more composed and chooses his times to say, ‘Let’s get this done.’
“Good leaders find those times to do it.”
Abeita says having a year in the program under his belt has helped matters (he transferred last season from North Central Texas College). He no longer feels he has to prove himself to teammates and coaches.
Here’s the thing: The kid absolutely personifies this Nebraska team in that he almost seems to will himself to success. He definitely doesn’t wow you with raw talent or extreme athleticism. He stands 6-foot and weighs 185 — sort of small for a Division I catcher. He runs like, well, a catcher.
“He’s not your typical four-hole guy, but we’re not your typical second-place team in the Big 12,” says Nebraska senior pitcher Johnny Dorn. “We’re just scrappy. We just let it all hang out. It’s incredible what we’ve done so far.”
Nebraska takes a record of 38-9-1 into tonight’s game against Creighton (33-17) in Omaha. Picked to finish sixth in the Big 12, the Huskers remain in contention for the regular-season conference crown entering the final weekend of league play. If Big Red fans hadn’t taken to this outfit before this past weekend, they probably became believers Sunday as Anderson’s crew rallied to win both games of a doubleheader against league-leader Texas A&M.
Guess who smacked the game-winning hit in Sunday’s opener?
“Mitch doesn’t get very much credit for as much as he does,” says Nebraska junior right-hander Erik Bird. “He’s playing with a hurt thumb. He’s icing his knees every day after practice and after games. He does a lot of things people don’t see that really get the pitching staff going, let alone what he does with his bat.”
Ice is Abeita’s faithful companion. He applies it to his sore spots. Yes, his knees ache. So does his right arm. His shoulders. His elbow. His back. You get the picture.
Yet Abeita is like his team. He keeps coming at you. Nebraska’s always pressing and pushing and never backing down. It’s cliché, but there’s a lot to it.
Abeita caught all 16 innings of Friday night’s marathon, then all 18 innings Sunday. Anderson never considered substituting.
“I’m tired, but I’m not dead,” Abeita said after Sunday’s sweep, one of the most amazing days in program history. “I can still play.”
Of course he could. But look for Abeita to take tonight off.
“I don’t ask for nothing,” Abeita says. “But that would be nice.”
Abeita isn’t the type to complain much. So, Nebraska’s rather unlikely star in this rather unlikely season was patient with reporters who kept peppering him with questions Sunday as he packed his catcher’s gear into an oversized duffel bag. Yes, this was an appropriate time for Abeita to speak his mind. He’s earned it, by the way, and people are glad to listen.
He no longer has to worry about proving himself to anyone.
“I seem to be doing that these days,” he said quietly.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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