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Thursday, June 1, 2000

Komine says he
may pitch Sunday

But a matchup between him
and Wayne is unlikely

By Dave Reardon
Star-Bulletin

All-American baseball player Shane Komine says he "feels real good," but there's "no chance" he will pitch for Nebraska at Stanford on Friday in the first game of the teams' two-out-of three NCAA Super Regional. The winning team advances to the College World Series.

The Kalani High School graduate continues to make a quick recovery after suffering a broken jaw in the Cornhuskers' first regional game last Friday at Minneapolis. He speaks clearly, is eating solid food and has been medically cleared to play.

But Komine, after surgery and a week's layoff from pitching, says he doesn't feel quite ready to take the mound in a game. He says he is still about five pounds under his playing weight of 170 pounds after losing nearly 20 pounds.

"If anything, Sunday might be a day that I pitch," said Komine, on Thursday from Palo Alto, Calif. "I'm a little rusty. Today I did some running and tried throwing on the side and I didn't have what I normally have. I didn't have my right release point. I don't want to be out there if I'm not going to help the team. They've won a lot of games without me."

They've won a lot with him, too. Komine, a sophomore right-hander, is 11-3, including a 2-1 victory over Butler in the regional game in which he was injured. The Big 12 Player of the Year has struck out 154 batters in 117 2/3 innings, a Nebraska record.

While Hawaii's dream matchup of Komine and Punahou graduate Justin Wayne of Stanford seems unlikely, Komine said he looks forward to at least talking with Wayne, whom he met a few times back home.

"He lives right down the street from my girlfriend's house," Komine said. "It's my second home, so she was saying how unreal it is for two All-Americans to live on the same block."

Wayne, a junior right-hander, was named the Pac-10's Co-Pitcher of the Year. He is 13-3 with 135 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings.

Wayne and Komine have both been named first-team All-American by the Baseball Weekly and Collegiate Baseball publications.