Huskers fall out of NCAA tournament with loss to Oral Roberts
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Nebraska ended the 2008 season looking like the baseball team it was projected to be — not much of a threat.
The Huskers — who after being picked by Big 12 Conference coaches to finish sixth in the league gritted their way to a 40-14-1 regular-season record that got them a home NCAA regional — were no match for Oral Roberts left-hander Kelly Minissale and were eliminated by the Golden Eagles 8-0 at Haymarket Park on Sunday afternoon.
The outcome came exactly five years after NU suffered its only other shutout in Haymarket — a 7-0 loss to Southwest Missouri State in the 2003 NCAA regional championship game.
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It also meant that for the third time in their last four tries, the Huskers failed to advance beyond a home regional.
“You’re going to ask 63 coaches that same question, and there’s going to be one that has the right answer,” coach Mike Anderson said about discovering a magic formula that will bring about a better ending. “Those are the odds of that whole thing. I wish we had the magic formula, and some day maybe we will.”
Looking like it was still struggling to put Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to UC Irvine behind it, Nebraska managed just a seventh-inning single by Tyler Farst and Jake Opitz’s ninth-inning single against the senior Minissale.
He would be pulled after walking Tyler Farst with one out, but Michael Jarman, after issuing a walk to DJ Belfonte, struck out Craig Corriston and got Dan Johnston on a fielder’s choice grounder to preserve the shutout.
In his previous outing on May 13, Minissale had tossed a complete-game shutout at Wichita State. His only other win this season also was a complete-game effort against Arkansas. Sunday’s performance by the Golden Eagles’ regular center fielder and No. 2 hitter extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 171/3.
“He’s our best outfielder, and what we’ve tried to do with Kelly is pitch him against all of the premier (nonconference) clubs … because we knew we were going to need him in the regionals,” ORU coach Rob Walton said. “… So I really wasn’t too concerned about him performing well in this environment.
“Regardless, it takes a special mind-set, a special makeup, confidence, determination. It’s just one of the best performances I’ve had as a head coach in a very tough condition.”
Oral Roberts won for the 13th time in 14 games to earn a rematch against UC Irvine Sunday night, but then lost to the Anteaters again to finish the season 48-14.
Nebraska (41-16-1) lost for only the fifth time in 35 home games and ended the year on a 2-7 note.
The Huskers and Long Beach State were the only two of the 16 No. 1 seeds to not reach the regional championship round.
Why did Nebraska fall into that category?
For starters, NU pitching gave up at least 10 hits in all three of its regional games. The Huskers also were the only team in the first five games not to produce that many in a contest, and they did it twice.
Their last two games represented the two-lowest run totals at home this season and marked the first time in 36 contests at Haymarket that they hadn’t scored at least three runs.
“It’s such a hard game, and there’s so many things that factor into the outcome of a game,” senior second baseman Jake Opitz said. “Just things carrying over — everything.”
Sunday’s final was the second-most lopsided loss Nebraska has suffered in Haymarket (Kansas won a game 14-3 in 2002).
When Michael Notaro hit a three-run homer off Thad Weber to make it 6-0 in the third inning, it represented the largest deficit NU faced at home in 2008.
For once, there was no fight left in a team that all year lived by a never-say-die spirit.
“This game can be an extremely humbling game, and obviously that is the case today, but this day won’t represent to me what this group of kids represents,” said Anderson, whose bloodshot eyes provided added meaning to his words.
“It’s a real tough group of kids to let go. But I’d say this — they’re probably a group of kids that are more ready for the world than a lot of others that have come through here. … They’re going to be just fine as they move on.”
Even after a performance like Sunday’s.
“We left it all on the field. I’m happy to say that, because it’s true,” Opitz said. “People wrote us off before the year even started. We come out with 41 wins … just a group of 35 guys that pulled together and believed in one thing. Outstanding.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
