Shockey now on other side of rivalry
BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Colin Shockey in 2004. (LJS File)
Creighton's baseball team might be flying under the national radar screen, but the unranked and 20-5 Bluejays have no trouble getting their due respect from Nebraska, which plays host to them tonight in Haymarket Park.
While the 21-3 Huskers own the nation's best winning percentage and have risen to No. 7 in the Collegiate Baseball poll (they're No. 16 by ESPN/Sports Weekly and No. 20 by Baseball America), coach Mike Anderson need only look at the first batter in the Bluejays' lineup, Colin Shockey, to get a good feel for their strength.
A year ago, Shockey filled a similar role for the Huskers.
"I know he's contributing to their team," Anderson said, "and they've been playing well."
Shockey, a senior center fielder from La Vista, has gotten off to a slower-than-usual start, as he's hitting .256 (23-for-93) with six doubles, two homers and 18 RBIs. But last weekend, he went 5-for-14 and drove in a pair of runs to help the Bluejays sweep a three-game series from Illinois State for the first time since 1992. Shockey also has compiled a 4.76 earned-run average in six relief appearances.
At Nebraska last year, he started 53 games and hit .294 while batting leadoff most of the time. He also was 1-0 in four relief outings.
But following a meeting with Anderson the day after the Huskers finished a 36-23 season that left them out of an NCAA regional for the first time in six years, Shockey decided to transfer.
"When he left my office, we shook hands and I wished him the best," Anderson said. "And I still do."
Shockey, one of 11 underclassmen from the 2004 team that, for a variety of reasons, didn't return to Nebraska last fall, ended up finding a school near his own back yard. At Creighton, he joined former Huskers Chase Odenreider, a junior outfielder, and senior outfielder Matt Daeges.
"Everybody kept telling us on the bus (back from Illinois State) that this game should be bigger to us," Shockey said Monday, "but you can't look at any one game as being more important. Every game's important right now. I'm just looking forward to it. I know Haymarket Park's a real exciting atmosphere."
Creighton coach Ed Servais credits Shockey for solidifying the Bluejays' defense, and believes it's a matter of time before he gets hot at the plate.
"We expect our leadoff hitter to work pitchers. Colin's not playing as well as he's capable of (because he's) being overaggressive," Servais said. "Sometimes, he's getting himself out more than the pitchers. It's just a matter of relaxing. He'll hit. He's too good not to."
Servais, a six-year assistant with the Bluejays before taking over as head coach last season, guided his first club to a 35-24 record that included a school-record 22 wins and a second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference. Right now, they're riding a 12-game winning streak.
Creighton is led by senior second baseman Tony Roth, a .384 hitter who's working his way back from a finger injury, junior designated hitter Zach Daeges (.371) and senior outfielder/first baseman Dan Norquist (.344).
The Bluejays will send left-handed junior Tony Bilek (2-0, 5.84 ERA) to the mound tonight, while Nebraska will start right-handed freshman Johnny Dorn (2-1, 1.90 ERA).
