Huskers Defeat No. 18 Oregon State, 3-1

Las Vegas, Nev. -- The No. 12 Nebraska softball team bounced back from back-to-back losses Saturday to defeat No. 18 Oregon State, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at the 2002 UNLV Classic. The Huskers received a clutch RBI single from an unlikely source in Anne Steffan in the top of the fifth, as the freshman utility player, who was hitting .071 entering the contest, plated Cindy Roethemeyer with a two-out shot to center for the go-ahead run.

Sophomore righthander Peaches James (3-3) was the winning pitcher for NU, allowing one earned run on four hits in seven innings of work. Monica Hoffman took the loss for the Beavers, giving up two runs and walking two Huskers in the fifth innings.

With the win, Nebraska concluded tournament play at the Desert Breeze Softball Complex with a 2-3 record and improved to 6-4 overall.

"I thought that we were really opportunistic with our offense, and our speed and aggressiveness on the bases won the game for us," NU Coach Rhonda Revelle said. "Peaches really set the tone in the circle and threw with a lot of authority and conviction. It was a good way to end the tournament."

Oregon State took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Kelly Peterson ripped a two-out single down the left field line to score by Claire Burnum.

But after three scoreless innings, Nebraska tied it in the top of the fourth. Kim Ogee got things going with a leadoff single to center, then stole second. Amber Burgess popped up to second, and Nicole Trimboli flied out to center to bring up Leigh Suhr. The senior second baseman then smacked an RBI single to right, plating Ogee to tie the score at 1-1. Suhr stole second, but Amanda Buchholz grounded out to end the inning.

With two outs, Roethemeyer walked, then stole second to bring up Steffan, who slapped a single by the second baseman to score Roethemeyer, and then continued to third base. Hoffman walked Ogee, who kept running to second. Oregon State attempted to throw out Ogee, and Steffan sprinted home for the 3-1 lead.

Nebraska returns to action Friday, Feb. 22, when it faces Illinois-Chicago at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.