Huskers Finish 2006 Season with No. 14 Ranking

The 2006 Nebraska softball team finished another successful season with a 44-12 record and a .786 winning percentage, the third-best mark in program history. The Huskers finished second in the competitive Big 12 Conference and advanced to the regional final before being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by sixth-ranked Cal. NU also finished 14th in the final USA Today/NFCA poll, marking the 12th consecutive top-25 final national ranking for the Huskers.

Outstanding individual and team efforts highlighted the Huskers’ season, which included many memorable moments, including the 1,000th victory in the 31-year history of Nebraska softball. The 2006 squad never suffered more than two consecutive losses, dropping back-to-back games only once to a Texas team that promptly moved up to the No. 1 spot in the polls following its sweep of the Huskers.

A consistent and determined squad, the 16 players that made up the 2006 Nebraska softball team accomplished a lot on and off the field, as both individuals and collectively as a team. The 2006 Huskers:

• Posted a 44-12 overall record
• Posted .786 winning percentage, third-best in school history
• Won 44 games to mark the sixth-most victories in school history
• Tied the school record with 20 home victories, finishing 20-1 at Bowlin Stadium
• Advanced to the program’s 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament
• Becoming the first women’s program at Nebraska to win 1,000 games
• Tied or broke six school records
• Saw a nation-best two players earn academic All-America accolades
• Saw six players earn All-Big 12 honors
• Saw three players earn first-team academic All-Big 12 accolades
• Saw four players named to the NFCA All-Midwest region teams
• Saw Ashley DeBuhr become the first Husker to strikeout 300 batters in consecutive seasons
• Stole 87-of-99 bases for a program-best .879 success rate
• Drew 10,000 fans to Bowlin Stadium for the fourth consecutive season

While the above highlights give fans a quick glimpse at the success that was the 2006 season, they provided only a snapshot of the Huskers’ season. What follows is a more in-depth look at the accomplishments of a talented and dedicated 2006 Husker softball team.

Seventeen NCAA Bids and Counting
Nebraska softball remained in an elite class when it comes to postseason play. The Huskers are one of nine teams in the nation to appear in the past 12 NCAA Tournaments. Nebraska also has a strong history of earning high seeds in the tournament. In the eight seasons prior to the tournament format switch in 2005, Nebraska earned a No. 2 seed or higher in the NCAA Regional every season. The only other teams that accomplished the feat were Arizona, Michigan, Oklahoma and Washington.

Overall, NU has earned 17 NCAA Tournament bids in program history, tying Texas A&M for the most berths of any Big 12 school. The Huskers have also advanced to the College World Series seven times.

Nebraska also has a strong history of hosting regionals at Bowlin Stadium. The Huskers have been awarded an NCAA Regional in four of the last six years overall.

Six Earn All-Big 12 Honors
A league-high six Huskers earned All-Big 12 honors in 2006. Seniors Lizzy Aumua and Jessica Yoachim, along with junior Ashley DeBuhr earned first-team honors, while juniors Devin Porter and Jamie Waldecker, as well as freshman Crystal Carwile were named to the second team.

Aumua was honored for the first time in her career, as was Porter. Waldecker and DeBuhr were both honored for the second time in their careers, but DeBuhr's first-team selection was the first such accolade of her career. Yoachim capped a stellar career by earning her third consecutive first-team honor.

Four Named to Academic All-Big 12 First Team
Seniors Lizzy Aumua, KoKo Tacha, Trisha Tannahill and Jessica Yoachim each earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors in 2006. Aumua earned the first honors of her career, while Tannahill and Yoachim were each honored for the third time, including two first-team selections. Tacha earned her third consecutive academic All-Big 12 first team honor.

Aumua and Tacha Add to Academic All-American Tradition
Seniors Lizzy Aumua and KoKo Tacha were each named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-Americans as Nebraska led all universities in the nation with two selections. The pair of accolades increased the Huskers’ nation-leading softball total of academic All-America awards to 24, six more than second-place New Jersey.

Aumua was named to the first team, marking the first time since 1990 that a Husker earned first-team academic All-America honors. Tacha was a third-team selection. Under Head Coach Rhonda Revelle, Nebraska has earned seven accolades in 14 years. Aumua carries a 3.88 GPA in sociology and earned her degree at May commencement ceremonies.Tacha earned a spot on the team as a utility/designated player and carries a 3.96 GPA in business administration.

Fellow senior Jessica Yoachim fell just shy of all-america honors, as she was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VII team, as Nebraska led all schools in the district with three selections.

Ranking Near the Top
Nebraska finished the 2006 season with a No. 14 final ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll. The final ranking marks the 12th consecutive season the Huskers finished the year among the top 25. Nebraska is one of only six teams in the nation - and one of only two in the Big 12 Conference - to be ranked in the final poll in each of its 12 years of existence.

Revelle Reaches Another Milestone
Head Coach Rhonda Revelle reached another career milestone on the second day of the Huskers’ season-opening Kajikawa Classic on Feb. 11. When Nebraska defeated Utah State 7-3 in its fourth game of the weekend, it marked Revelle’s 800th game as head coach of the Huskers. Revelle, who pitched for NU from 1981-83, played in 128 career games and has currently been associated with 978 of NU’s 1,586 all-time games (62 percent).

DeBuhr Reaches Strikeout Milestones
Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr struck out the 600th batter of her career against Missouri in the first round of the Big 12 Championship on May 10. DeBuhr eclipsed the 400-, 500- and 600-strikeout plateaus this season as she struck out an NU junior record 304 batters in 2006 to become the only pitcher in school history to record 300 or more strikeouts in consecutive seasons.

DeBuhr’s 500th strikeout came during an 11-strikeout performance in a 9-1 run-rule victory over 17th-ranked Oklahoma on April 1. Her seventh strikeout of the game was the 500th of her career. DeBuhr also reached the 400-strikeout mark this season when she struck out nine in a five-inning victory over Illinois on Feb. 24.

In 229.1 innings, DeBuhr posted 304 strikeouts, eclipsing Leigh Ann Walker's junior record of 272 strikeouts.

Program Records 1,000th Victory in 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 1-0 victory over Kent State on March 12, Nebraska became the fifth Big 12 school - and softball became the first female sport at Nebraska - to reach the 1,000-win milestone. Kansas was the fourth league school to win 1,000 softball 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 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 addition, a 3-0 victory over Florida A&M that same weekend made the 2006 team the fastest squad to score 100 runs in school history.

Winning at a Record Pace
Nebraska improved to 40-8 with a win in the regular-season finale against Missouri on May 7. That victory marked the fifth time in the last seven seasons that NU posted 40 victories in a season.

With a 5-0 win over South Dakota State in the second game of a doubleheader on April 12, Nebraska improved to 30-6 on the season. That win marked the ninth consecutive season that the Huskers have posted 30 victories in a season. NU won its 35th game of the season at Texas Tech on April 23, also marking the ninth straight 35-win season.

It took this year's team just 36 games to reach the 30-victory mark and only 48 games to reach the 40-victory mark, tying the 2002 squad for the fastest team to 30 and 40 wins in school history.

Yoachim Ties Single-Season Stolen Base Record
Senior Jessica Yoachim stole her 32nd base of the season against No. 6 Cal in the NCAA Tournament on May 20. Yoachim finished the season a perfect 32-of-32 to tie Anne Steffan’s school record total and become just the third player in school history to swipe 30 bases in a season.

Yoachim was one of the most prolific base stealers in the 31-year history of Nebraska softball. Yoachim stole 84-of-87 bases in her career for a remarkable 97 percent success rate. She was not thrown out in her last 52 attempts, a new school record and a stretch that spanned 91 games.

Tannahill Sets Hit-by-Pitch Records
Senior Trisha Tannahill was hit by a pitch in the Huskers' 1-0 win over Kansas on April 26. That marked the 10th and final time that Tannahill had been hit by a pitch, making her the first player in school history to get hit by a pitch 10 or more times in a season. The previous single-season school record had been eight.

Tannahill's last hit-by-pitch was the 17th of her career, which tied Jane Kremer's school-record total of 17, which she set from 1986 to 1989.

Yoachim Sets Sacrifice Record
Senior Jessica Yoachim recorded her 12th sacrifice of the season against Kansas on April 26. That sacrifice was the 42nd in her career, which is a Nebraska career record. Yoachim had been tied with previous record holder Gloria Von Rentzell, who totaled 41 sacrifices while playing for the Huskers from 1993 to 1996. Yoachim added two more sacrifices to finish with 44 in her career.

The sacrifice record marked 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. Although not an official school record, Yoachim has also stolen 47 consecutive bases without being thrown out, which is the longest successful stolen base streak in program history.

Huskers Earn Their Degrees
Six members of the Nebraska softball program, including three 2006 seniors, received their diploma at commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 6, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Husker seniors Lizzy Aumua (sociology), Trisha Tannahill (communication studies) and Jessica Yoachim (communication studies) each received their degrees prior to the Huskers' 3-1 win against Missouri. In addition to the three seniors, former Huskers Kira Boerkircher (dance), Sheena Lawrick (family and consumer science) and Anne Steffan (psychology), also earned their degrees. Lawrick was Nebraska’s undergraduate assistant coach this season.

Carwile Finishes Second on Freshman Home Run 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 finished her rookie campaign with 12 homers on the season, the second-highest freshman total in school history. The school freshman record is 13 by Ali Viola in 1995.

Carwile's 12 roundtrippers would have led the 2005 NU squad and her total doubles the home run total of all Husker freshmen from the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons combined.

Striking Success
The Huskers' in-state pitching staff of right-handers Ashley DeBuhr and Molly Hill combined to strike out 476 batters in just 377.2 innings in 2006. The 476 strikeouts ranked second all-time at Nebraska.

Nebraska wasbeen hurt by 11 rain outs this season, decreasing the number of games to pile up strikeouts. However, when looking at strikeouts per game, this year's staff averaged 8.50 strikeouts per game, the best mark in school history. The 2001 squad averaged 7.61 strikeouts per game, striking out a school-record 502 batters in 66 games.

Hit By Pitch
Fueled by the top two individual marks in school history, Nebraska has set a new team hit-by-pitch record for the second consecutive season in 2006. The Huskers were hit by 35 pitches, marking the first time in program history that a team had been hit by 30 or more pitches in a single year, as the previous record was 29 in 2005.

Leading the way was senior Trisha Tannahill, who was hit by a single-season school-record 10 pitches. She also tied for the NU career record of 17 hit-by-pitches. Junior Devin Porter was hit by eight pitches, which ties for second place on the NU single-season chart.

Scoring Explosion
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 7-1 victory over Drake on April 13 gave NU 200 runs scored in just 37 games, one shy of tying the 1996 squad for the fastest team to score 200 runs in program history.

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.

It was only the fourth time in school history that NU scored 100 runs in fewer than 20 games. It also marked only the second time in school history that Nebraska has scored 200 runs in fewer than 40 games.

Home Sweet Home
Nebraska finished the season with a 20-1 record at Bowlin Stadium after posting a pair of victories against Missouri to end the regular season. The Huskers started 13-0, marking the best home start in the five-year history of Bowlin Stadium. The previous best start was 5-0 by the 2004 squad. In addition to the stellar start, NU's 13-game home winning streak was also the longest in the history of Bowlin Stadium and the 20 wins are a single-season Bowlin Stadium record.

The 13-game home winning streak also marked the 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.

Huskers Explode for 21 Runs
After a 12-day layoff, the Huskers exploded for seven first-inning runs, eight more in the second and five more in the third en route to a 21-1 rout of Illinois on Feb. 24.

The 21 runs were the second-most in school history (23 is the school record) and marked only the second time in program history that Nebraska scored 20 or more runs in a single game. The Huskers batted around in each of the first three innings and finished with 16 hits.

NU also pounded out four home runs by four different players. The four-homer game marked the first time since March 13, 1998 against Bowling Green - a span of 484 games - that the Huskers had four players hit a home run in the same game.

The 21 runs allowed and 20-run margin of defeat were both the largest in the history of Illinois softball, while the Huskers also set and tied several NFCA Leadoff Classic records in the 11th year of the annual prestigious event.

Nebraska's 21 runs were a new Leadoff Classic record, as were the Huskers' four home runs. Junior Jamie Waldecker established a new tournament record with six RBIs in the win, while senior Lizzy Aumua also earned a spot in the record book with five hits.