Huskers Host Final Home Games This Week

The Nebraska softball team will play its final regular-season home games this week, as the Huskers open a three-game homestand at Bowlin Stadium on Thursday against Kansas.

First pitch for the rescheduled contest is set for 1:30 p.m. The Huskers then close the home portion of their schedule this weekend against Oklahoma State. Nebraska is currently 16-2 at home this season and could post as many as 19 home victories with a sweep this week, which would be just one win shy of the school record.

NU defeated KU, 3-0, in Lawrence in the first meeting this season and the Huskers will be looking for the season sweep on Thursday. A win would not only give Nebraska the sweep, but it would also put NU one step closer to a top-six seed for the Big 12 Championship, allowing the Huskers to avoid having to play an extra game.

A victory would also give Nebraska its eighth conference win of the season and draw it one win closer to posting at least a .500 record in the Big 12 Conference. The Huskers are the only team in the league that has not had a losing conference record since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.

Nebraska takes a two-game losing streak into Thursday’s contest, as the Huskers saw their seven-game win streak snapped with a pair of tough losses at No. 4 Oklahoma last weekend. The first game was the toughest of the two losses, as NU fell despite scoring a season-high nine runs. The Sooners erased a three-run deficit with four runs in their final at bat.

OU’s comeback marked the first time in 106 games dating back to the opening week of the 2004 season that Nebraska lost a game in which it led after six innings.

The Huskers again had a lead on Sunday before a defensive miscue led to four unearned runs as the Sooners cruised to a 5-1 win.

Despite two disappointing losses on the road to one of the top teams in the nation, Nebraska had plenty of positives to take away from its trip to Norman.

NU not only led in both games, but the Huskers were one out away from winning on Saturday and given the way Sunday’s contest ended, Nebraska was just one out away from a 1-1 tie heading into the bottom of the seventh.

One of the most frustrating aspects of the weekend was how close Nebraska was to holding Oklahoma off the scoreboard in several innings. Twelve of the Sooners’ 15 runs on the weekend came with two outs, including the tying and go-ahead runs in both contests.

Although it’s a moot point to calculate what would have happened had NU recorded that elusive third out in those innings, without those two-out runs the Huskers would have won the first game 9-2 and been tied late in game two.

Even with the two losses to Oklahoma, Nebraska has won 14 of its last 16 games, a stretch which includes six games against top-15 opponents.

Leading the way has been the emergence of the Husker offense. Prior to being held to just one run in its last game, the offense had averaged more than five runs per game over its last six contests and more than four runs per game over its last 10 games. On the season, NU is averaging only 3.1 runs per game.

Scouting the Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas is 29-18-1 on the season and 5-8 in the Big 12 Conference after sweeping a two-game series from Texas Tech last weekend. The sweep snapped a five-game losing streak for the Jayhawks, who are just 3-5 since losing 3-0 to Nebraska on April 4.

Kansas has struggled somewhat offensively, as the Jayhawks are hitting just .240 as a team, good for ninth in the league. KU has belted 33 home runs to help it average better than three runs per game.

Stevie Crisosto is the only Jayhawk hitting above .300, as she leads the team with a .322 average, 30 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple and 12 stolen bases. Elle Pottorf has been the top slugger, producing team-high totals of eight home runs, 35 RBIs and a .488 slugging percentage.

In the circle, returning All-Big 12 performer Kassie Humphreys has endured an up-and-down season, although she has been stellar of late, allowing only one earned run in her last 19-plus innings. On the season, Humphreys is 15-10 with a 2.08 ERA in 155.0 innings and opponents have struck out 185 times against her while hitting just .187. Valerie George (9-4, 1.60 ERA, 100.2 IP) and Sarah Vertelka (5-4, 2.77 ERA, 68.1 IP) have also seen extensive work in the circle for KU.

A Look at the Series History
Kansas leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 52-47. Thursday will mark the 100th all-time meeting between the schools and according to an informal survey conducted by the Florida State sports information office, the NU-KU series is one of only 11 series nationally to boast 100 all-time meetings.

Nebraska has won three of the last four meetings, including a 3-0 win in Lawrence on April 4. In that meeting, senior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr shut down the KU offense, as she tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out 12.

Nebraska gave DeBuhr all of the run support she would need with two quick runs in the top of the first. Sophomore Meghan Mullin got things started with a one-out infield single and fellow sophomore Crystal Carwile was then hit by a pitch. A single from senior Jamie Waldecker loaded the bases with only one out before Mullin came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Brittany Pascale.

Carwile then scored to put NU up 2-0 after an errant throw by the KU catcher as Waldecker stole second.

The Huskers made it 3-0 in the top of the second when sophomore Haley Long led off with a single, advanced to third on an error and a sacrifice and scored on an RBI ground out from freshman Whitney Barrett.

The last time Kansas and Nebraska met at Bowlin Stadium, DeBuhr tossed her second career no-hitter as she allowed only two walks while striking out 16 on April 26 of last season.

DeBuhr Dominant Against Kansas
Senior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr has been absolutely dominant against Kansas the past two seasons. Since the start of 2006, DeBuhr has thrown four complete games agaainst KU, posting a 3-1 record while not allowing an earned run in 28 innings of work.

In those 28 innings, DeBuhr has allowed only two unearned runs on just eight hits. She has also struck out at least 10 batters in each of her four starts, striking out a total of 49 batters.

Streak Snapped
When Nebraska took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning at No. 4 Oklahoma last Saturday, it seemed likely the Huskers would win. The Sooners rallied, however, with four runs in their last at bat to post a 10-9 victory. The blown lead marked the first time in more than three years and 107 games that Nebraska had lost when leading after the sixth inning.

The Huskers are 211-3 since 2001 when leading after six innings, with senior Ashley DeBuhr suffering two of those three losses.

Hupp & The Home Run
Freshman Alex Hupp came off the bench to go 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBIs at No. 4 Oklahoma last Saturday. The home run was her second of the year, making her just the second freshman since 2002 to hit more than one home run in her debut season. Crystal Carwile is the only other player to accomplish the feat in the last five years, as she hit a team-leading 12 home runs as a freshman in 2006.

Hitting Stride
The Nebraska offense has begun to emerge over the past few weeks, as the Huskers are hitting .255 over their last seven games, a stretch that has featured four contests against top-15 teams, another against a conference leader and four road games. NU has scored 33 runs over that stretch, an average of nearly five runs per game for a team that was barely averaging three runs per contest before the recent surge.

While Nebraska’s team average and on-base percentage have been on the rise, the Huskers’ power numbers have also soared. Breaking down the last 18 games - since Nebraska entered conference play and mid-week portions of its schedule, the Huskers posted a 7-2 record over their first nine games and a 7-2 record over their last nine contests.

In the first nine games, NU hit just .235 with an on-base percentage of .307 while scoring only 24 runs. A big reason for the low run total was the fact that Nebraska had just one home run and only 10 extra-base hits for a slugging percentage of only .295.

Over its most recent nine games, NU is hitting .259 with a .328 on-base percentage while scoring 39 runs. With the increased run production, Nebraska has also seen a power boost, as the Huskers have hit four home runs and 14 extra-base hits durings its recent surge to post a .351 slugging percentage.

Overall, Nebraska has recorded at least three extra-base hits in three of its last four games after producing three or more extra-base hits only once in its previous 25 contests. NU has also hit four home runs in its last seven games after hitting just eight home runs through its first 42 contests this season.

Consistency in the Circle
Pitching has undoubtedly been Nebraska’s strength this season, as the Huskers rank among the Big 12 and national leaders with a 1.36 team ERA, even after surrendering 10 earned runs at No. 4 Oklahoma last Saturday. The staff has shown remarkable consistency in the circle this season, allowing one earned run or less in 34 of the Huskers’ 49 games (69 percent).

In fact, Nebraska has not allowed more than one earned run in three straight games all season, allowing two earned runs or more in two consecutive games on only three occasions.

Home Cooking
Nebraska has been a tough team to beat at Bowlin Stadium this season. The Huskers are 16-2 at home this season after posting a 20-1 mark in 2006, giving NU 36 wins in its last 39 home games.

Playing in front of the home crowd in familiar surroundings has helped the Huskers post solid numbers in every category. As a team, Nebraska is hitting .033 better at home than on the road, while averaging nearly one more run per game even after the Huskers exploded for a season-high nine runs at Oklahoma last Saturday.

The pitching staff has also posted an ERA under 1.00 in 18 home games, while compiling an ERA above 2.00 in 12 true road games. Although Nebraska has certainly been better at home, it should be noted that 11 of Nebraska’s 12 road games have come against teams with a winning record. Each of the Huskers’ eight road losses have also come to a team currently ranked in the top 16 of the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.

Revelle Coaches 900th Game
In what had to be one of the wilder games of her career, Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle managed her 900th career game last Saturday in the Huskers’ heartbreaking 10-9 loss at No. 4 Oklahoma. Revelle has now coached 901 career games, including 877 at Nebraska.