Huskers Host Stellar Field this Weekend

The <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska softball team welcomes an outstanding five-team field to Bowlin Stadium this weekend for what will be an exciting end to the fall season with the 11-game Husker Fall Classic Friday, Saturday and Sunday.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Tickets for this weekend will be available at the ticket office located at the main entrance to the stadium behind home plate. Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for high school students and younger. A ticket is good for the entire day.

 

“I believe if you’re a softball fan, Bowlin Stadium is the place to be this weekend,” NU Head Coach Rhonda Revelle said. “It’s an opportunity to see an Olympic team and to see (NU Associate and Canadian Head) Coach Sippel as an Olympic coach and see her go against her alma mater. It's also an opportunity to see the defending national champions, see the top two programs in the state and even see Colorado State, with Coach (Mary) Yori being (NU Head Women’s Basketball Coach) Connie’s sister.”

 

Joining NU at the tournament is the Canadian National Team?coached by Nebraska Associate Head Coach Lori Sippel?the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines, 2005 NCAA Tournament qualifier and in-state rival Creighton, as well as ColoradoState.

 

The Classic officially kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday when Colorado State and the Canadian National Team square off, but Team Canada and Creighton will get things started early by playing a doubleheader at Bowlin Stadium beginning at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

Nebraska plays its first game of the tournament on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Michigan. Prior to that contest, the Richard Raimondi Memorial Scholarship will be presented in an on-field presentation scheduled to take place at 7 p.m.

 

The four collegiate teams in the field combined for an outstanding 175-65 (.729 winning percentage) record in 2005. Michigan, Creighton and Nebraska each made the NCAA Tournament, with the Wolverines defeating UCLA in a best-of-three series to claim their first-ever national championship.

 

Team Canada has also enjoyed a successful summer. Under the guidance of Sippel, Canada upset the United States, 2-1, on July 14 in the inaugural 2005 World Cup in Oklahoma City, Okla. Canadian first baseman and former Husker Sheena Lawrick drove in both of the team’s runs, as Team Canada handed the U.S. its first international loss since 2002.

 

“Honestly, it feels like a postseason field,” Revelle said. “Then you throw an Olympic team in there and it really is going to give you a feel for what you need to work on during the winter.”

 

The Fall Classic marks the third and final tournament of the Huskers’ fall season. NU went 2-0 in a rain-shortened Augie Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D., Sept. 24, before claiming the Colorado State Tournament title Oct. 1-2 with a 3-1 record.

 

Nebraska is coming off a 36-23 campaign in 2005. The season culminated with the Huskers hosting their third consecutive NCAA Regional at Bowlin Stadium and earning a final No. 25 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. The ranking extended NU’s claim to being one of only six programs in the nation to be ranked in each of the last 11 seasons (the poll has only been in existence 11 years).

 

The Husker roster features 17 players, including 11 returning players and six newcomers. NU boasts seven returning starters, including 2004 first-team All-Big 12 selection senior Jessica Yoachim and second-team selections senior Trisha Tannahill and junior Ashley DeBuhr.

 

NU is scheduled to begin the spring 2006 season at the Arizona State Tournament, Feb. 10-12 in Tempe, Ariz. The Huskers will also host the Big Red Tournament March 17-19 at Bowlin Stadium.