Husker Leads Team USA to Gold at World Cup

Lincoln ? A former Husker played a major role in helping Team USA to its first Baseball World Cup title since 1974, as Brian Duensing helped USA Baseball end nearly a quarter century of Cuban dominance in the event.

Duensing, who pitched at Nebraska from 2002 to 2005, made two starts for Team USA, going 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA as the United States won the event for the first time since 1974.  The left-hander started the title game against Cuba and took a shutout into the fifth before tiring. Duensing allowed two runs over 4.2 innings and struck out a pair in Team USA’s 6-3 win.

It was Duensing’s second start of the tournament, as he earned the victory in the United States’ 5-1 victory over eventual bronze medalist Japan, allowing one run on three hits over five innings of work. In that outing, he struck out two and scattered three hits.

A third-round pick of the Twins in the 2006 MLB Draft, Duensing enjoyed his share of success in 2007, compiling a 15-6 record between stints in Double-A and Triple-A, seeing most of his action at Triple-A Rochester. He finished the season ranked third in the International League in ERA and eighth in wins this season

During his Husker career, Duensing compiled a 17-2 career record in 45 games, helping the Huskers to a pair of Big 12 titles and College World Series appearances in both 2002 and 2005. In his final year at NU, he was a perfect 8-0 with a 3.00 ERA, as Nebraska swept the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles and won a school-record 57 games.