Nebraska Concludes Road Trip at Oklahoma State

The 17th-ranked Nebraska softball team wraps up a three-game road trip this weekend when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., for a two-game series with the Oklahoma State Cowgirls. The Huskers will take a five-game winning streak into Saturday's game, which is scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch.

Nebraska is now 25-6 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference. The Huskers' 25-6 record is the second-best 31-game record in school history. Although NU is just 3-2 in league play, Nebraska has played four of its five games against ranked teams, including a pair of games at top-ranked Texas.

NU is coming off a 2-0 win at Kansas on Tuesday. The Huskers won, despite being no hit. Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr tosssed a four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts, picking up her fifth shutout in her last seven starts. Senior Trisha Tannahill scored both runs for Nebraska, coming home on a passed ball and a wild pitch. The win over the Jayhawks came on the heels of NU's doubleheader sweep of then-No. 17 Oklahoma last weekend by a combined score of 12-1.

The three-game road schedule this week comes before Nebraska opens a five-day, six-game homestand that begins on Tuesday, April 11 against South Dakota State. The Huskers will then face the Jackrabbits in a doubleheader on Wednesday beginning at 2 p.m., a change from the original schedule that had NU and SDSU playing a lone game on Wednesday.

Another change in the schedule has added a single game with Drake on Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m. Following that contest, NU will host 21st-ranked Baylor on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15.

Fans can follow the Huskers' busy schedule next week in a variety of ways. Wednesday's first game with South Dakota State will air live on the Pinnacle Sports Network (1400 AM in Lincoln) and Friday's game will be televised by NET-2 and will air nationally on a tape-delayed basis on CSTV.

Scouting Oklahoma State (16-17, 2-3 Big 12)
Oklahoma State is 16-17 on the season and 2-3 in the Big 12 Conference after being routed by No. 21 Oklahoma, 15-1, on Wednesday. The Cowgirls have lost three of their last four games.

NU and OSU share three common opponents this season; sixth-ranked Oregon State, 21st-ranked Oklahoma and Tulsa. While the Huskers posted a 4-0 record against those teams and won by a combined score of 25-6, the Cowgirls went 0-3 against the same teams and were outscored by a 24-9 margin.

Oklahoma State is led offensively by Shanel Scott, who is hitting a team-high .364 with 21 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Kim Kaye is hitting .312 with a team-high seven home runs, 33 RBIs and a .606 slugging percentage.

Four Cowgirls are hitting .300 or better, as Oklahoma State boasts a team average of .271, which ranks sixth in the league. OSU is averaging 4.5 runs per game, but has been outscored 152-150 on the season.

In the circle, Jessica Hoppock (9-12) has thrown the overwhelming majority of the innings. In 130.1 innings, Hoppock has allowed 65 earned runs en route to a 3.49 ERA. Opponents are hitting .272 against her, but she has posted 137 strikeouts while tossing four shutouts.

Last Time We Met
Nebraska and Oklahoma State split a pair of games at Bowlin Stadium last season. The Huskers won the first game, 2-1, but the Cowgirls responded to take the second game, 2-0.

In the first game, Ashley DeBuhr allowed just one run on two hits, while striking out 14. Oklahoma State scored a run in the top of the fourth to take a 1-0 lead, but RBIs from Jessica Yoachim and Katie Linke in the bottom of the inning lifted NU to the 2-1 win.

Marjorie Johnson was solid in the circle for OSU, allowing two runs on four hits. Johnson, who was a freshman in 2005, has since left the team.

In game two, Johnson was even better, tossing a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts, although she did walk six. Johnson's no-hitter marked the first no-hitter thrown against Nebraska since the 2000 season.

Despite being no-hit, the Huskers had scoring opportunities, leaving six runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the second and two runners on with no outs in the fourth.

DeBuhr pitched another great game in the circle, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven.

Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 41-36, but Nebraska has won three of the last four, and five straight in Stillwater dating back to the 2000 season. The Cowgirls are one of only three Big 12 teams that own a winning all-time record against the Huskers. OSU is 14-6 all-time against Nebraska in Stillwater.

Quick Hits....

• NU recorded 20 wins in only 24 games to become the fastest team in school history to record 20 wins
• Nebraska is 20-1 when out-hitting the opponent
• Nebraska is averaging more than five runs per game
• NU is 24-2 when holding the opponent to two runs or less
• Four Huskers are hitting .300 or better and NU is hitting .290 as a team
• Six Huskers have homered this season - six players hit a home run the entire 2005 campaign
• Nebraska has 25 home runs as a team, six more than the entire 2005 total (19) over 59 games
• Nebraska is 55-of-60 in stolen base attempts, including a perfect 3-of-3 in Saturday's DH sweep
• Lizzy Aumua tied an NU single-game record with a 5-for-5 effort against Illinois
• Devin Porter has produced both a 5-RBI and 6-RBI game this season
• Jamie Waldecker produced a career-high 6 RBIs vs. Illinois, including her first career grand slam
• Crystal Carwile also has a 5-RBI game this season
• KoKo Tacha has already set single-season career highs in hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBIs
• Right-hander Ashley DeBuhr has thrown five shutouts in her last seven starts
• In those shutouts, DeBuhr has tossed a pair of one-hitters, a two-hitter, a three-hitter and a four-hitter
• Right-hander Molly Hill is 13-1 with a 1.35 ERA in her Husker career
• Nebraska has already bettered its save total (2) from the entire 2005 season
• NU has already hit twice as many triples in 2006 (6) than it did in the entire 2005 season (3)

DeBuhr's Domination
Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr has been brilliant in her last five starts, posting a 6-1 record with a 0.49 ERA and five shutouts. Over that stretch, DeBuhr has struck out 71 batters in 43.0 innings, while holding opposing hitters to a meager .138 average.

The recent domination started after DeBuhr surrendered at three-run home run in a 3-1 loss to then-No. 25 North Carolina. She quickly rebounded by tossing two-hit shutout against Florida A&M the next day and a one-hit shutout against Bradley one day later.

DeBuhr then tossed another one-hit shutout with a season-high 15 strikeouts in an 8-0 run-rule victory over Northern Colorado. The Beatrice, Neb., native made it four consecutive shutouts when she allowed just three hits in another 8-0 run-rule victory, this time against North Dakota State.

DeBuhr's shutout streak ended when she allowed two runs in a 2-0 loss at Texas, which has since moved into the No. 1 spot in the polls. DeBuhr quickly rebounded in her next start against then-No. 17 Oklahoma, allowing just one run and striking out 11 against the top-hitting team in the league.

Against Kansas on Tuesday, DeBuhr tossed a four-hit shutout with 11 more strikeouts.

No Hits, No Problem
Nebraska, which ranks third in the Big 12 with a .290 team average, has made the most of its scoring opportunities this season, even when hits have been hard to find. At Kansas on Tuesday, the Huskers were no-hit, but patient execution in the batter's box and smart baserunning plated two runs in two different innings to lift NU to a 2-0 win.

The combination of patient hitting and smart baserunning also helped Nebraska pull out an earlier victory at Creighton. NU managed just one hit against Creighton, but a pair of wild pitches and a sacrifice fly allowed the Huskers to score a single run in three different innings to post a 3-1 win.

Home Run Barrage
Nebraska hit five home runs in a doubleheader sweep of 17th-ranked Oklahoma last Saturday. The Huskers hit three dingers in a 9-1 run-rule victory in game one and added back-to-back homers in the first inning of the second game.

The Huskers have now hit six homers in their last four games. Before the current long ball barrage, Nebraska had hit just three home runs over its previous 13 games.

Tannahill Nears Hit-by-Pitch Record
Senior Trisha Tannahill was hit by a pitch in the Huskers' 2-0 win at Kansas on Tuesday. Tannahill has been hit by eight ptiches this season, which ties the NU single-season school record shared by Karla Knicely (1996) and Ellen Middleton (1999).

Tannahill has been hit by 15 pitches in her career, which is just two shy of Jane Kremer's school-record total of 17.

Yoachim Nears Sacrifice Record
Senior Jessica Yoachim recorded her ninth sacrifice of the season in game one of the Huskers' doubleheader sweep of 17th-ranked Oklahoma last Saturday. She now has 39 in her career, which is tied for third on the NU career chart. She needs just two more sacrifices to tie Gloria Von Rentzell's all-time school mark of 41.

If Yoachim reaches the mark, it would be the second school record for Yoachim. A two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, Yoachim set a school record with five hits in a single game last season, a feat that was matched by senior Lizzy Aumua this season.

Home Sweet Home
Nebraska is a perfect 9-0 at home this season, the best home start in the five-year history of Bowlin Stadium. The previous best start was 6-0 by the 2002 squad in the first year of the new stadium. In addition to the stellar start, the Huskers' nine-game home winning streak is also the longest in the history of Bowlin Stadium.

The nine-game home winning streak is also the second-longest for Nebraska since the 2000 season. In 2000, Nebraska went a perfect 20-0 in the second-to-last year of the Nebraska Softball Complex.

Powerful Performances
Juniors Carmen Kier (four home runs) and Devin Porter (five home runs) have each hit more home runs this season than their career total entering the year. Through 31 games this season, the pair have combined to hit nine home runs after combining to hit just three home runs in their first two seasons.

Kier homered last Thursday against Northern Iowa and she has now doubled her career total entering this season. Kier belted two home runs in her redshirt freshman season of 2004 and did not hit a homer last season.

Porter, who hit a solo homer against 17th-ranked Oklahoma last Saturday, has five home runs this season after hitting her first career home run at the end of last season.

Timely Hitting
Nebraska has been prone to producing two-out RBIs this season. In the Huskers' 3-0 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma last Saturday, all three RBIs came with two outs. This season, NU has produced 135 RBIs and 53 of those have come with two outs (39 percent). Eight players have produced at least two two-out RBIs this season, while freshman Crystal Carwile leads the team with 12 two-out RBIs.

The Winner's Circle
Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr earned her 10th and 11th victories of the season last week. After defeating Northern Iowa last Thursday, DeBuhr joined freshman right-hander Molly Hill (13-1) in double-digit win totals. Both have already posted double-digit win totals in only the first 30 games. Prior to this season, a Nebraska team had not had two 10-game winners on the same squad since Peaches James (23) and Summer Tobias (15) in 2003.

What a Relief
Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr made her third relief appearance of the season and earned her first relief win of the year in Nebraska's 4-2 win over Northern Iowa last Thursday. She then earned a save by tossing 2.2 innings of no-hit relief in the Huskers' 3-0 series-clinching victory over No. 17 Oklahoma on Saturday. In four relief appearances this season, DeBuhr is 1-1 with two saves.

In her career, DeBuhr has made 14 relief appearances. In those relief appearances, DeBuhr is 4-2 with three saves. Prior to Thursday's relief victory, DeBuhr's last win in relief came at Wichita State on March 13, 2005, when she pitched five shutout innings. DeBuhr's save against No. 17 Oklahoma on Saturday was her second of the season, doubling her career total.

Chasing .400
Seniors Lizzy Aumua and Jessica Yoachim - the 1-2 hitters in the Husker order - are both chasing a mark that hasn't been reached at Nebraska in eight years. The mark is a .400 season batting average and both Aumua (.425) and Yoachim (.391) have a chance to reach it this season.

Three-time All-American Ali Viola was the last Husker to hit .400 in a season. Viola hit .400 or better three times in her career, including a .424 mark in 1998, which is the last time a Husker hit .400 or better. All-American Anne Steffan chased the .400 plateau last season, finishing with a .388 average, the sixth-best single-season mark in school history and the highest average since Viola's .424 average in 1998.

Nebraska is also chasing a team batting average of .300 for only the third time in program history and the first time since the 1996 squad hit .303.

NU currently boasts a .290 team average. Nebraska had been at or above the .300 mark all season until the second game of last Saturday's doubleheader with No. 17 Oklahoma. The Huskers' average dropped nine points after they were no-hit in a 2-0 victory at Kansas on Tuesday.

Despite the recent dip in the average, NU can take comfort in the fact that in its first five league games, Nebraska has already faced the top three pitchers (in opponent batting average) in the Big 12.

Scoring Clip
A 3-0 win over Florida A&M on March 11 gave the Huskers 100 runs scored in 17 games, making this year's team the fastest squad in school history to score 100 runs. A 9-1 run-rule victory over No. 17 Oklahoma in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader gave NU 150 runs scored in only 29 games.

It took NU just seven games to total 50 runs as the 2006 Huskers also tied the school record for the fewest number of games before reaching the 50-run plateau.

This season marks only the fourth year in school history that NU scored 100 runs in fewer than 20 games. It also marks only the second time in school history that Nebraska has scored 150 runs in fewer than 30 games.

Fastest Start in School History
The Huskers owned a 20-4 record through the first 24 games of the 2006 season. That record marked the best start in school history, as it took the team only 24 games to record 20 victories. The previous record was 25 games by the 2002 squad that finished fifth at the WCWS.

Currently, NU's 25-6 record is the second-best 31-game record in school history. The 2002 squad was 26-5 after the first 31 games and was in the middle of school-record 23-game winning streak.

Starting Strong
Nebraska has shown a penchant for taking command of its games in the early innings this season. The Huskers have scored in the first inning in 17 of their 31 games (55 percent), including four of the last five. NU is 15-2 this season when plating a run in the first frame. Last week, Nebraska scored a single run in the first inning of both mid-week games and scored four first-inning runs in game one against Oklahoma and three more in the first inning of game two.

In addition to the first-inning success, Nebraska has dominated its opponents in the first four innings, as the Huskers have outscored their opponents 123-23 on the year. In innings five, six, seven and eight (NU has played one extra-inning game this season), however, Nebraska has only outscored its opponent by a 36-29 margin.

Husker Power
After hitting five home runs in two games against 17th-ranked Oklahoma in a doubleheader last Saturday, Nebraska's season home run total stands at 25 home runs in 31 games, eclipsing the entire 2005 season total (19 homers in 59 games) in nearly half as many games.

Freshman Crystal Carwile leads the way with eight home runs, including two against the Sooners. She also has a two-home run game, becoming the first Husker since Peaches James in 2004 to record a multi-homer game. Junior Devin Porter ranks second with a career-high five home runs, while fellow juniors Carmen Kier and Jamie Waldecker each have four homers. Senior Trisha Tannahill has three homers and fellow senior KoKo Tacha has also added one roundtripper.

NU had 12 home runs through seven games to open 2006, after taking 32 games in 2004 and 33 games in 2005 to reach the mark. The Huskers enjoy a 25-to-10 advantage in home runs over their opponents. After the first weekend, NU enjoyed a 6-to-5 advantage, marking the first time since April 18, 2004, that Nebraska had more home runs than its opponents at any point during the season.

Nebraska homered in seven straight games to open the season, the longest stretch since NU homered in 10 consecutive games March 10 through March 17, 2002. The Huskers also have produced six multi-home run games in 2006, after posting just one in 2005 and three in 2004.

Strikeouts Way Down
Nebraska has seen a dramatic decline in its offensive strikeout numbers this season, a product of hard work and increased emphasis on discipline at the plate.

Nebraska hitters have struck out 148 times through the first 31 games. In contrast, NU had struck out 181 times through the first 31 games of the 2005 season, when the Huskers finished with 364 strikeouts in 59 games. So far this year, Nebraska has cut its strikeout total by more than one strikeout per game.

The Huskers' 148 strikeouts are the lowest in the Big 12 Conference. NU is averaging just 4.77 strikeouts per game. The only other league school average less than five strikeouts per game is defending regular-season champion Texas A&M (4.89).

NU vs. Ranked Teams
Nebraska is 3-4 against ranked teams this season after sweeping 17th-ranked Oklahoma last weekend. Although the Huskers are sub-.500 against ranked teams, four of the seven games have come against top-10 foes and five of the seven games have been on the road or at a neutral site.

NU opened the season with a 7-3 loss to then-No. 7 Stanford. The Huskers quickly rebounded with an 8-2 victory over then-No. 15 Oregon State immediately following the loss to the Cardinal.

Stanford has since moved into the top five of the poll with a 24-4 record, while Oregon State has moved up to seventh. The Beavers won 28 straight games after losing to the Huskers, before falling to No. 9 Arizona State last weekend. OSU is currently 28-3 on the season.

NU did not face another ranked opponent after opening day until a three-run home run in lifted then-No. 25 North Carolina to a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over the Huskers on March 10.

Nebraska lost a pair of close games to then-No. 3 and currently top-ranked Texas to open Big 12 play the weekend of March 25. The Huskers' first four league games have come against ranked teams.

Program Records 1,000th Victory
Husker softball became the first women's sport at the University of Nebraska to reach the 1,000-win plateau with a 1-0 victory over Kent State on March 12 at the Florida State Invitational.

Nebraska became the fifth Big 12 school to reach the milestone. Kansas was the fourth league school to win 1,000 games during the 2005 season. NU narrowly became the fifth school as Missouri, sitting on 999 all-time victories, suffered a loss on the same day Nebraska recorded the mark. The Tigers have since reached the plateau to become the sixth league school to reach the milestone.

The victory was even more special to NU Head Coach Rhonda Revelle and Associate Head Coach Lori Sippel. Both coaches also played at Nebraska and together they have combined to be a part of 841 of NU's 1,009 victories (83 percent).

Monumental Weekend
The weekend of March 10-12 proved to be a monumental three days for the 2006 Nebraska softball team and the history of the Husker program.

With a 3-0 win over Florida A&M March 10, the 2006 squad became the fastest team to score 100 runs in the 31-year history of NU softball.

In the final game of the tournament on March 12, the Huskers captured the consolation championship of the Gold Bracket with a 1-0 victory over Kent State. That win marked the 1,000 all-time victory in program history, making softball the first women's sport at Nebraska to reach the 1,000-win plateau.

The victory also gave the 2006 Huskers a 16-4 record after 20 games, tying the 2002 squad for the best 20-game start in the history of Nebraska softball.

In the Zone
Nebraska pitchers dominated the Northern Colorado lineup in the Huskers' doubleheader sweep on March 14. Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr tossed a one-hit shutout and struck out 13 in a five-inning win in the opener and freshman right-hander Molly Hill struck out 17 while allowing just one run in the nightcap.

In 12 innings, DeBuhr and Hill posted 30 strikeouts, an average of 2.5 strikeouts per inning. Thirty-six outs were recorded in the two games, with 30 of those outs coming via the strikeout (83 percent).

Big Innings
Nebraska, which has been scoring runs at a record pace, has also been prone to producing big innings this season. The Huskers have scored in 74 innings this season and have been shutout just twice through the first 31 games of the season.

In addition to the overall totals, Nebraska has scored three or more runs in 24 different innings. When the Huskers have scored a run in an inning, they have added at least two more runs in the frame in 32 percent of those innings. Even more impressive is the fact that NU has scored five or more runs in an inning on seven occasions and seven or more runs a whopping four times. In 2005, Nebraska produced just one inning of seven or more runs.

Stolen Bases
Nebraska was 1-of-1 in stolen base attempt in Tuesday's win at Kansas. NU has now stolen 14 straight bases without being thrown out. The Huskers had stolen 22 consecutive bases at one point this season and Nebraska has been successfuly on 30 of its last 31 stolen base attempts.

On the season, NU has been successful on 55-of-60 attempts (92 percent). In comparison, opponents have stolen just 12 bases in 20 tries (60 percent).

At the current rate, this year's team has an outside chance to become just the fifth squad in school history to record 100 stolen bases in a season. Last year, the Huskers - who were led by All-American Anne Steffan's single-season school-record 32 stolen bases - tallied 91 stolen bases in 108 attempts (.843). The school record is 128 steals set by the 2002 Huskers.

Carwile Climbing Freshman HR Chart
Freshman Crystal Carwile's three home runs in the first five games of the season were the most home runs by a Husker freshman since Nicole Trimboli hit eight in the entire 2001 campaign. Carwile has since added five more homers - including two against Oklahoma last Saturday - to give her eight on the season and tie Trimboli for the third-highest freshman total in school history. The school freshman record is 13 by Ali Viola in 1995.

Carwile's eight roundtrippers would have led the 2005 NU squad and her total eclipses the home run total of all freshmen from the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons combined by two.

Aumua Records 100th Hit
Senior Lizzy Aumua, in her second year at Nebraska after transfering from Mt. San Antonio Junior College, collected her 100th hit with an infield single in the bottom of the third inning in the first game of a March 14 doubleheader with Northern Colorado.

It took Aumua just 80 games and 239 at bats to reach the milestone. Aumua is the second-fastest player to reach the milestone in school history. Ali Viola (1995 to 1998) was the fastest.

Aumua joins fellow seniors Jessica Yoachim (155) and Trisha Tannahill (153) as current Huskers with 100 or more career hits. Yoachim and Tannahill each recorded their 150th career hits in the past two games.

Tacha Off to Career-Best Start
Senior KoKo Tacha is having a career year in her final season as a Husker. Tacha has already surpassed some career highs and is approaching her single-season career highs in nearly every offensive category.

Tacha is hitting .294 in a career-high 26 starts this season. She has hit four doubles and one triple and produced 20 hits and 16 RBIs, all of which are new career bests. She also boasts one home run, which ties her single-season career best. Tacha has also stolen two bases while her career high for a season is three and she is just two walks shy of tying her career high. Tacha's .426 slugging percentage would also be a career best, while her .294 average and .357 on-base percentage are just shy of her career highs.

DeBuhr in Control
Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr has been in control in the circle this season. She has shown great command of the strike zone, registering 155 strikeouts against just 20 walks to post a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 8-to-1.

Triple Your Pleasure
Nebraska hit two triples in the fourth inning in the first game of a doubleheader against Northern Colorado on March 14 to push its season total to six triples. In 2005, the Huskers produced a total of three triples in 59 games.