Duensing to Undergo Surgery; Miss Remainder of 2004 Season

Lincoln ? University of Nebraska Baseball Coach Mike Anderson announced Tuesday evening that sophomore pitcher Brian Duensing will undergo Tommy John surgery on his left elbow and will miss the remainder of the 2004 campaign. Anderson said that the date and location of the surgery have not been set.

"It is disappointing to see Brian work this hard in his rehabilitation and still have to undergo surgery," Anderson said. "Our main concern is for Brian’s health, and we want to see him have a complete recovery."

The left-hander from Omaha went 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts in 2003, before being sidelined with an elbow injury last March. Duensing’s best start came against seventh-ranked Wake Forest, when he fired a complete-game six-hitter with nine strikeouts in a 6-0 win over the Demon Deacons.

As a freshman, Duensing earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball, going 6-2 with a 4.73 ERA in 18 appearances, including 12 starts, helping the Huskers to 47 wins and an appearance in the College World Series.

The Huskers, 5-1 on the season and ranked as high as 14th in the national polls, will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., this weekend for the Dairy Queen Baseball Classic. NU will face No. 22 Florida State, Minnesota and West Virginia during the three-day tournament.

-- Huskers.com --