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Baseball

Huskers Ranked Eighth in Baseball America Poll

Lincoln - Coming off its first College World Series appearance in school history, the Nebraska baseball team is ranked eighth in the Baseball America poll released Thursday. The Huskers return 18 letterwinners, including five everyday starters and 10 pitchers, from last season's squad that finished with a 50-16 mark and won the Big 12 regular-season title.

The returnees are headed by two-time All-American Shane Komine, who was selected a second-team preseason All-American, as voted on by major league scouting directors. The 5-10, 175-pounder from Honolulu compiled a 14-2 record and a 3.35 ERA in a school-record 131.1 innings last season. His wins (14) and strikeouts (157) are the best of any returning pitcher in Division I, while he holds school records for wins (31), strikeouts (395) and innings pitched (334.1).

He is joined on the third-team by junior Matt Hopper, as NU had two of the Big 12's three preseason All-America selections.

A first-team All-America selection by the Sporting News in 2001, Hopper batted .358 with 12 homers and 85 runs last season. The junior from Morrison, Colo., is a two-time All-Big 12 selection, while his 85 RBIs ranked third nationally and is the highest among any returning collegiate player. In just two seasons, the 6-4, 210-pound first baseman ranks eighth in school history in homers (33, eighth) and RBIs (156, eighth).

The Big 12 is well represented in the poll, as four conference schools, Texas (9th), Baylor (16th) and Oklahoma State (23rd) are all ranked in the preseason top-25. College World Series runner-up Stanford was first in the poll, conducted by the editors of Baseball America, with Clemson, defending CWS champion Miami, Southern California and Notre Dame rounding out the top five. In addition to the three other Big 12 teams, a trio of Husker opponents are also ranked in the top-25, including Rice (11th), Wichita State (12th) and WakeForest (21st).

The Huskers will face Rice and Wake Forest during the first week of the season, as NU travels to Houston, Texas for the Crowne-Plaza/Holiday Inn Rice Invitational Feb. 15-17. Nebraska's first contest at Haymarket Park is scheduled for March 5, against Nebraska-Kearney.

No.

School

2001 Record

1.

Stanford

51-17

2.

Clemson

41-22

3.

Miami

53-12

4.

Southern California

45-19

5.

Notre Dame

49-13

6.

Florida State

47-19

7.

Louisiana State

44-22

8.

Nebraska

50-16

9.

Texas

36-26

10.

Tulane

56-13

11.

Rice

47-20

12.

Wichita State

42-24

13.

Georgia Tech

41-20

14.

South Carolina

49-20

15.

Cal State Fullerton

48-18

16.

Baylor

37-24

17.

Mississippi State

39-24

18.

Arizona State

37-20

19.

North Carolina

31-26

20.

Mississippi

39-23

21.

Wake Forest

44-18

22.

Cal State Northridge

34-22

23.

Oklahoma State

42-22

24.

Washington

29-23

25.

Rutgers

42-17