Huskers Head to Creighton, OSU

Lincoln -- The 20th-ranked Nebraska softball team heads to Omaha on Wednesday to face in-state rival Creighton at 5 p.m., before beginning conference play this weekend with a pair of games against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.

The Huskers head to Creighton hoping to snap the Bluejays' 20-game winning streak. NU enters the game with a streak of its own. Nebraska has beaten Creighton 11 straight times and has won 19 of the last 20 meetings. Last year, the Huskers were 3-0 against the Bluejays.

NU heads to Stillwater to try and end a three-game losing streak against Oklahoma State. In 2003, Nebraska dropped three one-run decisions to the Cowgirls.

Nebraska went 3-2 at the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., this past week. The Huskers faced three ranked teams at the tournament, defeating fourth-ranked Florida State, but falling to No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 23 Arizona State.

Senior right-hander Peaches James went 3-1 over the weekend with an ERA of 0.31. Her 1-0 shutout of Florida State?her second shutout in as many starts over a top-five team in 2004?moved her into third place in school history with 74 victories. James struck out 23 batters at the tournament, bumping her career total to 699. With her next strikeout, James will become only the fourth pitcher in school history to record 700 career strikeouts.

The Huskers came from behind for the first time all season against UNLV on Saturday. Nebraska erased deficits of 2-0 and 8-4 before pulling out a 10-8 victory with three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Prior to that game, NU had not come back to take a lead in any game in which it trailed this season.

Scouting Report
Creighton (21-4)
The Bluejays, winners of 20 straight, are led offensively by Melanie Dorsey. Dorsey leads the team with a .416 average (31-for-75) and a .494 on-base percentage. She also leads the team with 22 runs and 12 stolen bases. Dorsey is one of six Bluejays to have at least 12 RBIs.

In the circle, Creighton is led by Tammy Nielsen. In 97 innings this season, Nielsen (13-2) has allowed only nine earned runs (0.65 ERA), while holding opponents to a .134 average. Abby Johnson (7-0) has also pitched well this season, holding opponents to a .140 average en route to posting a 0.94 ERA.

Nebraska has won 11 in a row against Creighton, and leads the all-time series 66-29.

Record Road Trip
It was a monumental road trip for three Huskers at the Florida State Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla., and the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif. Seniors Peaches James and Nicole Trimboli and junior Anne Steffan each reached career milestones during the trip.

Anne Steffan, Jr., 2B
Steffan moved into the top-10 in career batting average with a 12-for-22 (.545) performance at the Florida State Invitational, which increased her career average from .306 (83-for-271) to .324 (95-for-203). After last weekend at the Kia Klassic, Steffan now sits in ninth place with a career average of .320 (100-for-310). For the season, Steffan is hitting a team-high .374 (37-for-99).

In the Huskers' 1-0 loss to seventh-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday, Steffan recorded the 100th hit of her career with an infield single in the sixth ining.

Nicole Trimboli, Sr., OF
Trimboli reached four career milestones over the trip. Against Penn State on March 13, Trimboli became only the sixth player in school history to record 200 career hits. Trimboli also moved into fifth-place all-time with the 197th hit of her career earlier that same day. Also on March 13, Trimboli scored the 100th run of her career in the Huskers’ 8-0 victory over Florida A&M. Trimboli’s run proved to be the game-winning run and made Trimboli only the 10th player in school history to reach the 100-run milestone.

Trimboli’s outstanding trip was not finished. She recorded the 300th total base of her career with her two-run triple against North Carolina on March 13. Trimboli became only the ninth player in school history to total 300 bases in a career. At last week's Kia Klassic, Trimboli moved into the top-10 in school history with her 42nd career stolen base.

Peaches James, Sr., RHP
James also had an outstanding trip. James moved into second place in career innings pitched in her complete-game shutout over North Carolina on March 13. With 709.2 innings pitched, she became only the second player in school history to log 700 innings in a career, passing her pitching coach Lori Sippel who threw 695.1 innings from 1985 to 1988.

James also recorded her 100th strikeout of the season as part of a 10-strikeout performance against Penn State on March 12, and the 675th of her career against Texas A&M on March 14.

In the Huskers’ 10-0 win over North Carolina on March 13, James tossed the 30th shutout of her career, becoming only the third pitcher ever to total 30 shutouts in a career.

James also tossed her 75th career complete game in Nebraska's 1-0 over fourth-ranked Florida State. James is only the third player in school history to complete 75 games in a career. Her complete-game shutout against the Seminoles was James' 74th career victory, moving her into third place in career victories at Nebraska.

Lucky Thirteen?
Often thought to be unlucky, the number 13 has been very kind to sophomore Trisha Tannahill so far this season. In 2004, Nebraska has played five games on the 13th day of the month. In those games, Tannahill is hitting .563 (9-for-16) with nine RBIs, two doubles, one triple, one home run, one stolen base and four runs scored. Tannahill hit her only triple and only home run of the season on March 13.

Speaking of March 13, it proved to be a red-letter day for the sophomore. Tannahill went 7-for-10 at the plate (.700), scoring four runs and driving in six more in the Huskers' three games at the Florida State Invitational. Tannahill’s performance helped land her on the all-tournament team.

Revelle Wins 450th Game
Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle reached another milestone over the road trip. Nebraska’s 8-0 victory over Florida A&M on March 13 was the 450th victory of Revelle’s career. In 13 years as a head coach, Revelle is 455-250 (.646), including a 448-234 (.667) record at Nebraska. The Huskers' loss to Texas A&M on March 14 also marked the 700th game that Revelle has coached.

First Inning Success
Nebraska has gotten off to some fast starts this season, as the Huskers have scored a run in the first inning in 14 of 30 games (47 percent). NU is 13-1 on the season when it scores a run in the first inning.

The 41 first-inning runs that Nebraska has scored are the most runs of any single inning. In the first frame, NU has outscored its opponents an overhwelming 42-7. Twenty-eight percent of the Huskers' total runs have come across the plate in the first inning (42/148).

Included in these numbers are a pair of nine run, first-inning outbursts. NU scored nine runs in the first inning against Manhattan College on Feb. 21, and duplicated that feat March 7 against Utah in a 12-0 win.

Nebraska has plated more than one run in nine of the 14 games in which it has scored in the first inning. In two games this season, the Huskers' lone run of the game has come in the first, including last Thursday against fourth-ranked Florida State. In all, nine of the 15 game-winning RBIs have come in the first inning.

James Tough On Ranked Teams
Senior right-hander Peaches James has started five games against ranked teams this season. In those five games, she is 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 41.2 innings.

James was dominant against third-ranked California and fourth-ranked Florida State in shutout performances over both squads. Against California, James held the Bears to only five hits in recording her first shutout against a ranked foe this season. Against Florida State last Thursday, James tossed a complete-game three hitter, striking out five and walking none. Only one Seminole advanced past first base in the game.

James has also posted victories over then-No. 12 DePaul and then-No. 10 Michigan. She suffered her only losses to a ranked team in an extra-innings loss to then-No. 7 Michigan and a 1-0 defeat to No. 7 Oklahoma.

Nebraska vs. Ranked Teams
Nebraska, 19-11 overall, is 4-4 against top-25 teams this season after facing three ranked teams during its 11-day road trip. NU is 2-0 against top-five teams and 3-2 against top-10 teams in 2004.

The Huskers opened the season with three games against ranked teams, falling to then top-ranked UCLA before posting back-to-back victories over then-No. 12 DePaul and then-No. 10 Michigan. Nebraska faced Michigan again at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, dropping a 5-1 extra-inning decision to the Wolverines, ranked seventh at the time. NU posted its biggest win of the season the following day, blanking No. 3 California, 3-0.

At last week's Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., NU defeated fourth-ranked Florida State, 1-0, but fell to No. 7 Oklahoma (1-0) and No. 23 Arizona State (6-3).

At the plate, junior second baseman Anne Steffan and junior first baseman Sheena Lawrick have excelled against ranked teams. In the Huskers’ eight games against ranked teams, Steffan is hitting .462 (12-for-26) with six runs scored, one RBI and four stolen bases. A .374 hitter on the season, her batting average is .088 points higher in games against ranked teams than it is against non-ranked teams. Against No. 4 Florida State last Thursday, Steffan was 3-for-3 and scored the only run of the game.

Lawrick has been nearly as good against top-25 teams, going 9-for-25 (.360) with four RBIs and two runs scored and an on-base percentage of .529.

Tough Schedule Awaits
The 2004 Nebraska softball schedules features 12 games against teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, including six games against 2003 Women’s College World Series participants.

NU opened the season on Feb. 13 with a doubleheader against defending national champion and preseason No.1 UCLA and No. 12 DePaul. Nebraska fell to UCLA 10-1, but defeated DePaul, 10-2. The Huskers also defeated No. 10 Michigan (5-4).

At the NFCA Leadoff Classic, NU fell to No. 7 Michigan 5-1 in eight innings, but upset third-ranked California, 3-0.

Last week, NU faced three ranked teams at the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif. Nebraska defeated fourth-ranked Florida State, 1-0, before falling to No. 23 Arizona State (3-6) and seventh-ranked Oklahoma (0-1).

The Big 12 Conference schedule includes four games against WCWS participants seventh-ranked Oklahoma and 15th-ranked Texas. Nebraska will also hosts a pair of games against pre-season No. 23 Texas A&M.