Huskers Complete Big 12 Sweep

Oklahoma City, Okla. - Senior right-hander Peaches James led Nebraska to the 2004 Big 12 Tournament title on Saturday night with a dominating performance in the Huskers' 1-0 win over the Missouri Tigers at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. For her efforts in the tournament, James was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The Huskers won the Big 12 Tournament for the first time since 2000, and for the third time in Big 12 history, tying <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Texas for the most tournament titles.

 

"We love this tournament,” Head Coach Rhonda Revelle said. “I thought we came down here and competed well. We have been struggling a little bit at the plate. The last couple games we broke loose offensively. I just can’t say enough about Peaches James. She’s been pitching well all year, but she really took us on her back this weekend."

 

James tossed a complete-game shutout against the Tigers, allowing only two base runners. The Papillion-LaVista graduate retired the last 16 batters she faced and finished with a season-high 16 strikeouts.

 

"I knew this morning when she was warming up that she was throwing well,” Revelle said. “She had a good breaking ball. She threw a good game this morning, and I was really glad we hit well and we kept her pitch count low. I could see before the game tonight that she had a lot of energy. In fact, she made a slight adjustment in the third inning to take an extra breath before throwing her changeup because she had too much energy. Then her changeup became really successful, along with her rise ball."

 

After leading off the game with back-to-back singles, but failing to score in the bottom of the first, NU was able to push a run across in the bottom of the second inning.

 

James reached on an error by Missouri pitcher Erin Kalka to start the inning and stole second. Missouri was able to get two outs before freshman Devin Porter doubled down the right field line to score James. Porter’s RBI was her first game-winning hit of her career.

 

The Big 12 Player of the Year, James struck out the side in the first, third, fourth and seventh innings.  James became the third Husker to be named the Big 12 Tournament MVP, following Jenny Voss in 1998 and Jennifer Lizama in 1999 and 2000. The senior pitcher was joined on the Big 12 All-Tournament Team by sophomore Jessica Yoachim at third base, senior center fielder Nicole Trimboli, and junior Anne Steffan at second base.

 

The Huskers came into the Big 12 Tournament as the conference champions and with the win over Missouri, claimed both Big 12 titles for only the second time in school history, with the first coming during the 1998 season.

 

The Huskers clinched the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with the Big 12 Tournament title. Nebraska will play host to an NCAA Regional, May 20-23, at Bowlin Stadium. The NCAA committee with announce the at-large teams, top-eight national seeds and first-round regional pairings Sunday between 7 and 8 p.m. (CST) live on ESPNEWS.