The 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team was Mike Anderson's third year as head coach. The Huskers played their home games at Hawks Field.
Nebraska posted a 36âÂÂ23 record, with 14 of the losses being by two runs or less as they barely missed their first NCAA regional appearance since 1998. However, the Huskers were the only Big 12 team not shut out during the whole season, and they established a school record and ranked eighth nationally with a .975 fielding percentage shattering the previous best of .971. A few honors include Big 12 player of the years and first-team All-American third baseman Alex Gordon and All-Big 12 selections Zach Kroenke, Curtis Ledbetter and Joe Simokaitis.
During the final weekend of the season, the Huskers were two games behind Baylor in the conference race. Nebraska won its first two games against Kansas State, while Baylor and Missouri split their first two contests, putting the Huskers in position to earn a share of the league crown. Behind Kroenke's complete-game gem on Senior Day, Nebraska posted a 3âÂÂ1 victory, while Missouri capped NU's title hopes by beating Baylor in Waco later that day, giving the two teams a share of the Big 12 crown. The two teams would meet one week later with the Big 12 Tournament title on the line. The game was scoreless until the sixth when Andy Gerch's sacrifice fly plated Gordon for the game's only run. Duensing and Jensen combined on a three-hit shutout to give NU a 1âÂÂ0 win over the Bears and the Huskersâ fourth Big 12 Tourney crown since 1999 and winning the regular-season and tournament titles in the same season for the second time in school history (2001).
During the College World Series in Omaha, trailing 5âÂÂ3 in the ninth inning, the Huskers were down to their last at-bat, looking to extend the season. As they had done 20 times during the season, Nebraska began to rally, opening the inning with two hits before Alex Gordon's RBI single pulled NU within 5âÂÂ4. Two batters later, freshman Andy Gerch sent an 0âÂÂ2 pitch into the left-field bleachers, giving the Huskers a 7âÂÂ5 lead. The lead was short-lived, as Arizona State scored twice in the bottom of the ninth â including a game-tying homer by Jeff Larish â before ending two innings later for an 8âÂÂ7 ASU win.
For head coach Mike Anderson, the heart shown by the Huskers was a characteristic that he saw develop throughout the year. "This was a resilient group all year long," Anderson said. "We fought and fought, and it didnâÂÂt surprise me at all that we scored those runs in the ninth." While its resiliency allowed the Huskers to never be out of a contest, Anderson credited the team's selflessness as the catalyst for going from eighth to first in the Big 12 and returning to the College World Series for the first time since 2002.
For Nebraska's eight seniors, 2005 capped a remarkable five-year run in which NU won 237 games, claimed three Big 12 titles and made three College World Series appearances.
A total of six Huskers were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including four players in the top 10 rounds. Alex Gordon became Nebraska's fifth first-round pick, as he was chosen by Kansas City with the No. 2 overall pick. Brian Duensing and Zach Kroenke joined Gordon as players taken in the first five rounds, as they were picked in the third and fifth rounds, respectively. The trio's selections marked the first time that three Huskers were taken in the first five rounds of the draft.
Pitching
Nebraska relied on the combination of a dominant pitching staff, strong defense and clutch hitting to put together a 57âÂÂ15 record and sweep the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles en route to a berth in the College World Series. The 57 wins topped the previous school mark of 51 set in 2000. The Huskers finished the year ranked as high as fifth in the national polls after opening the year at No. 50 in Baseball America's preseason issue. Also, their No. 2 ranking in Baseball America heading into the College World Series is its highest in any national poll since the 2001 season (a year the Huskers were ranked first for two weeks by Baseball America).
On the mound, Nebraska put together one of the most dominant staffs in Big 12 history. The Huskers ranked second nationally with a Big 12-low 2.69 ERA, the best by a Husker staff since 1969, holding 54 of its 72 opponents to four runs or less tying for the second lowest single-season ERA in school history. It also finished .03 off the Big 12 mark of 2.66 set by Texas in 2004. NU set single-season records for wins (57), saves (23) and strikeouts (538), while holding opponents to a .227 average. The heart of the staff was a four-man rotation of right-handers Joba Chamberlain and Johnny Dorn and southpaws Brian Duensing and Zach Kroenke. They won 15 straight decisions until Johnny Dorn's loss to Florida on June 19 at the College World Series. The quartet combined for a 37âÂÂ6 record, as all earned All-Big 12 honors in 2005.
A transfer from Division II Nebraska-Kearney, Chamberlain went 10âÂÂ2 with a 2.81 ERA en route to third-team All-America honors. The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and a first-team all league pick, Chamberlain was second in the Big 12 with 130 strikeouts and ranked in the top 10 in seven categories. The sophomore right-hander recorded five double-digit strikeout performances, including 15 against New Mexico in just his second start as a Husker. Chamberlain saved his best performance of the year until the Super Regional against Miami, which he fanned 13 and allowed one run over eight innings to out-duel Cesar Carillo in a 3âÂÂ1 win.
Dorn became one of the Big 12's top freshmen, going 12âÂÂ2 to capture third-team All-America honors. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a first-team all conference selection, Dorn went 12âÂÂ2 with a 2.16 ERA, tying for the league lead in wins and ranking among the top five in the Big 12 in wins, ERA and opponent batting average. Dorn was superb in conference play, going 5âÂÂ0 with a 2.08 ERA, as he earned the clinching win in five of NU's eight series victories.
Duensing returned from missing nearly two full seasons with an elbow injury to post an 8âÂÂ0 record and earn All-Big 12 honors. Duensing split time between the rotation and the bullpen, he tossed 7.2 innings of shutout ball at the Big 12 title game, as NU blanked Baylor, 1âÂÂ0, to win the conference tournament title.
Kroenke went 7âÂÂ2 with a 2.82 ERA to pick up second-team all-conference accolades. The Omaha native saved his best efforts for NU's biggest moments, tossing a complete game against Kansas State to help clinch the Big 12 title. Two weeks later, Kroenke struck out a career-high 13 in a complete-game masterpiece against Creighton in the regional title game.
While NU's rotation was the envy of much of college baseball, the Huskers also relied on a talented bullpen led by closer Brett Jensen. The junior ranked third in the country with 16 saves to earn All-Big 12 honors, while set-up man Dustin Timm also earned All-Big 12 honors.
Offense
Offensively, the Huskers were led by the leadership and all-around abilities of third baseman Alex Gordon. A two-time All-American, Gordon made Husker history by becoming the first NU baseball player to be named national player of the year. The junior from Lincoln hit .372 with 19 homers, 66 RBIs and 23 stolen bases, as he topped the Big 12 in six categories and became the first player in seven years to repeat as conference player of the year.
Gordon was one of four hitters to receive All-Big 12 honors in 2005. Senior first baseman Curtis Ledbetter garnered first-team All-Big 12 honors, hitting .319 with 13 homers and 55 RBIs. He ranked fourth in the Big 12 in homers and was named MVP of the Big 12 Tournament, leading NU back to its fourth conference tournament title since 1999.
While Gordon and Ledbetter provided most of the offensive firepower, seniors Joe Simokaitis and Daniel Bruce provided leadership on the field to instrumental roles in 2005.
Simokaitis finished his career as the Big 12's alltime leader in assists and routinely made spectacular plays look routine. A 10th-round pick in the MLB Draft, Simokaitis put together the best offensive year of his career, hitting .310 with three homers, 37 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
Bruce shined in both the classroom and on the diamond in 2005. A second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, he was named Nebraska's Male Student-Athlete of the Year and earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. Bruce also hit .322 with five homers and 32 RBIs to earn All-Big 12 honors.
Fans also turned out in record numbers to watch the Huskers in 2005, as NU averaged a school-record 4,984 fans per home game to rank sixth nationally. Hawks Field drew seven of its 10 largest crowds in 2005, highlighted by a school-record crowd of 8,771 for the Super Regional clinching win over Miami. NU enjoyed immense success at home, going 33âÂÂ4 at its home park, including a perfect 5âÂÂ0 during the NCAA tournament breaking the previous single-season home mark for wins of 29 set five times (1980, 1988, 2002, 2003 and 2008).
While Nebraska was dominant at home, the Huskers put themselves in position to reach the postseason with success on the road. NU went 15âÂÂ6 in road games during the regular season, a total that ranked third nationally. In Big 12 play, the Huskers stayed in contention for the league title, going 8âÂÂ4 away from Hawks Field and winning every conference road series for the first time since 1938.
Nine of Nebraska's 15 losses this season were by one run, as the Huskers finished 11âÂÂ9 in one-run games. After having just one multi-homer game in 2004, Nebraska had eight this season, including four by first baseman/catcher Curtis Ledbetter and two by All-American third baseman Alex Gordon.
Hitting
Pitching
Mike Anderson
Jeremy Becker
Daniel Bruce
Joba Chamberlain
Johnny Dorn
Brian Duensing
Andy Gerch
Alex Gordon
Brett Jensen
Zach Kroenke
Curtis Ledbetter
Phil Shirek
Joe Simokaitis
Dustin Timm
Tony Watson
Ryan Wehrle
2005
2006
2007
2008