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Tuesday, May 23, 2000
Komine is
Nebraska’s new
locomotive
Coaches, teammates say
By Kalani Simpson
the key to the Big 12 Player
of the Year's success
is control, velocity and a
'loose arm like a whip'
Special to the Star-BulletinLINCOLN, Neb. -- When Hawaii's Shane Komine first got to Nebraska, the trains that chugged along on the tracks just a few feet away from the outfield fence at Buck Beltzer Stadium bothered him to no end.
His University of Nebraska dorm residence was just across the street from the baseball field and also close to the hustle and bustle of railroad tracks.
"Right when I get to sleep another train comes by and the horn goes off, wake up," he said. "I couldn't sleep that first month."
A year later, he no longer hears the trains, and sleeps soundly.
Now, it's Komine who dominates the night like a runaway freight train.
The sophomore from Kalani High School was named the Big 12 Player of the Year yesterday. He has been the national leader in strikeouts most the year and enters NCAA Regional tournament play with a school season-record 142 strikeouts.
Sixth-ranked Nebraska (47-15) opens tournament play against Butler (31-28) of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
Komine is the No. 1 starter in Nebraska's pitching rotation, and, during the regular season, he normally took the mound on Friday night to open the team's weekend series.
Against Kansas, he struck out 17 Jayhawks to tie a school record and earn national player of the week honors. A week later, he fanned 16 Tigers at Missouri.
The Friday night lights come on. Komine lights up. It becomes his time.
"You get a lot more people here to support you," he said of the Friday night spotlight. "I guess even when you're away on the road, the people there that get on you adds to the excitement and it fires me up a lot. And I guess having them over there ragging me, that's when I enjoy it."
Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said a key to Komine's success is control.
"He's doing right now what he does every time he gets the ball," the coach explained. "He throws a lot of strikes and he gives us a chance to win.
"I guess the difference is lately he's been striking out more than he has in the past, and I think it's because he's throwing everything for a strike now."
Nebraska catcher Justin Cowan said that despite the jump in numbers and the national recognition, Komine is this good all the time.
These days the train whistle in the background could be heralding a local boy locomotive of up to 94-miles per hour. He typically works in the high 80s to low 90s.
"I've caught him when he was throwing 91 in the ninth," Cowan said.
And then there is the nasty curve, an offering of pure evil.
Cowan said, nodding appreciatively, "It's a real dirty pitch."
Komine, even if he has bulked up to 170-pounds, looks every bit of 5-foot-9 on the rubber, short even at the top of a pitcher's mound.
"He's totally the opposite of what you'd think," said Nebraska senior lefty Scott Fries.
But there is no doubt Komine is in control, and if there is, it is soon erased by the sight of batters blown away or left lunging. Hitters, batting a combined .196 against him, are constantly guessing even if they could connect with his fastball, and most can't.
"They're looking for a fastball, he drops a curveball in on them," Van Horn said. "And vice versa. He's just done a super job."
It all starts with the heat.
"When the ball comes out of his hand, it looks like it's going 106-miles per hour," Cowan said. Fries has the best explanation of where the velocity comes from: "Loose arm," he said. "Like a whip."
And 5-foot-9 or not, believe it or not, Komine brings it.
"Well that was the issue when we were recruiting him over there," Van Horn said of his ace's size. "I mean, he was a lot smaller, he only weighed 135 pounds."
On a Hawaii swing in March, 1998, Nebraska played all morning games, so the coaches recruited by taking in afternoon high school practices and games.
"We came up with Shane," he said. All 135-pounds of him.
But Van Horn was impressed and saw enough to take a chance.
"If he never gained a mile an hour, he was going to be able to help us," he said.
The gamble paid off. In college, Komine rose into the 90s, got bigger, stronger, better. As a freshman, he was a surprise bonus. As a sophomore, he became a No. 1 starter with overpowering stuff.
Komine was dogged by a bad back last season, but still was crowned Big 12 Freshman of the Year and first team Freshman All-American.
"Last year we didn't know if he was going to get out of the second or third inning or if his back was gonna get sore or go out on him," Van Horn said.
"I'm feeling a lot stronger," Komine said. "I gained 30 pounds since the summer. That's really benefited me this season."
"Most people kind of underestimate Shane," Cowan said. "It's huge, especially with his confidence. Especially with the way he has been dominant recently.
"I don't know," Komine said of why he has been so successful the last few weeks. "Just throwing all my pitches for strikes, I guess. I have control of all five of them. It just felt great out there. Perfect."
Perfect. Like the backdrop of the Friday locomotive whistle as he commands a game from the mound and under the lights. Lincoln has found its new Night Train.
