Huskers hoping for more pop in their bats in '07

LINCOLN (AP) - Nebraska baseball coach Mike Anderson on Monday compared his team's collapse in last year's NCAA regional to the New York Yankees' offensive struggles in the 2006 American League playoffs, but said he likes his chances if Nebraska hosts another regional in June.

“I like our chances again if we're sitting in a regional with a high RPI,” Anderson said. “We put ourselves in that position last year. It didn't end the way we wanted. But we put ourselves in a position.”

Nebraska will have to play well on the road to start the season to earn an NCAA regional and a national seed. The Huskers will spend the first five weekends on the road, starting with the UTA Invitational in Arlington, Texas on Feb. 16.

“The first five weeks are extremely important to us,” Anderson said. “We've got to do a good job of keeping our kids on a positive note. We want to put them in a position where they can survive on the road.”

Nebraska returns 22 players to a team picked to finish third in the Big 12 in a preseason poll of conference coaches. The Huskers finished 42-17 last year, ending the season with losses to Manhattan and San Francisco in the June regional.

Anderson said like the Yankees, the Huskers need to make changes to prevent another collapse this year.

“For the professional level, they should make some trades,” he said. “We're college baseball. We're going to take the Bryce Nimmos and Johnny Dorns and try to make them better. Hopefully the end of last year is something they can learn from.”

Junior outfielder Andy Gerch said the team has already learned from last year's losses.

“I think it affected the way we worked,” Gerch said. “We definitely went out and really worked this summer so something like that doesn't happen again. We took the right attitude. It's been beneficial to our team.”

Anderson said the key to this season will be establishing roles on offense and defense for veterans and newcomers.

Three players are competing for time at catcher, with Jeff Lanning atop the list. Three others are competing for the third base job, where Jake Mort is the returning starter, Anderson said.

Nebraska returns three starting pitchers: Tony Watson, Johnny Dorn and Charlie Shirek, with newcomer Drew Bowman challenging for a spot in the rotation.

Eric Bird is expected to replace Brett Jensen as the closer.

Gerch said the Huskers are ready to play ball against someone other than their own teammates.

“We're eating away at each other and getting tired of practice,” he said. “The way it looks now, we're going to be a good team.”