W-H All-Nebraska Baseball: A different Murphy's law BY MIKE PATTERSON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

At 5-foot-10, Omaha Westside's Sam Murphy isn't the tallest pitcher in the state.

The 2006 All-Nebraska baseball team. Front row (from left), Bobby Lackovic, Omaha Skutt; Bryant Cotton, Omaha Central; Shaun Hoover, Millard West; Sam Murphy, Omaha Westside; Marcus Palimenio, Omaha Westside; Mark Waldron, Omaha Creighton Prep. Back row, Charlie Shaver, Elkhorn; Ian Dike, Lincoln Southwest; Kent Urban, Lincoln Northeast; Danny Hunter, Papillion-La Vista; Casey Hauptman, Millard South; Wyatt Kirwan, Omaha Westside; Pat Krebs, Omaha Creighton Prep. Not pictured, Brandon Kirsch, Papillion-La Vista South.

But the hard-throwing senior continually came up big for the Warriors, including a strong performance at the state tournament. Murphy won two games, including a shutout victory over defending champion Millard North in the title game.

Murphy, who pitched on the varsity since his freshman year, is the honorary captain of The World-Herald's All-Nebraska baseball team. The Arkansas recruit is the only returning player from last year's first team.

Nominations by coaches and observations by World-Herald sportswriters determine the newspaper's honor teams.

Murphy, one of three Warriors on the first team, finished the season 5-2 with a 1.57 ERA. He was second in the state in strikeouts with 67 while throwing six complete games.

"The best thing about Sam is that he's such a bulldog out there," Westside coach Bob Greco said. "It's been great having someone with his ability on our team this long."

In addition to this year's contribution, Murphy also was part of the Warriors' 2003 championship team - the squad Greco calls his most talented ever.

"For Sam to make that team as a freshman and make a solid contribution says a lot about him," the coach said. "He had some tough losses this year, but I still always felt very confident when we sent him out to pitch."

Murphy was dominating in the Warriors' 8-0 title victory over Millard North. He tossed a three-hitter and struck out seven as Westside captured its fourth championship.

The first-team infield consists of Lincoln Southwest's Ian Dike, Westside's Marcus Palimenio, Omaha Creighton Prep's Pat Krebs, Papillion-La Vista's Danny Hunter and Omaha Skutt's Bobby Lackovic.

Dike, a Creighton recruit, is one of the state's top athletes. The first-team All-Nebraska football player batted .443 this spring and had an 8-1 record as a pitcher.

Palimenio was Westside's top offensive player this season. He batted .407 and was tied for the state lead in triples with six.

Krebs, the Junior Jays' shortstop, batted .321 and led the team in RBIs with 38. He also was Prep's closer and led the state in saves with five.

Hunter, who batted .391, was one of the hottest hitters in the Metro Conference in the final weeks of the season. He belted a three-run, walk-off homer in the district semifinal against Lincoln Pius X and then blasted another homer the next night in a district final win over Millard West.

Lackovic, who will play at Creighton, is regarded by coaches as the best catcher in the state. He batted .391 for the SkyHawks and led the team in runs (34), home runs (8) and RBIs (39).

In addition to Murphy, the other first-team pitchers are Casey Hauptman of Millard South, Wyatt Kirwan of Westside and Charlie Shaver of Elkhorn.

Hauptman, who had an ERA of 1.96, was a major reason the Patriots were able to make their 28th trip to the state tournament this season. The junior was 7-0 and struck out 40 batters in 64¹/₃ innings.

Kirwan teamed with Murphy to give the Warriors a potent 1-2 combination. He finished in a tie with Dike for most wins in the state with eight and had an ERA of 1.29.

Shaver, a Nebraska recruit, had a 1.12 ERA in 43²/₃ innings. The 6-foot-4 lefty was 5-1 and finished third in the state in strikeouts with 61.

The first-team outfield consists of Bryant Cotton of Omaha Central, Kent Urban of Lincoln Northeast and Shaun Hoover of Millard West.

Cotton batted .380 for the Eagles and won four games as a pitcher. The senior played this spring while living with a teammate's family after his own family had moved to St. Louis.

Urban led the state in hitting with a .543 average. He also was among the leaders in hits (38), doubles (8), runs (29), and pitching wins (5).

Hoover, the only sophomore on the first team, led the Wildcats with a .449 average. He also was the team leader in RBIs (30), triples (4) and home runs (3).

Prep's Mark Waldron is the designated hitter, and Papillion-La Vista South's Brandon Kirsch is the utility player.

Waldron batted .500 for the Junior Jays and was among the state leaders in home runs with six. Three of those came in one game during Prep's 4-0 march through a tournament held in St. Louis.

Kirsch was a major contributor for the Titans, whether at the plate or on the mound. He batted .340 with a team-leading 30 RBIs and was 5-2 with a 1.75 ERA.