Huskers Continue Tradition of Success in 2005

The 2005 Nebraska softball season culminated with the Huskers earning an 11th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament including hosting a regional at Bowlin Stadium for the third straight season. Although the season ended sooner than the Huskers had hoped, Nebraska still reached many goals, both team and individual, in 2005. Below are just a few of the highlights from the Huskers’ 2005 campaign:

2005 Nebraska Highlights
Advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th straight season.

Hosted an NCAA Regional at Bowlin Stadium for the third consecutive year.

Broke six individual school records.

Won at least 35 games for the eighth straight year.

Defeated seven ranked teams, including posting three victories over top-10 teams.

Placed four players on the All-Big 12 team, including one first-team selection.

Saw seven players earn academic All-Big 12 honors, including four first-team selections.

Had four players, including two first teamers, named to the NFCA All-Midwest region team.

Saw right-hander Ashley DeBuhr toss the third perfect game in school history.

Gave Head Coach Rhonda Revelle both her 500th career victory and 500th win at Nebraska.

Saw Associate Head Coach Lori Sippel named Head Coach of the Canadian National Team.

Saw Anne Steffan earn third-team NFCA All-America honors.

Topped the 10,000 mark in season attendance for the third consecutive season.

Stealing the Record
Senior Anne Steffan stole two bases at the Big 12 Tournament to finish the season with a school-record 32 thefts. With two outs in the seventh inning of the Huskers' final game of the tournament against Missouri on May 13, Steffan successfully swiped second base to claim the school record. Kim Ogee previously held the single-season school record with 31 stolen bases in 2002. Steffan joined Ogee as the only Huskers in school history to steal 30 bases in a season.

DeBuhr Sets Record
Sophomore right-hander Ashley DeBuhr finished the season with 335 strikeouts in 288.2 innings pitched. With her 236th strikeout against Oklahoma State on April 24, DeBuhr broke Jenny Voss' Nebraska sophomore strikeout record of 235, set in 1998.

DeBuhr also became just the second pitcher in school history to record 300 strikeouts in a season when she struck out a career-high 17 against Iowa in the opening round of the NCAA Regional. Peaches James became the first to top 300 strikeouts last season when she struck out a school-record 394 batters.

Huskers Post 35 Wins for Eighth Straight Year
When Nebraska posted victories over Iowa State and No. 10 Oklahoma on the opening day of the Big 12 Tournament, the Huskers notched their eighth consecutive season with at least 35 wins.

Record Sacrifices
Junior Elizabeth Rock recorded two sacrifices against Missouri on May 13 at the Big 12 Tournament to increase her team-leading total to 24. Rock, who is only the fifth player in school history to record 20 sacrifices in a season, previously tied the Nebraska single-season record by equaling the mark orginally set by Deanne Carr. Rock's first-inning sacrifice against MU gave her sole possession of the record. Rock led the Big 12 Conference and ranked second in the nation with an average of .44 sacrifices per game.

Stolen Base Duo
Senior Anne Steffan and junior Jessica Yoachim are the most lethal base-stealing duo ever to play at Nebraska. Steffan (school-record 32 steals) and Yoachim (26 steals), who hit 1-2 in NU's lineup, each finished in the top seven in stolen bases in school single-season history. The 58 combined stolen bases were a school record for most stolen bases by teammates in a season, topping Kim Ogee (31) and Lisa Wangler (21), who stole 52 bases combined during the 2002 season.

Four Earn All-Big 12 Honors
Junior Jessica Yoachim was named first-team All-Big 12, while three more Huskers earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.

Senior Anne Steffan, junior Trisha Tannahill and sophomore Ashley DeBuhr were each named to the second unit.

Steffan (three times), Yoachim (twice) and Tannahill (twice) each made repeat appearances on the All-Big 12 teams, while DeBuhr was honored for the first time in her career.

Seven Named Academic All-Big 12
Seven Nebraska softball players earned recognition for their work in the classroom by earning first- or second-team academic All-Big 12 honors.

Senior Kira Boerkircher and juniors KoKo Tacha, Trisha Tannahill and Jessica Yoachim each earned first-team honors, while seniors Sheena Lawrick and Anne Steffan and junior Katie Linke were named to the second team.

Steffan, Tacha, Tannahill and Yoachim were each honored for the second time in their career, with Tacha being the Huskers' lone two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection.

Four Earn All-Midwest Region Honors
Four Nebraska softball players were named to the 2005 NFCA All-Midwest region teams. Seniors Sheena Lawrick and Anne Steffan earned first-team accolades, while junior Jessica Yoachim and sophomore Ashley DeBuhr earned second-team honors.

The Huskers’ four selections tied Baylor for second-most among Midwest region teams behind Oklahoma’s leading total of five.

DeBuhr and Lawrick were honored for the first time in their careers, while Steffan was honored for the third time, including two first-team selections. Yoachim was honored for the second time.

NU vs. Ranked Teams
NU was 9-16 against ranked teams in 2005. The Huskers posted victories over No. 14 Washington, No. 16 Oregon State, No. 15 Georgia Tech, No. 9 Baylor and No. 10 Oklahoma (twice), No. 15 Missouri and No. 22 Iowa. NU finished 5-7 in its last 12 games against ranked teams, with all games being on the road or at a neutral site (including three NCAA Regional games at Bowlin Stadium) and six games coming against top-10 opponents.

School-Record Streak
Senior Anne Steffan went 0-for-4 on March 25 against Texas A&M to end her school-record 26-game hitting streak. Her streak shattered the previous record of 19 games, set by Ali Viola in both the 1995 and 1998 seasons.

Steffan Joins Elite List
Senior Anne Steffan, who etched her name into several categories in Nebraska's record books, joined another elite list on April 21 against Northern Colorado. In that game, Steffan recorded her 70th hit of the season to become one of only seven players in school history to record 70 hits in a season, a feat she has accomplished twice. Steffan recorded 74 hits in 2004 and with back-to-back 70-hit seasons, she joins Ali Viola and Tobin Echo-Hawk as the only Huskers to accomplish that feat. Steffan finished 2005 with a career-high 80 hits.

Perfection
Sophomore right-hander Ashley DeBuhr tossed her first career perfect game and only the third in school history in the Huskers' 2-0 victory over Iowa State on April 13.

Following an hour and a half delay due to a scheduling problem with the umpires, DeBuhr made quick work of the Cyclones, retiring all 21 batters she faced on just 81 pitches.

She allowed only two balls to leave the infield and racked up 10 strikeouts, including a punch-out of Jessica Quade with two outs in the seventh inning to complete the perfect game.

Revelle Earns 500th Victories
Head Coach Rhonda Revelle won her 500th career game on March 19 when the Huskers blanked Cal-State Fullerton 8-0 at the Kia Klassic. Revelle became one of 38 active coaches to reach the milestone. She also earned her 500th victory at Nebraska in the Huskers' 3-2 win over Texas Tech on April 17.

Earlier this season, Revelle won her 475th game at Nebraska on Feb. 13 when NU defeated 16th-ranked Oregon State, 4-3, at the Louisville Slugger UNLV Desert Classic in Las Vegas. Revelle's 475th victory also marked the 950th win in the history of Nebraska softball.

Revelle’s career record after the 2005 season is 517-279 with a 509-263 mark at NU.

Record-Setting Day
On Feb. 19, two Nebraska single-game records fell in the same game as NU defeated Texas-San Antonio 14-6 in six innings.

Senior Sheena Lawrick hit a three-run home run in her first at bat and then drew four consecutive walks. The four walks were a single-game Nebraska record, breaking the previous mark of three. None were intentional.

Not to be outdone, junior Jessica Yoachim went 5-for-5 against the Roadrunners to set the mark for the most hits in a game of seven innings or fewer. Yoachim broke the previous mark of four hits.

Steffan Reaches Another Milestone
Senior Anne Steffan went 1-for-5 against ninth-ranked Baylor on April 10 to record the 200th hit of her career.

With the hit, Steffan became just the seventh player in school history to record 200 career hits. She finished her career in sixth place on the all-time NU hit list with 217.

Steffan is also one of just six players in NU history to record 200 hits and 100 runs scored in a career.

Sippel Named Head Coach of Canadian National Team
Nebraska Associate Head Softball Coach Lori Sippel was named head coach of the Canadian National Team, Softball Canada announced on March 14. The position extends from the spring of this year until Nov. 1, 2008, however Sippel will remain Associate Head Coach at Nebraska. The majority of Team Canada’s competitions will take place during the summer months.

Sippel was a four-time All-Big Eight and two-time second-team All-American selection during her playing career at Nebraska from 1985 to 1988. A four-time Big Eight champion, Sippel was also named the 1988 GTE Academic All-American of the Year, as well as being a Honda Broderick award nominee.

Sippel has had plenty of experiencing with the Canadian National Team. She was a member of the team for 16 years, including participating in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, softball’s debut as an Olympic sport. After her playing days, Sippel has continued to be involved with Softball Canada, most recently serving as a color commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s telecasts of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

For her service to the Canadian National Team, Sippel’s No. 16 was retired by Softball Canada in 1999 and she was inducted into Softball Canada’s Hall of Fame in 2000.\

Nine Huskers Make Honor Roll
Nine members of the Nebraska softball team and two former players were named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2004 semester.

Six Huskers made repeat appearances on the list, led by senior Kira Boerkircher who was honored for the fifth time in her career, and junior KoKo Tacha who also made the list for the fifth time in her career.

Junior Elizabeth Rock, a transfer this season from Mt. San Antonio College, and freshmen Jordan Keen and Cassie Kleinsmith were each honored for the first time in their career in their first semester of eligibility.

Former Huskers Peaches James and Liz Lawhorn, who completed their eligibility in 2004, were also named to the Honor Roll.

10,000th Hit
When junior KoKo Tacha singled in the second inning of Nebraska's 7-3 win over Loyola on Feb. 19, it marked the 10,000th hit in the history of Nebraska softball.

Husker softball began in 1976, but complete records are only available since the 1977 season.

Tough Schedule
Nebraska played the 14th-toughest schedule in the nation, according to the latest RPI numbers, released by the NFCA on May 29. The Huskers played 22 games against opponents ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game.

NU played 25 games against ranked teams this season. The Huskers also played 13 games against teams ranked in the top 13 of the final NFCA regular-season poll. In those 10 games, NU has posted a 4-9 record, recording wins over No. 13 Baylor, No. 10 Oklahoma (twice) and sixth-ranked Oregon State.

The Huskers played five games against teams that advanced to the 2005 Women’s College World Series and totaled 15 contests against teams that advanced to the Super Regionals.