Huskers highlight 2005 Bruins' roster

When the Beatrice Bruins baseball team takes the field for the first time, area fans will have a chance to get a sneak peak at the 2006 Nebraska baseball team.

While the current Huskers will be looking to send the Miami Hurricanes packing this weekend and secure a trip to Omaha and the College World Series, a number of future Nebraska players will be opening the season with the Bruins, who play their first game Sunday at Parkville, Mo., and open their home season next Wednesday against the St. Joseph, Mo., Saints.

Bruins manager Bob Steinkamp said the local program has a good working relationship with the Nebraska coaches.

"The Nebraska coaches think the Bruins program is a huge benefit to not only their recruiting but for helping get these kids ready to play in Lincoln," Steinkamp said. "Obviously, if they can play at Nebraska, having them is also a great benefit to us.

"It's a two-way street."

Five players who have committed to playing at Nebraska next year and are on the Bruins roster this summer include infielder Steve Edlefsen, a native of Bloomington, Minn., who played at Barton County (Kan.) Community College; outfielder Luke Gorsett, a Denver native, who played at Garden City (Kan.) Community College; catcher Jesse Shriner, a Littleton, Colo., native, who played at Lamar (Colo.) Community College; outfielder Nick Jaros, a native of Platte County, Mo., who played at Maple Woods (Mo.) Community College; and left-handed pitcher Jared Cranston, a native of Colby, Kan., who played at Seward County (Kan.) Community College.

Edlefsen will start out at second base for the Bruins, Steinkamp said. He was sidelined during the spring season after having off-season elbow surgery.

"He (Edlefsen) will be one of Nebraska's starting infielders next year," Steinkamp said, "at second or third base."

Steinkamp said Edlefsen has an outstanding arm and is a great hitter, who can "do everything."

Gorsett led the nation in home runs at the junior college level with 23, Steinkamp said.

Steinkamp said Gorsett is a power hitter, who hits in the upper-.300s for average.

"He (Gorsett) is a good outfielder and has the best arm of any of our outfielders," Steinkamp said.

Shriner will be one of two catchers on the Bruins' roster.

"He (Shriner) put up tremendous numbers at Lamar Community College and was an All-American," Steinkamp said.

Steinkamp projects Jaros as the starting center fielder for Nebraska next season.

Jaros is a "well-put-together kid" at 5-11 and 205, who runs a 6.4 60-yard dash, Steinkamp said. "He can really run and will be the fastest player on the team," Steinkamp said. "He's a good bunter and we'll probably use him as our leadoff hitter."

Cranston, Steinkamp said, will be a "front-line guy" for the Bruins. He throws 90-91 mph from the leftside and has a great knuckle curveball, Steinkamp said.

Steinkamp said Cranston has a chance to be in Nebraska's starting rotation next year.

Earlier this week, Cranston was drafted by the San Francisco Giants, but has not signed and is in Beatrice to start the summer season, Steinkamp said.

All five of the new recruits will play a lot for the Huskers next season, Steinkamp said.

Four of the Huskers' current young stars are also scheduled to join the Bruins once Nebraska's season ends.

According to NCAA regulations, no more than four members of a current Division I team can play together on a summer squad. That regulation doesn't extend to new recruits, however.

Sophomore pitcher Joba Chamberlain, who threw the win for Nebraska over Miami Friday in the opening round of the Super Regionals in Lincoln, and redshirt freshman pitcher Tony Watson, along with freshman infielder Ryan Wehrle and redshirt freshman outfielder Andy Gerch, will all be playing in Beatrice.

With Chamberlain and Watson on the staff, as well as some other talented arms, Steinkamp said pitching will be one of the strengths for the Bruins.

"We know Joba Chamberlain can pitch for anybody in the country," Steinkamp said. "He's come out of nowhere in the last year."

Watson has a chance to be in the Huskers' weekend rotation next season, Steinkamp said.

Drafted out of high school by the Florida Marlins, Watson turned down "a lot of money" to play at Nebraska, Steinkamp said, adding Watson holds most of the Iowa state high school pitching records.

Wehrle played for the Bruins last summer and returns again this season as the team's shortstop.

Steinkamp said Wehrle did a "great job" for the program last year, leading the Bruins in hitting after coming right out of high school.

"He (Wehrle) started off slow at Nebraska this year, but he's been one of the two or three best hitters they've had in the last 20-25 games," Steinkamp said.

Last weekend, Gerch was named as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Regional Tournament, which Nebraska hosted in Lincoln.

"(Gerch) didn't play a lot early, but boy has he come on," Steinkamp said. "I thought he should have been the MVP in the Big 12 Tournament, too."

Gerch is a hard-nosed player who is very intense, Steinkamp said. "His biggest plus is he can hit," Steinkamp said.

With the four Nebraska players not reporting until later, Steinkamp said the Bruins will start out with a short roster.

Steinkamp said he doesn't like to bring too many players into the summer program, however.

"You want to be able to play them and keep them happy," Steinkamp said. "They're usually happy if they get to play."

Other players on the Bruins roster include:

Andrew Shive, pitcher, Bakersfield, Calif., College of Southern Idaho. At 6-6, 265 pounds, Steinkamp said Shive can throw 94 mph.

Ray Bearden, catcher, Scottsboro, Ala., Jacksonville State. A "big kid" for a catcher at 6-3, Steinkamp said his college coaches say he's an excellent defensive catcher and has good power offensively.

Nick Dashnaw, third baseman, Agua Dulce, Calif., Masters College. A late addition to the Bruins roster, Steinkamp said he should be able to have a positive impact on the team.

Kevin Deao, outfielder, Omaha, Independence (Mo.) Community College. Steinkamp said Deao had a "good year" at Independence, hitting .360 with several home runs. He has better-than-average speed, Steinkamp said.

Justin Grabouski, outfielder, Beatrice, Midland Lutheran College. Hurt much of the spring season, Steinkamp said Grabouski will be looked to fill in where needed for the Bruins. Along with being an outfielder, he will be the team's third catcher and work with pitchers in the bullpen.

Dion Parks, first baseman, Steinauer, Highland (Kan.) Community College. Steinkamp said Parks, who has improved greatly over the past year, will play at lot of first base for the Bruins. "He's in the best shape I've ever seen him in and he hit .300 this spring," Steinkamp said.

Dustin Vetrovsky, infielder, Beatrice, Peru State College. A Beatrice native, Steinkamp said he "admired" what he did at Peru State. "He just kept getting better and better every year," Steinkamp said. "He really worked hard and hit .303 this past spring."

Dan Burkhart, pitcher, West Palm Beach, Fla., Bellevue University. He played for the Bruins at the end of last summer and can throw 92 mph. "He has a really good curveball, slider and change-up," Steinkamp said.

Adam Hair, pitcher, Austin, Texas, Navarro (Texas) Community College. He is a "situational left-hander," Steinkamp said, who isn't overpowering, but has a "rubber" arm.

Ivan Lopez, pitcher, Sylmar, Calif., California State-Northridge. A few years ago, Steinkamp said he saw Lopez at a prospects camp in Los Angeles when he was still in high school. "There was 85 kids or so there and he impressed me the most of all of them," Steinkamp said.

Jacoby Marshall, pitcher, Warrenton, Ore., Dakota Wesleyan University. Steinkamp said Marshall has been one of the best pitchers in the Great Plains Athletic Conference for several years. He throws in the 90-92 mph range and can "throw strikes," Steinkamp said.

Seth Svoboda, pitcher, Kearney, Independence (Mo.) Community College. A returnee from the 2004 Bruins team, Svoboda has committed to playing at the Unveristy of Nebraska-Kearney next season.

Adam Timbrook, pitcher, Independence, Mo., Maple Woods (Mo.) Community College. After throwing in briefly in one game for the Bruins last season, Timbrook was injured and had elbow surgery which kept him off the field this spring.

As for the past 30-plus years, the Bruins will be managed by Bob Steinkamp.

Steinkamp will be assisted this summer by pitching coach Ron Cullison and assistant coaches Vince DiMaggio and Mark Mancuso.

The Bruins will again be playing in the MINK (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas) League.

Beatrice will play each of the other league teams four times during the regular season for a 28-game league schedule.

"We have an eight-team league this year instead of five, which will make it a lot more interesting," Steinkamp said.

Joining the MINK League this season will be the Omaha Varsity Gold, which will include players from Creighton University and Iowa Western Community College, the Topeka Golden Giants and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes-sponsored Kansas City Grays.

Other teams continuing in the league will be the Parkville (Mo.) Sluggers, the Clarinda (Iowa) A's, the St. Joseph (Mo.) Saints and the Chillicothe (Mo.) Mudcats.

"The league will be very, very competitive," Steinkamp said. "It always is."

The Bruins will also have several non-league games during the summer. "We've sprinkled in a few non-league games here and there," Steinkamp said.

By design, Steinkamp said the Bruins are starting their season a little later than previous seasons.

One of the reasons for the later start in the unavailability of the current Nebraska players early.

"The University of Nebraska players are going to be real important this year and I had a good feeling they would probably still be playing now, so we moved our starting back as far as we really could," Steinkamp said.

Another reason for the late start was Steinkamp's commitment to work for the Seattle Mariners as a regional scout through the Major League Baseball Draft, which was held earlier this week.

While Steinkamp shortened the Bruins season up a little at the start, he's hoping for a lengthy run once the team gets going.

In addition to regular-season action, the Bruins will be playing in the NBC Regional Tournament in Clarinda, Iowa, July 22-27, working toward a berth in the NBC World Series, Aug. 1-15, in Wichita, Kan.

"We hope to get to Wichita," Steinkamp said. "That's one of our big goals. On paper this is a pretty good ball club and we'd like to get to the national tournament in Wichita."