Huskers Wrap Up Homestand with Texas Tech

Riding a four-game winning streak, the Nebraska softball team will look to post its first Big 12 Conference victories of the season this weekend when the Huskers welcome the Texas Tech Red Raiders to Lincoln for a two-game weekend series at Bowlin Stadium.

First pitch for Saturday’s contest is set for 2 p.m. while Sunday’s game will begin at Noon. Both games can be heard live on Huskers.com.

Saturday’s game with Texas Tech will wrap up a wild month of March for the Huskers. NU currently boasts a 17-6 record this month, but the roller coaster month has been full of highs and lows.

Nebraska began the month just 1-2 before stringing together 12 consecutive wins to mark the Huskers’ longest win streak since 2002. Following the 12-game win streak, NU lost its next four games, tying the Huskers’ longest losing streak since 1996.

As NU continues to strive for consistency, especially at the plate, the Huskers can take comfort in their mid-week play which featured doubleheader sweeps of Drake and Colorado State.

Against Drake, NU ended a 23-inning scoreless streak while scoring four runs over the final 4.1 innings to post a 4-3 come-from-behind victory that was capped by freshman Whitney Barrett’s walk-off double in the bottom of the eighth.

Sophomore Molly Hill then led NU to the sweep by tossing a one-hit shutout in the Huskers’ 3-0 victory.

The next day against Colorado State, Hill tossed another shutout while the Husker offense made the most of its one hit, a solo home run from sophomore Brittany Pascale that powered NU to the 1-0 victory.

The Huskers closed the sweep with another walk-off victory. This time it was senior Jamie Waldecker providing the heroics, as her walk-off, seventh-inning single came just one inning after the Huskers had erased a 2-1 deficit.

Nebraska not only showed fight this week by winning a pair of games in its last at bat and posting two come-from-behind victories, but the Husker offense also showed life, producing 11 runs in 24.2 innings following its 23-inning scoreless drought.

The return of Waldecker and Barrett should help the Huskers in their quest for consistency as each performed well in the mid-week contests after returning to the lineup from injury.

Barring further injuries, Nebraska appears to be nearing a set lineup which should help the consistency on offense. NU used the same lineup for the first time this year in its mid-week action and Barrett has emerged as a solid candidate to lead off.

Scouting Texas Tech
Texas Tech enters this weekend with a .500 record on the season after dropping a mid-week contest with North Texas. Overall, the Red Raiders have lost four in a row and they are 0-3 in the Big 12 Conference, falling to Missouri and Oklahoma twice.

Tech has played a challenging schedule that has included several games against ranked teams, including two contests against defending national champion Arizona and three games against top-10 foe Arizona State.

TTU is led by a solid offense that is hitting .272 as a team, while averaging four runs per game. Ashley Parker leads a contingent of five starters hitting .337 or better. Parker is batting .400 this season and has scored a team-high 27 runs while stealing a team-best 16 bases. Jennifer Corkin has been the Red Raiders’ top slugger, posting team-high totals of six doubles, five home runs and 27 RBIs.

In the circle, Tech has posted a 2.91 ERA. Newcomer Ashly Jacobs has thrown more than half of the team’s 224.0 total innings, compiling a 13-10 record with a 2.20 ERA in 140.0 innings. Jacobs has struck out 121 but has also allowed 131 hits. Sarah Losleben has been the only other Red Raider to see any extensive action in the circle, as she is 4-6 with a 4.07 ERA in 67.0 innings of work.

A Look at the Series History
Nebraska has historically had little trouble with Texas Tech, as the Huskers have won 12 in a row against the Red Raiders and 24 of the 27 all-time meetings. Despite the 12-game Husker win streak, NU has had to work hard to earn victories over the Red Raiders the past two seasons.

In 2006, Nebraska trailed entering the seventh inning of both games before rallying to pull out a victory. In the first game, Texas Tech erased a 2-0 deficit with three runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Down by one entering the seventh inning, back-to-back solo home runs on consecutive pitches from Jamie Waldecker and Crystal Carwile lifted the Huskers to a 4-3 victory.

The next day would be no easier for NU, as the Huskers would need 10 innings to pull out a deceiving 10-4 victory. For the second straight game, Nebraska trailed 3-2 entering the seventh inning before rallying. A throwing error and a bases-loaded walk from Brittany Pascale gave NU a 4-3 lead, but Texas Tech answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to force extra innings.

The game remained tied until the Huskers exploded for six runs in the top of the 10th inning, fueled by a three-run home run off the bat of Devin Porter.

Two of Nebraska’s last three games with Texas Tech have been decided by one run, with the only contest during that stretch not decided by one run being the 10-inning game. Overall, Nebraska leads the all-time series, 24-1, including a 9-1 mark in Lincoln and a 4-0 record at Bowlin Stadium.

Borg Breaks Through
With the Husker offense struggling, senior Jaime Borg made her first start at designated player since Feb. 11 - and only her second start of the season - last Sunday at Baylor. Borg made the most of her opportunity and did her part to help jumpstart the offense, finishing 1-for-1 with two hit-by-pitches.

Borg followed her weekend performance by finishing 2-for-6 while starting both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader with Drake. Borg recorded a hit in three consecutive games to not only post a career-best three-game hitting streak but also triple her career total of one hit entering her senior season.

A Lincoln native, Borg also scored a career-high two runs in the first game against Drake, including the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

DeBuhr Reaches Milestone
When senior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr struck out the first batter of what proved to be a 16-strikeout performance in game two of Wednesday’s doubleheader with Colorado State. The strikeout marked the 800th strikeout of her career.

DeBuhr is one of only four pitchers in Nebraska history to record 800 or more strikeouts in her career and the Beatrice native needs just 24 more strikeouts to pass her pitching coach, Lori Sippel, for third place on the NU charts. DeBuhr is 130 strikeouts away from tying Peaches James’ school record and has an outside shot to reach James’ mark.

Barrett Boosts Huskers
Freshman Whitney Barrett has not had an easy time so far at Nebraska. In addition to the normal adjustments a freshman must make, Barrett has been hit by injuries that have plagued her short career as a Husker.

Barrett developed a rare eye condition that limited her productivity early in the season, and she has been limited lately by a hand injury. Although not 100 percent, Barrett saw her first action in the lineup in 10 games on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader with Drake.

Barrett responded by going 3-for-4 with a walk-off double against the Bulldogs. Her three hits matched her career total of three hits in 26 at bats entering the contest. In game two, Barrett moved into the leadoff role and went 1-for-2 while scoring a pair of runs in the Huskers’ 3-0 victory.

A native of Wetumpka, Ala., Barrett’s emergence has helped awaken a struggling Nebraska offense. Prior to Barrett’s return to the lineup, the Huskers were shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 1999 and had not produced an earned run in three games while in the middle of a four-game losing streak.

With Barrett back in the lineup, Nebraska has scored 11 runs in its last four games while winning each of those contests.

Waldecker Returns
Freshman Whitney Barrett was not the only welcomed addition to the Husker lineup this week. Senior Jamie Waldecker had the cast removed from her broken left hand and not only received some at bats, but also made her first start behind the plate since Feb. 24.

Waldecker, who suffered the broken hand against Florida State on Feb. 23, had been available to hit the past two weeks, although her effectiveness was limited by her cast.

Waldecker made her initial return against Arkansas on March 18, but was able to only swing with one hand. She did go 1-for-3 with an RBI, however.

The second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with Colorado State marked her full return, as she was not only in the lineup but was behind the plate as well. She immediately made her presence felt as she went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs while delivering a walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Waldecker’s return should not only be a big boost to the Husker offense, but her presence behind the plate could be just as big. One of the top defensive catchers in the conference, Waldecker boasts a strong and accurate throwing arm and is tough to steal against. Opponents have stolen only three bases in six tries in Waldecker’s 10 games behind the plate. In contrast, opponents have stolen 35 bases in 43 attempts against the Huskers without Waldecker behind the plate.

Porter Ties School Record
Senior Devin Porter was hit by a pitch in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader with Colorado State, marking the third time this season Porter has been hit by a pitch. Porter has now been hit by 17 pitches in her career, tying the Nebraska career record established by Trisha Tannahill last season.

A Consistent Winning Combination
Nebraska’s homegrown pitching duo of senior Ashley DeBuhr and sophomore Molly Hill have each posted at least 10 victories for the second straight season. DeBuhr - who has won at least 10 games for three consecutive seasons - has 11 victories this season, while Hill - who won 18 games as a freshman last season - also boasts 11 wins.

With both pitchers reaching double-figures in wins, it marks only the second time in the Big 12 era - dating back to the 1996 season - that the same pair of Husker pitchers have both posted 10 or more victories in consecutive seasons.

DeBuhr and Hill join exclusive company, as Jenny Voss and Leigh Ann Walker accomplished the feat in 1999-2000 and Walker teamed up with Peaches James to accomplish the feat in 2000-01. Voss, Walker and James were each a first- or second-team All-American hurler for the Huskers.

A Look at the Expected Lineup
1. Whitney Barrett, 2B (17 starts, .179, 0 HR, 2 RBIs)
Barrett earned 13 starts at second base through the first 22 games of the season, before being limited by a hand injury. Barrett returned to start all four games this week, and has moved into the leadoff role in the order. Barrett has four hits this week after entering the week with only three career hits.

2. Meghan Mullin, RF (35 starts, .340, 0 HR, 7 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 36 hits, a .340 average and nine stolen bases, while recording her first career extra-base hit.

3. Crystal Carwile, 1B (35 starts, .279, 1 HR, 17 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 emerged recently and has 13 RBIs in her last 16 games.

4. Brittany Pascale, DP (33 starts, .258, 1 HR, 5 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 the game-tying run. In 2007, she has drawn a team-high 20 walks to become the first Huskers since 2005 to draw 20 walks in a season.

5. Jamie Waldecker, C (12 starts, .222, 1 HR, 4 RBIs)
A clutch hitter with power, Waldecker is also one of the best defensive catchers in the Big 12 Conference. A broken hand forced her to miss 18 games, but made a dramatic return, starting her first game at catcher in 25 games against Drake and finishing with two RBIs, including a walk-off RBI single.

6. Devin Porter, SS (35 starts, .266, 2 HRs, 10 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.

7. Alex Hupp, LF (4 starts, 2-0, 1.98 ERA, 12 Ks, 17.2 IP; 19 starts, .107, 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. Hupp has moved to the outfield so her bat can be in the lineup. She is hitting just .107 this year but appears to be gaining confidence at the plate.

8. Haley Long, CF (29 starts, .271, 0 HR, 11 RBIs)
Long was a late find for the Huskers as she was brought in this past summer to add depth to the outfield. Long has appeared in 30 of NU’s 35 games and ranks third among all starters with a .271 average. She has also recorded four doubles and 11 RBIs, while striking out only twice, drawing six walks and being hit by two pitches.

9. Carmen Kier, 3B (35 starts, .176, 0 HR, 7 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 46 career walks, including eight 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.

10. Ashley DeBuhr, RHP (15 starts, 11-5, 1.55 ERA, 147 Ks, 112.2 IP; 10 starts, .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 has two shutouts and has five starts against ranked teams (3-2 record).

Jaime Borg, OF (5 starts, .273, 0 HR, 0 RBIs)
Borg moved back to the outfield after being the Huskers’ No. 3 pitcher in each of the past two seasons. She recorded has three hits this season after having only one career hit entering her senior season.

Kimberly Fuller, 2B (19 starts, .130, 1 HR, 7 RBIs)
In limited action in 2006, Fuller went 2-for-11, but drew three walks to post a .357 on-base percentage. She has split time at second base with Whitney Barrett, earning 19 starts this season.

Crystal Gonzalez, CF (23 starts, .214, 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.

Darcy Rutherford, OF (19 starts, .255, 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.

Molly Hill, RHP (16 starts, 11-6, 1.10 ERA, 126 Ks, 115.0 IP)
Hill is the Huskers’ No. 2 pitcher, but has the credentials to be the ace of nearly any staff. As a freshman, Hill went 18-2 to establish a school-record .900 winning percentage. She is 11-6 this year with a team-low 1.10 ERA.

King of the Hill
Sophomore right-hander Molly Hill has been superb in the circle this season for the Huskers. Hill has had a great week so far, tossing a pair of shutouts in two starts against Drake and Colorado State in mid-week action.

Hill tossed a one-hit shutout in a five-inning contest against Drake before tossing a five-hit shutout against Colorado State the next day. The back-to-back shutouts extended Hill’s scoreless innings streak to 12.1 innings, marking the third time this season she has posted a scoreless innings streak of more than 10.0 innings.

A native of Wayne, Neb., Hill has thrown consecutive shutouts on two ocassions this season and she leads the team with four shutouts on the year. Hill also ranks second in the Big 12 Conference with a 1.10 ERA, a number which currently ranks as the second-lowest ERA by a sophomore in Nebraska history, behind two-time All-American Lori Sippel, but ahead of All-Americans Jenny Voss and Peaches James.

Pair of Sophomores Fall Just Short of School Records
A pair of Husker sophomores both fell just short of tying two Nebraska single-game records in the same game earlier this week. Meghan Mullin and Brittany Pascale were both chasing history in the second game of the Huskers’ Wednesday doubleheader with Colorado State.

Mullin became the first Husker to record a four-hit game this season, as she finished a perfect 4-for-4, just one hit shy of tying the school record for hits in a game lasting seven innings or fewer.

Pascale, meanwhile drew three walks against the Rams, falling one short of Sheena Lawrick’s school record. Pascale did receive two intentional walks, which is believed to at least tie the NU record.

Stat of the Week
After sophomore Brittany Pascale was intentionally walked twice in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with Colorado State, Nebraska has now seen five intentional walks issued to the team this year, the most by any Husker team since the 2004 season.

Last year, NU was walked intentionally only three times despite hitting .273 with 39 home runs and averaging nearly five runs per game. This season, Nebraska is hitting just .240 with only eight home runs and the Huskers are averaging less than three runs per game.

Bowlin Stadium Sees 100th Game
Nebraska’s dramatic 4-3 eight-inning, come-from-behind victory in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader with Drake was not only an exciting game to watch, it also marked the Huskers’ 100th game at Bowlin Stadium, which opened prior to the 2002 season.

NU boasts a 75-28 all-time record at Bowlin Stadium, including a 9-2 mark this season after NU’s 3-2 win over Colorado State in game two of Wednesday’s doubleheader.

Errors Proving Costly
Nebraska’s defense has again been solid in 2007, compiling a .965 fielding percentage while featuring new starters at five positions. Despite the respectable fielding percentage - NU has the third-lowest error total in the Big 12 Conference - the errors the Huskers have committed have come back to haunt them.

Unearned runs have been the difference in four of NU’s 11 losses and are the difference between the Huskers’ current 24-11 record and a possible 28-7 record that would rank third in the Big 12 Conference. Unearned runs have also cost Nebraska five potential shutouts, including three for sophomore Molly Hill and two for senior Ashley DeBuhr.

Nebraska has already allowed more unearned runs in 2007 than it did in 56 games last season. In fact, the Huskers’ 24 unearned runs this season are already more than they had surrendered in three of the last five years.

While these numbers may seem astounding, the Huskers have not been a poor defensive team; opponents have just been able to capitalize frequently on NU miscues so far this season. The Huskers have a .965 fielding percentage this season, but 33 percent of the runs they have allowed have been unearned. Since 2000, an average of less than 18 percent of Nebraska’s runs have been unearned when the Huskers fielding at a .965 clip or better.

Fielding Their Position
Nebraska’s three-pitcher staff has not only combined to post a collective 1.37 ERA - the second-lowest in the Big 12 Conference - but the staff has also done an excellent job of fielding its position.

Senior Ashley DeBuhr, sophomore Molly Hill and freshman Alex Hupp are perfect in the field in a combined 49 chances. In 2006, the staff had a .935 fielding percentage, committing five errors in 77 chances. Hill has shown great improvement, as she is perfect in 28 chances this year after committing four errors in 28 chances in 2006.

Double Trouble
Despite the high number of unearned runs, the Nebraska defense has still been solid this season. In addition to their respectable fielding percentage, the Huskers have already turned 14 double plays this season, their highest total since the 2004 season.

Nebraska has turned nearly twice as many double plays as its opponents and the Huskers are averaging 0.45 double plays per game, more than double their average from the past two seasons.

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.

Meghan Mullin leads the team with a .340 batting average and sophomores claim five of the top six batting averages on the team (minimum of 25 at bats).

In addition to Mullin, Crystal Carwile (.279), Haley Long (.271), Brittany Pascale (.266) and Darcy Rutherford (.255) have all posted totals higher than the team’s collective .240 batting average. Those five are hitting a combined .285 while the entire sophomore class has posted a .270 average.

To put these totals in perspective, the sophomore class is hitting 132-for-488 in 35 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 11-6 with a team-low 1.10 ERA.

Pencil Me In
Nebraska has used a different batting lineup in 34 of its 35 games this season after having a fairly set lineup for most of 2006. The Huskers used an identical lineup in consecutive games on March 27 and 28, marking the only time this season the same lineup has been utilized twice at any point in the season.

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.

Nebraska vs. Ranked Teams
Nebraska has played a challenging schedule in 2007 and the Huskers have been decent against the best competition, posting a 4-3 record against ranked teams, while going 16-8 against foes outside of the top 25. Four of the seven games - and three of the four wins - have been decided by one run, with five games coming down to the winning teams’ last at bat.

Three of the seven contests have gone extra-innings, including a 2-1 nine-inning loss to No. 20 Florida State that stood as NU’s lone loss to a ranked team before 17th-ranked Baylor swept the Huskers last weekend. Nebraska had also led in every game prior to losing 2-0 and 3-0 at Baylor. In their four wins, the Huskers have produced the game-winning run in the seventh inning once and in the eighth inning twice.

Husker Hurlers Excelling Against Ranked Teams
While Nebraska is 4-3 against ranked teams, the pitching staff has been stellar against ranked competition, compiling a 0.83 ERA. Senior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr and sophomore right-hander Molly Hill have combined to allow just six earned runs in 50.2 innings, as they have thrown two shutouts in five games, while not allowing an earned run in two other contests. The numbers were even more astounding before No. 17 Baylor scored five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in posting two victories last weekend.

In fact, the staff had 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 had recorded more than four hits in a game, prior to the Baylor series.

In a loss to 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 3-2 with a 0.56 ERA against ranked teams this season. A native of Beatrice, Neb., DeBuhr has stymied opposing hitters, holding them to a meager .133 average while striking out 44.

Oh, So Close
While Nebraska has posted a solid 24-11 record against a tough schedule that has featured 12 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 even more outstanding record.

NU has lost five one-run games and the Huskers have dropped four contests when they led after the third inning, matching the entire 2006 total. Overall, Nebraska has led in 28 of its 35 games this season.

Let’s Play Extras
After going to extra innings just five times in 56 games a year ago, Nebraska had already played five extra-inning contests through the first 26 games of the 2007 season. The Huskers were a perfect 5-0 in extra innings last season and are 5-1 this season after winning their sixth extra-inning contests of the season in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Drake.

Nebraska had won eight consecutive extra-inning affairs before falling to No. 20 Florida State on Feb. 23 and has won three 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 eight 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 eight innings, the NU staff has allowed the runner placed on second to score only once.

Huskers Games to be Televised
Nebraska will have pair of games televised in the month of April. Nebraska’s April 15th game with Texas at Bowlin Stadium will be carried by ESPNU and the Huskers’ April 25 home contest with Kansas will be televised by NET Sports.