Huskers Lose Lawrick to Season-Ending Injury

Junior first baseman Sheena Lawrick will miss the remainder of the 2004 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, NU Coach Rhonda Revelle announced Monday. Lawrick suffered the injury while running out a single in the bottom of the fifth inning Sunday during the Huskers’ 3-0 win over Baylor at Bowlin Stadium. She will undergo surgery Monday, April 12.

"This is a very sad day for Nebraska softball," Revelle said. "Sheena is a team captain and a leader on and off the field. She was the first to practice and the last to leave every day. Sheena’s teammates have shed a lot of tears today, because she is very special to them. I think they are going to demand even more of themselves now, because making sure that our goals are still met is a way to honor Sheena."

The injury came at a time when Lawrick was playing the best softball of her NU career. The Huskers’ No. 3 hitter in the lineup, Lawrick ranked second on the team with a .337 average, and she led the Huskers with seven doubles, a .596 slugging percentage, 28 walks, three hit by pitches and a .508 on-base percentage. Lawrick was also second on the team in home runs (four), RBIs (24) and total bases (60). Defensively, she had committed only three errors in 259 chances at first base (.989 fielding percentage). Lawrick also finished the season with 28 walks in 36 games, a total which ranks ninth on the NU single-season chart.

Nebraska must scramble to replace Lawrick in the lineup and at first base. The Huskers (25-11) face Creighton (24-8-1) Tuesday at 5 p.m. and Iowa State (9-19) Wednesday at 4 p.m. Both games are at Bowlin Stadium. This weekend, NU travels to Austin, Texas, for a Big 12 series at Texas (18-14). NU, which has won seven straight, faces the Longhorns Friday, April 9, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 10, at noon.