Good piece in the Omaha paper today about AJ
Baseball: Nebraska hitters brace for emerging KSU ace
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - The least of Nebraska's many baseball worries during its skid of poor play has involved the Husker offense.
While allowing 69 runs in six games - its highest total over such a span since 1997 - NU has scored a healthy 54, nine runs per game.
Don't count on quite as much today in the first game of a series-opening doubleheader against Kansas State.
The Wildcats, rarely a factor on the Big 12 stage, arrive at Haymarket Park with junior pitcher A.J. Morris poised to show off the stuff that has built better numbers for him this season than any other pitcher in the country.
Better than much more heralded Big 12 aces Kyle Gibson of Missouri, Chance Ruffin of Texas, Kendal Volz of Baylor and Andrew Oliver of Oklahoma.
Better, even, than San Diego State fireballer Stephen Strasburg, the consensus top prospect nationally who's reputed to demand a $50 million contract after the major league draft in June.
Morris is 7-0 in seven starts with a 0.39 earned-run average. In 462/3 innings, he's allowed two extra-base hits and two earned runs - both on March 10 during an 81/3-inning outing in which he beat Arizona State's All-America ace, Mike Leake.
"I've seen his numbers," NU outfielder Nick Sullivan said. "I've heard about him. But we're excited about it. We really are. It's a good opportunity for us as a group of hitters."
Morris, a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Humble, Texas, last week struck out 10 in a complete-game performance as K-State beat Baylor 7-1 for its first win in Waco in 19 tries. Two weeks ago Morris earned an 8-1 win over Oklahoma, the league's best hitting team, and struck out 12 in eight innings.
Two days later, the Sooners scored 29 runs against Kansas State in seven innings.
The most unusual part? Morris came from virtually nowhere. He pitched in midweek games last year, posting a 6.04 ERA. Before this season, he was 8-6 in his collegiate career.
Nebraska has hardly seen him. Morris threw 22/3 scoreless innings of relief last year against the Huskers in a 5-2 NU win at the Big 12 tournament.
The Huskers, in fact, possess no film of new-and-improved Morris.
"Obviously, he's on a mission," NU coach Mike Anderson said. "I've heard a lot of great things. He commands the zone and has great velocity. He's made a big jump and put himself in position to be a pitcher for a long time in this game."
Anderson said he would educate the Huskers about Morris before today's 2:05 p.m. first game.
"I think it'd be a big mistake if our guys didn't know about him," the coach said. "They need to know his numbers. But we're going to try to focus on what we do and take away what he does well, which is striking out guys."
• NOTES: Nebraska has won 17 of its past 20 games against K-State and the season series for six straight years. . . . Redshirt freshman pitcher Sean Yost makes his second career start today in the opener for NU and his second start in five days. The right-hander from Lincoln Southwest lasted 21/3 innings Monday in the Huskers' 16-6 loss to Oklahoma. He allowed five runs on five hits.
