Huskers Host Big Red Tournament This Weekend

The Nebraska softball team will open the home portion of its schedule this weekend, welcoming Arkansas and North Dakota State to Lincoln for the three-team, round-robin Big Red Tournament that runs from Friday through Sunday, March 16-18 at Bowlin Stadium.

NU (15-7) is scheduled to play six games this weekend. Each day of the tournament will feature three games with one daily ticket providing fans admission for all of the day’s action. Tickets can be purchased on the day of the game at the ticket window located behind home plate. Reserved tickets are $6, while general admission tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for children.

Fans unable to make it to the ballpark this weekend can still follow all of the action live. All six games will air on Huskers.com, with four contests set to air on select Husker Sports Network stations in Nebraska. Fans in Lincoln can tune in to KLIN, 1400 AM to hear the action, including the Huskers’ Friday 1:30 p.m. game with Arkansas, Saturday’s 11 a.m. tilt with the Lady Razorbacks and both of Sunday’s 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. contests.

Lane Grindle will make his radio debut for Nebraska softball this weekend, handling the play-by-play duties for the radio contests. Nate Rohr will add color commentary for the radio broadcasts, and will call the action on the internet-only games.

After spending the first five weeks - and first 23 games - on the road, Nebraska is anxious to step onto the Bowlin Stadium dirt. The Huskers have not played a home game this season and weren’t scheduled to have their first practice at their home stadium - and first outdoor practice in Lincoln - until Tuesday of this week.

NU has won five of its six home openers since Bowlin Stadium opened in 2001. The Huskers have won seven of their last eight home openers overall, including last season when Nebraska opened its home campaign with 11 consecutive victories. Overall, NU has won seven straight at Bowlin Stadium and 20 of its last 21.

The Huskers hope to continue those streaks and timing may be on their side, as they appear to be playing their best ball of the season. NU is coming off a perfect 5-0 weekend when Nebraska captured the tournament championship at the Shocker Invitational.

Overall, the Huskers have won seven in a row and 11 of their last 13. Nebraska excelled last weekend, outscoring its opponents 22-9 at the Shocker Invitational, after outscoring its first 17 opponents by a combined score of just 45-39.

A big reason for the Huskers’ recent success is the emergence of the NU bats. After stranding 135 runners on base through the first 17 games, Nebraska left just 26 runners on in five games in Wichita.

The long ball also re-emerged last weekend for Nebraska as four players hit their first home run of the season and NU hit more home runs in five games last weekend (four) than it had in its first 17 contests (three).

Scouting North Dakota State
North Dakota State is 14-7 on the season after posting a 2-3 record at the Kansas Jayhawk Invitational last weekend. The Bison split a pair of games with KU in Lawrence and have lost seven of their last 10 after opening the season with an 11-1 record.

NDSU is led by a solid offense and defense. The Bison are averaging more than four runs per game, while the pitching staff boasts an ERA of 2.16.

Offensively, Melissa Chmielews leads the team with a .328 average, 22 RBIs, a .534 slugging percentage and a .420 on-base percentage. Jennifer Morse is right behind her with a .326 average and Kelly Cantrell leads the team with three home runs.

In the circle, Allison Bakke is off to a phenomenal start, posting a 9-3 record with a microscopic 0.92 ERA. In 84.0 innings, Bakke has surrendered just 11 earned runs on only 57 hits. Opponents are hitting just .187 against her, while she is averaging more than one strikeout per inning. Bekki Rasmussen (3-2, 2.62 ERA) and Andi Padilla (2-2, 6.44) have also seen action in the circle this season for the Bison.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with North Dakota State, 7-0. The Huskers have never lost to the Bison and NDSU has not scored a run against the Big Red since 1980, although the teams have only met three times since then. Last year, Nebraska run-ruled North Dakota State, 8-0 in five innings, at the Big Red Tournament.

Scouting Arkansas
Arkansas is just 10-17 on the season after being swept at home by South Carolina in the opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play. The Lady Razorbacks are no stranger to Big 12 competition this season, as Arkansas is 0-6 against the Big 12, losing twice to Texas A&M, Missouri and Oklahoma by a combined score of 57-17.

Despite the SEC’s reputation as one of the top softball conferences, Nebraska is 4-0 against the league this season, including three victories over ranked SEC foes.

Arkansas and Nebraska share one common opponent this season in Wichita State. The Razorbacks fell to the Shockers at home, 3-1, on Feb. 23 and Nebraska beat WSU on the road, 4-1, last Sunday.

Arkansas is hitting just .244 as a team, but the Lady Razorbacks are averaging 3.4 runs per game. Jessica Bachkora leads the team with a .369 average, while Miranda Dixon (.329) and Dayna Huckabee (.317) are also hitting above .300. Huckabee also ranks as Arkansas’ top slugger, leading the team with four home runs, 17 RBIs and a .549 slugging percentage. The Lady Razorbacks also boast plenty of speed, as they have stolen 32 bases in 37 tries.

In the circle, no pitcher has an ERA below 3.00 and the staff has a collective 3.49 ERA. Katy Henry has thrown twice as many innings as any of the Lady Razorbacks’ other two pitchers, compiling a 7-7 record with a staff-low 3.18 ERA. In 101.1 innings, Henry has struck out 118, but has been hurt by the long ball as teams have hit 17 home runs against her en route to producing 63 runs (46 earned). Miranda Dixon is just 1-9 with a 3.71 ERA, while Teighynne Hulse is 2-12 despite a 4.31 ERA.

Friday’s contest will mark the first-ever meeting between Arkansas and Nebraska.

Clutch Hits Finally Come
Nebraska enjoyed its best offensive production of the season last weekend in Wichita. The Huskers produced 22 runs in five games after scoring just 45 runs in their first 17 games.

As the numbers show, despite a significant drop in on-base percentage and just a slight rise in hits per game, Nebraska was able to score nearly two more runs per game. Even with fewer base runners and fewer scoring chances, the addition of a few timely hits made all the difference for a Husker offense that had been on the verge of big performances all season.

NU had been leaving an average of nearly eight runners on base per game prior to last weekend, but at the Shocker Invitational, the Huskers stranded an average of just over five. Nebraska hit .292 (19-for-65) with runners on base last weekend and .304 (14-for-46) with runners in scoring position. In its first 17 games, the Huskers hit just .245 (57-for-233) with runners on and only .250 (41-for-164) with runners in scoring position.

NU’s timely hits meant the Huskers were able to produce nearly two more runs per game despite averaging one fewer at bat per game with both runners on base and runners in scoring position.

In addition to timely hitting, Nebraska also produced more extra-base hits, including four home runs, two of which came with runners on base. Prior to last weekend, Nebraska had homered just three times in its first 17 games and each homer had been a solo blast.

Carwile’s Power on Display Again
Sophomore Crystal Carwile found the groove that made her a first-team all-region selection last weekend at the Shocker Invitational. Carwile hit .375 on the weekend and posted a whopping .688 slugging percentage, hitting two doubles and a home run while producing six RBIs in five games after totaling four RBIs through her first 17 contests.

Carwile, who belted 12 home runs as a freshman - one shy of the NU rookie record - hit her first homer of the season last Sunday against Wichita State. The home run came in her 22nd game. Last year it took Carwile only three games to record her first roundtripper and she had five homers through her first eight games.

Carwile’s home runs have come in streaks as she had a late-season surge of five homers in five games last season in addition to her early-season barrage. NU hopes Carwile is on the verge of another home run flurry. It appears she might be as she had a second home run drift just feet foul against the Shockers.

Huskers and the Home Run
Fueled by the first career home runs from sophomore Kimberly Fuller and freshman Alex Hupp, Nebraska belted four roundtrippers in five games last weekend after hitting just three in its first 17 games of the season.

In addition to Fuller and Hupp, senior Ashley DeBuhr and sophomore Crystal Carwile recorded their first blasts of the season. Hupp and DeBuhr also teamed up to hit NU’s first back-to-back home runs of the season while also producing Nebraska’s lone multi-homer game.

Huskers Hope For Continued Home Success
When the Huskers face North Dakota State on Friday morning, Nebraska will not only open the home portion of its schedule, but will also be looking to continue its recent success at Bowlin Stadium.

In 2006, Nebraska opened its home campaign with 11 consecutive victories before finishing the home slate with a 20-1 record, tying the school record for most home wins in a season while also finishing with the second-best winning percentage. Overall, NU has won seven straight at Bowlin Stadium and 20 of its last 21.

Oh, So Close
While Nebraska has posted a solid 15-7 record against a tough schedule that has featured 10 games against opponents that have appeared in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll at least once this season, the Huskers have come very close to posting an outstanding record.

NU has lost four one-run games and the Huskers have dropped four contests when they led after the third inning, matching the entire 2006 total. NU has led in 19 of its 22 games this season.

Stealing the Show
Nebraska has traditionally been known for its speed and after stealing just five bases in nine attempts at the season-opening Paradise Classic, the Husker speed has returned.

In five games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, Feb. 23-25, NU was successful on 8-of-8 stolen-base attempts. Last week at the UNLV Invitational, Nebraska swiped 12 bases in 13 tries.

After stealing 5-of-9 bases the opening weekend, Nebraska went 20-of-21 over its next 10 games and is 32-of-40 (80 percent) on the season. For comparison’s sake, the players on the 2007 roster were a combined 14-of-24 on stolen bases in their career prior to this season.

A Look at the Expected Lineup
1. Darcy Rutherford, LF (13 starts, .343, 0 HR, 2 RBIs)
Rutherford is arguably the Huskers’ most improved player. Primarily a pinch runner in 2006, when she appeared in 25 games and scored four runs, Rutherford went 2-for-4 in the first weekend to post her first career hits. After not recording a hit last season, she is 12-for-35 this year, recorded her first RBI and walk and has stolen six bases.

2. Meghan Mullin, RF (22 starts, .368, 0 HR, 5 RBIs)
Mullin saw limited action as a freshman in 2006, but showed good patience and bat control in the box. As a regular starter this season, Mullin has already surpassed her freshman totals in nearly every category and she leads the team with 25 hits, a .368 average, nine stolen bases and three game-winning RBIs.

3. Devin Porter, SS (22 starts, .292, 2 HR, 8 RBIs)
Porter has made great progress as a player through her first three seasons in the Husker program. She has been named the Huskers’ Most Improved Player in each of the last two years and enjoyed her best season in 2006, when she earned second-team All-Big 12 honors after leading the Huskers with a .360 average in league play.

4. Crystal Carwile, 1B (22 starts, .282, 1 HR, 10 RBIs)
Carwile burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2006, homering three times in her first weekend en route to finishing with 12 home runs, one shy of the NU freshman record. Carwile began the 2007 season slowly after missing the offseason with shoulder surgery, but has begun to emerge and leads the team with 10 RBIs.

5. Brittany Pascale, C (20 starts, .291, 0 HR, 4 RBIs)
Pascale showed continued improvement throughout 2006 and emerged as one of NU’s most clutch hitters. Pascale had three seventh-inning, pinch-hit at bats that resulted in her producing the game-tying run. In 2007, she has drawn a team-high 13 walks and has filled in at catcher for the injured Jamie Waldecker.

6. Ashley DeBuhr, RHP (10 starts, 8-3, 1.53 ERA, 95 Ks, 77.2 IP; .200, 1 HR, 4 RBIs)
DeBuhr continued to be more dominant in the circle, following her second-team All-Big 12 and All-Midwest honors from 2005 with first-team selections in 2006. One of 50 players named to the 2007 USA Softball Preseason Player of the Year Watch List, she leads the team with two shutouts and has four starts against ranked teams.

7. Alex Hupp, RHP/DP (4 starts, 2-0, 1.98 ERA, 12 Ks, 17.2 IP; 12 starts, .121, 1 HR, 4 RBIs)
A two-time NFCA High School All-American, Hupp is a solid pitcher who can also hit. She tossed a one-hit shutout in her first career start and boasts an ERA under 2.00. Her offense has continued to improve, as she hit .286 with a double, a homer and an RBI in five games at the Shocker Invitational last weekend.

8. Kimberly Fuller, INF (10 starts, .214, 1 HR, 6 RBIs)
In limited action in 2006, Fuller went 2-for-11, but drew three walks to post a .357 on-base percentage. She is currently engaged in an ongoing battle with Whitney Barrett for the starting job at second. Fuller has emerged of late, starting the last six games at second and hitting .238 with a homer and six RBIs in the month of March.

9. Crystal Gonzalez, CF (8 starts, .231, 0 HR, 0 RBIs)
Labeled as "probably the best defensive prospect in Southern California" by the Los Angeles Times, Gonzalez is perfect in the field this season and has shown great range and a strong arm. One of the fastest players on the team, the slapper has recorded 11 hits this season and has also added four stolen bases in four tries.

10. Carmen Kier, 3B (22 starts, .125, 0 HR, 3 RBIs)
Kier is in her second season as the everyday starter at third after belting a career-high five homers and driving in a career-high 19 in 2006. Known as a patient hitter, Kier has drawn 44 career walks, including six this season to rank second on the team. She also boasts power as nearly 30 percent of her career hits have gone for extra bases.

Whitney Barrett, INF (13 starts, .115, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
Just a freshman, Barrett has already earned 13 starts at second base through the first 22 games of the season. Despite being bothered by an eye problem that has limited her vision, Barrett has appeared in all but one game.

Jaime Borg, OF (1 start, .000, 0 HR, 0 RBIs)
Borg moves back to the outfield after being the Huskers’ No. 3 pitcher in each of the past two seasons. She recorded her first career hit and stolen base last season and added a career-high 10 runs and two walks.

Haley Long, DP (18 starts, .268, 0 HR, 6 RBIs)
Long was a late find for the Huskers as she was brought in this past summer to add depth to the outfield. She got off to a hot start, but has slowed lately. Still ranks second on the team with four doubles.

Jamie Waldecker, C (9 starts, .200, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
A clutch hitter with power, Waldecker is also one of the best defensive catchers in the Big 12 Conference. A broken hand suffered Feb. 23 will keep her out of the lineup for another few weeks.

Molly Hill, RHP (8 starts, 5-4, 1.15 ERA, 75 Ks, 61.0 IP)
Hill is the Huskers’ No. 2 pitcher and is expected to make a few starts this weekend. As a freshman, Hill went 18-2 to establish a school record with a .900 winning percentage. She is a hard-luck 5-4 this year with a 1.15 ERA.

Let’s Play Extras
After going to extra innings just five times in 56 games a year ago, Nebraska had already played four extra-inning contests through the first 17 games of the 2007 season. The Huskers were a perfect 5-0 in extra innings last season and are 3-1 this season after defeating No. 18 California, 5-2, in nine innings on March 4.

Nebraska had won eight consecutive extra-inning affairs before falling to No. 20 Florida State on Feb. 23 and has won two straight since that setback.

A big part of the reason for Nebraska’s success in extra-innings - especially this season - has been the work of the pitching staff. The Husker hurlers have thrown a total of six extra frames this season, with each inning subject to the international tie-breaker rule, where a runner is automatically placed on second to start the inning. In those six innings, the NU staff has allowed the runner placed on second to score only once.

Nebraska vs. Ranked Teams
Nebraska has played a challenging schedule thus far in 2007 and the Huskers have responded against the best competition, posting a 4-1 record against ranked teams, while going just 11-6 against foes outside of the top 25. Four of the five games - and three of the four wins - have been decided by one run, with the game coming down to the winning teams’ last at bat.

Three of the five contests have gone extra-innings, including a 2-1 nine-inning loss to No. 20 Florida State that stands as NU’s lone loss to a ranked foe. Nebraska has had a lead in each of the five games and the Huskers have produced the game-winning run in the seventh inning once and in the eighth inning twice.

The Huskers have outscored their top-25 opponents 10-5 in the five games after defeating No. 18 California, 5-2 in eight innings on March 4 in the final game of the UNLV Invitational.

Offensively, NU has been better than its ranked counterparts, but runners-left-on-base has kept each of the games close.

Husker Hurlers Excelling Against Ranked Teams
While Nebraska is 4-1 against ranked teams, the pitching staff has been especially stellar against ranked competition, compiling a 0.37 ERA. Senior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr and sophomore right-hander Molly Hill have combined to allow just two earned runs in 38.1 innings, as they have thrown two shutouts in five games, while not allowing an earned run in two other contests. In fact, the staff has not surrendered an earned run to a ranked team through the first seven innings in any of the five games this season and no ranked team has recorded more than four hits in a game, despite receiving additional at bats with three extra-inning affairs.

In the lone loss to the No. 24 Florida State, DeBuhr was two outs away from tossing her third straight two-hit shutout against a ranked foe. Before giving up back-to-back ninth-inning homers to FSU, DeBuhr had thrown 23.1 scoreless innings against top-25 opponents, including two international tie-breaker frames where a runner was placed on second to begin the inning. She had also allowed just six hits in those 23 innings. DeBuhr is now 3-1 with a 0.45 ERA against ranked teams this season. A native of Beatrice, Neb., DeBuhr has stymied opposing hitters, holding them to a meager .122 average while striking out 38.

Hill matched DeBuhr in her lone start against a top-25 team, tossing a three-hitter and not allowing an earned run against 18th-ranked Georgia. She was tagged for just one unearned run while striking out six.

Sophomores Stepping Up
While it’s not unusual for players to show great improvement from their freshmen to sophomore seasons, the statistical improvement of this year’s sophomore class has been remarkable, especially considering where they rank on the team and how little the majority of the class played as freshmen.

Slappers Meghan Mullin and Darcy Rutherford lead the team in batting average and entering the Shocker Invitational last weekend, sophomores had claimed all five of the top batting averages on the team. Currently, the six sophomores who hit for the Huskers all rank in the top eight on the batting average chart.

In addition to Mullin and Rutherford, Brittany Pascale (.291), Crystal Carwile (.282), Haley Long (.268) have all posted totals higher than the team’s collective .256 batting average. Those five are hitting a combined .309 while the entire sophomore class has posted an impressive .300 average.

To put these totals in perspective, the sophomore class is hitting 94-for-313 in 22 games this season after going a combined 72-for-284 (.254) as freshmen in 2006.

The impact of the sophomore class is also felt in the circle, where Molly Hill is 5-4 with a team-low 1.15 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .180 against Hill, a number that ranks third in the Big 12 Conference. Hill also leads the team with an average of 8.61 strikeouts per seven innings, a total that ranks second in the league.

Don’t Leave Me Stranded
Missed opportunities, particularly in the form of runners left on base, have kept Nebraska from posting a more impressive record thus far in 2007. Not coincidentally, the Huskers stranded an average of nearly three fewer runners per game last weekend and NU’s run production jumped from 2.6 runs per game to 4.4 while Nebraska posted a 5-0 record.

In its 15 wins, NU has left a total of 92 runners on base, an average of just over six per game. In its seven losses, the Huskers have stranded 69 for an average of nearly 10 runners per game.

Nebraska was particularly hard hit during a pair of losses on day one of the NFCA Leadoff Classic, stranding 11 runners in a 4-1 loss to Tennessee Tech before stranding a tournament-record 18 while being held scoreless through the first eight innings of a 2-1, nine-inning setback to No. 20 Florida State.

On the season, NU has stranded 161 runners in 22 games, an average of 6.2 per game. By leaving only 26 runners on base in five games last weekend, the Huskers lowered their left-on-base total by two runners per game.

Pencil Me In
Nebraska has used a different batting lineup in each of the first 22 games of the season after having a fairly set lineup for most of 2006. Most of the starters have been set, with the exception of second base and designated player.

Even with the majority of the position starters settled upon, head coach Rhonda Revelle has done a lot of shifting in an attempt to maximize the strengths of the lineup. After beginning the year with senior Devin Porter leading off, the Huskers appear to have returned to their proven pattern of having a slapper lead off.

Waldecker Sidelined with Injury
Nebraska suffered a big blow at the NFCA Leadoff Classic when senior catcher Jamie Waldecker went down with an injury. In the second game of the day on Feb. 23 against Florida State, Waldecker suffered a broken hand while tagging out a runner. Although she attempted to play the next day, she was only able to catch for one inning.

The injury is healing well but her cast will not be removed until after the Huskers open Big 12 Conference play at nationally-ranked Baylor on March 24 and 25. Once the cast is removed, Waldecker will wear a splint for two weeks, as she is not expected to be back to 100 percent until the Huskers travel to preseason league favorite Texas A&M the first weekend of April.

Tough Schedule Ahead
Nebraska has grown accustomed to playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, and 2007 will be no exception. NU will play at least 18 games against teams that earned 2006 NCAA Tournament bids.

The Huskers will also play at least four regular-season contests against teams that advanced to Super Regionals, including a pair against Women's College World Series participant Texas.

Nebraska is also scheduled to play at least 13 regular-season games against eight teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA preseason top 25 poll. Through the first 17 games this season, Nebraska played a total of 10 contests against teams that made an appearance in the top 25 at some point this year.

Revelle Nears 600th Wins
Head Coach Rhonda Revelle boasts a career record of 576-298, including a 568-282 mark at Nebraska. Already the first women’s coach of any sport in school history with 500 career wins, Revelle ranks third all-time among all coaches in NU history with her 568 wins at Nebraska.

Revelle is approaching another milestone this season, as she needs just 24 victories to reach the 600-win milestone and 36 victories to record her 600th win at Nebraska.

Home Sweet Home
The Husker softball team continued to receive tremendous fan support in 2006. Nebraska ranked 10th in the nation in Division I softball attendance with an average of 626 fans per game. NU was one of 15 schools to draw 10,000 or more fans and one of only three schools to reach the mark in 16 or fewer home games.

The thousands of fans who passed through the gates of Bowlin Stadium were not only treated to great softball, but watched the game from one of the top stadiums in the nation. In addition to its many fan amenities, Bowlin Stadium and its tremendous playing surface was named the 2004 SportsTurf Managers Association Field of the Year.