Joe Simokaitis Season 2005

Honors & Awards

• 2005 10th-round Draft Pick (Chicago Cubs)
• 2005 Second-Team All-Big 12
• 2005 All-Big 12 Tournament Team
• 2004 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
• 2003 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
• 2003 Dairy Queen Classic All-Tournament Team

2005: Shortstop Joe Simokaitis was one of two three-year starters that returned to the Husker lineup in 2005 • Earned second-team All-Big 12 honors to finish his Husker career • Had his best offensive season as a Husker, setting career highs in batting average (.310), at bats (277), hits (86), home runs (three), walks drawn (34) and stolen bases (18) • Cemented himself as one of the best defensive shortstops in Husker history, notching 222 assists on the season, topping his own school record of 194 assists in 2003 • Graduated as the school's leader in career assists with 694 over his four-year career • Put together an 18-game hit streak, spanning from Feb. 19 to March 23, and had at least one hit in 20 of the first 21 games of the season • Ended the season on a 15-game hitting streak that spanned through the entire postseason • Drove in two runs on two hits, scored twice and stole a base in the season opener win over Hawaii-Hilo • Recorded six of his 18 total stolen bases in the first six games of the season • Went 3-for-6 with one RBI and four runs scored in a doubleheader sweep over SDSU on April 12 • Notched three hits, two RBIs and scored two runs in a March 15 victory over Northern Colorado • Stole a career-high three bases and scored two runs against Seton Hall on March 20 • Notched three hits and a RBI in victories over Oklahoma on April 29 and Missouri on May 8, while also stealing two bags in the Missouri win • Hit his first and second homers of the season in back-to-back games, coming against Creighton on May 10 and Texas Tech on May 13 • Scored four times and notched four of the Huskers' 23 hits against Missouri on May 28 in the Big 12 Tournament • The 23 hits set a single-game Big 12 Tournament record and were the most by a Husker team since May, 16, 1999 • In the two NCAA Super Regional games, the senior shortstop starred for the Huskers in both wins over Miami, going a combined 4-for-7 with three runs scored, one RBI and his 17th stolen base of the year to send the Huskers to the CWS • Led the team to the first CWS win in school history with two hits and a run scored against Arizona State on June 17. 

2004: Simokaitis continued to be one of the best shortstops in the league, earning honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors for the second straight year • Started 56 of NU’s 59 games, batting .278 with a homer, 33 RBIs and 31 runs scored • Was second on the team with nine stolen bases, while ranking third in doubles (14) and fourth in sacrifices (eight) • Proved to be one of the top defensive shortstops in the league, committing 10 errors and posting a .960 fielding percentage, as Nebraska set a school record with a .975 fielding percentage • Finished with 14 multi-hit games, including a career-high four hits against Kent State on Feb. 22 and Creighton on May 18 • Was the only Husker to record multiple four-hit games in 2004 • Batted .231 with a homer and 11 RBIs and committed just three errors in 123 chances while starting all 27 league games • Recorded his first career four-hit game against Kent State, going 4-for-4 with a then career-best three RBIs • Hit .400 during the Rice Invitational, driving in a pair of runs in a win over North Carolina on Feb. 29 • Continued his early-season success at the Dairy Queen Classic, going 5-for-13 with three runs scored in three games at the Metrodome • Had his best series of the year in the sweep over Boston College, going 8-for-12, including a pair of three-hit games • Had three hits off of first-round pick Chris Lambert, including a game-tying ninth-inning single on March 20 • Followed up his second three-hit day of the weekend and drove in a career-high four runs in the series finale on March 21 • Had his best Big 12 series at top-ranked Texas, going 4-for-10, including a pair of hits in the finale • Consistently delivered timely hits late in the year, picking up all three of his game-winning RBIs in the final month of the season • Delivered a game-winning, two-run single in the ninth in a 4-3 win over Northern Colorado on April 28 • Provided one of the year’s most memorable moments with a three-run homer off Texas A&M ace Jason Meyer to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning in a 4-1 win over the No. 10 Aggies on April 30 • Broke a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the 11th with a game-winning RBI single in a 1-0 win over No. 18 Oklahoma on May 22 • Went 2-for-11 with an RBI at the Big 12 Tournament in Arlington.

2003: Simokaitis moved into the starting shortstop role on a full-time basis, hitting .293 with a homer and 39 RBIs in a team-high 62 contests • Topped NU with 16 sacrifices and was second with nine stolen bases • Also ranked among team leaders in hits (70, third), runs (53, third) and walks (22, fourth) • Broke NU’s single-season record with 194 assists, breaking Bryan Schmidt’s mark of 185 set in 1997 • Played his best defense down the stretch, committing two errors in his final 19 games, including one in the postseason, when he posted a .980 fielding percentage • Got out of the gate quickly, hitting .400 with 15 RBIs in his first 10 contests, including three-hit efforts at Louisiana Tech on Feb. 22 and against Minnesota on March 2 • Selected to the Dairy Queen Classic all-tournament team, batting .500 (6-for-12) with four RBIs and four runs scored over three games, including wins over nationally ranked Wake Forest and Notre Dame • Went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and four runs scored in a win over Minnesota • Enjoyed the longest hitting streak of his career, a 10-game streak from Feb. 22 to March 15 where he hit .405 • Started all 27 conference tilts, batting .271 with 11 RBIs • Had his best conference series against seventh-ranked Texas, hitting .363 (4-for-11) with a pair of multi-hit games • Sparked NU’s sweep of Oklahoma State by going 5-for-14 with four runs scored • Belted his first career homer against Texas Tech, his first in 293 career at-bats • Went 3-for-16 during the Big 12 Tournament before hitting .261 with five RBIs during the NCAA Regional, including a 3-for-5 effort with three RBIs against Southwest Missouri State to advance to the regional title game.

2002: Simokaitis was one of two freshmen to break into the everyday lineup on NU’s College World Series squad • Started 41 games at shortstop, batting .236 with 16 RBIs • Ranked sixth on the team with 41 runs scored and led NU with nine sacrifice bunts • Was a stabilizer on defense, finishing the year with a .941 fielding percentage, committing 12 errors in over 200 total chances • Sparked the Huskers’ run down the stretch, starting the majority of Nebraska’s games during the second half of the year • Recorded his first three-hit game against Creighton on April 16, going 3-for-4 and driving in the game-winning run, a ninth-inning single in a wild 6-5 win • Hit .152 with four RBIs in league games, but played excellent defense, committing one error in 16 contests • Went hitless in five at-bats during the Big 12 Tournament, but drew three walks and had three sacrifices to help NU reach the title game • Was one of the unsung heros of NU’s postseason success, hitting .333 (9-for-27) with nine runs scored and an on-base percentage of .438 during the NCAA Tournament • Broke out of an 0-for-24 slump against Southwest Missouri State in the NCAA Regional title game, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs, against the Bears • Led the Huskers with a .400 average against Richmond, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored in the decisive contest • Continued his hot hitting during the College World Series, going 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored in Omaha.

St. Mary’s High School: Simokaitis enjoyed a stellar career for Coach Dave Wessels at St. Mary’s High School in St. Louis • Was a two-time first-team all-state selection by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association • Led St. Mary’s to a third-place finish in the state as a senior, batting .386 with two homers, 19 RBIs and 24 runs scored, while striking out four times in 87 plate appearances • Was considered the top high school prospect in the state by Baseball America • Tabbed a two-time All-South Metro St. Louis and four-time Archdiocesan Athletic Association honoree, as he hit .420 with seven homers and 43 RBIs as a junior • Earned a total of 12 letters (four each in football, basketball and baseball) • Starred in football, where he was a two-time all-district selection and conference player of the year as a senior • Totaled 1,200 all-purpose yards as a senior, while making 56 tackles and picking off six passes on defense • Selected NU over St. Louis, Wichita State, Southwest Missouri State, Florida and Missouri in baseball, while also being recruited by Missouri and Illinois in football.

Personal: Born on Dec. 27, 1982, in St. Louis, Mo. • Parents are Anthony and Judy Simokaitis • Has three brothers (Tony, Nick and David) and four sisters (Angie, Liz, Amy and Kate) • Majors in communication studies at Nebraska • Comes from an athletic family as his father (Anthony) played football at Missouri while his older brother (Nick) played baseball at Northwestern State under former NU Coach Dave Van Horn.

Career Stats