Huskers Host Monday Doubleheader

After going toe-to-toe with the No. 4 team in the nation on the road, the Nebraska softball team returns home for a Monday doubleheader with South Dakota State beginning at 4 p.m.

The doubleheader with the Jackrabbits opens a busy week for NU, which travels to Creighton on Wednesday before welcoming 11th-ranked Texas to Bowlin Stadium for a key two-game Big 12 Conference series this weekend. The Huskers will make their 2007 television debut on Sunday, April 15, as the NU-UT contest will air nationally on ESPNU.

Before the key weekend series, Nebraska will be looking to get back on the winning track against South Dakota State. The Huskers - winners of 19 of their last 25 - saw their seven-game win streak snapped with a pair of 1-0 losses at No. 4 Texas A&M over the weekend.

The Nebraska pitching staff continued its excellent season, as the right-handed combination of sophomore Molly Hill and senior Ashley DeBuhr stymied an Aggie offense averaging 5.5 runs per game. Hill was especially brilliant in game one, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning before A&M converted its lone hit of the game into the game-winning run.

DeBuhr then tossed a four-hitter but one hit was the difference again, as All-American Megan Gibson - who threw a shutout in the first game - hit a solo home run to account for the only run of game two. In the two games, the Husker staff held a powerful A&M lineup averaging 5.5 runs and 7.7 hits per game to just two combined runs on only five combined hits.

Despite the stellar outings from the pitching staff, the Husker offense failed to score a run even with more opportunities than the Aggies. NU out-hit Texas A&M 8-5, but the Huskers were 0-for-16 with runners on base in the two games. The Aggies, meanwhile, recorded two of their five hits with runners on base.

A return to Bowlin Stadium will hopefully help the Husker hitters, as Nebraska is averaging 3.4 runs per game at home this season, while posting a team batting average of .236. On the road, the Huskers have produced an average of only 1.9 runs per game while hitting just .200. In fact, the Huskers have been shut out in four of their five Big 12 road contests this season, although each of those losses came against a top-15 team.

Against a Texas A&M staff that ranked second in the league in ERA, the Huskers were shut out in back-to-back games for the second time this season. Prior to this year, Nebraska had not been held scoreless in consecutive games since 1999.

The lone bright spot for the Husker offense was the play of sophomore Haley Long. In three conference road games last week, Long went 5-for-8 with a double and a run scored. Against the Aggies, Long was 3-for-5 with a double, accounting for three of the Huskers’ five hits and their lone extra base hit.

Nebraska’s offense will look to get back on track quickly, as 11th-ranked Texas and third-ranked Oklahoma - the Huskers’ next two weekend opponents - boast three of the top six pitchers in the league in ERA, while ranking third and fourth, respectively, in the Big 12 in team ERA.

Scouting South Dakota State
South Dakota State will be playing its first game in 15 days as it faces NU in Monday’s doubleheader. The Jackrabbits were handed a 5-0 defeat by Ball State on March 25 in their last action. SDSU has currently lost 11 of its last 12 and is just 10-18 on the season.

The Jackrabbits have had a tough time scoring runs of late, as they have been shut out in two straight contests and have scored just three runs over their last four games.

Samantha Heinzman leads the South Dakota State offense with a .333 average and six doubles, while ranking second with 12 runs scored and 13 RBIs. Steph Kuhl has hit three of the Jackrabbits’ four home runs and has driven in a team-high 17.

In the circle, Jenna Marston and Kim Westendorf have split the innings for SDSU, with Marston posting the better numbers. In 87.2 innings, Marston has compiled a 2.79 ERA while posting a 6-7 record and allowing opponents to hit .285 against her. Westendorf is 4-11 with a 4.57 ERA in a team-high 90.1 innings.

A Look at the Series History
Nebraska is a perfect 3-0 all-time against South Dakota State, with each win coming last season. The Huskers defeated SDSU by a combined score of 21-3 last season, posting two shutouts and two run-rule victories.

Molly Hill earned the start in the first two games and rebounded from a relatively rough game one start to throw her first - and only - career no-hitter in the second game. In five innings, Hill surrendered only one walk while striking out seven. Ashley DeBuhr then shut out SDSU in the third and final game, tossing a three-hitter.

Among current Huskers, Brittany Pascale enjoyed the most offensive success against South Dakota State, finishing the three games 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs. Jamie Waldecker was 3-for-9 with three RBIs, while Crystal Carwile was 3-for-9 with a home run and two RBIs. Devin Porter, Carmen Kier and DeBuhr also hit .333 in the three-game set.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 27-8 overall and just one-half game back of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, a league which features a pair of top-25 teams.

The Bluejays are solid in all phases of the game, posting a .304 team batting average, a .966 fielding percentage and a 1.66 ERA.

Offensively, Jamie Reiss is hitting .415 and is one of three players who have scored 26 runs this season (Nebraska’s runs-scored leader has 19). TJ Eadus has been CU’s top power threat, belting a team-high 10 home runs, while slugging .649 and adding 26 RBIs.

In the circle, freshman Tara Oltman is enjoying a fantastic debut season, as she is 17-3 with a 0.91 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .186 against her and have struck out 121 times in 123.1 innings. Amanda Hess has been the Bluejays’ No. 2 pitcher, compiling a 9-4 record with a 2.21 ERA in 85.2 innings. Hess has been hurt by the long ball, surrendering 11 home runs.

A Look at the Series History
Creighton will be looking for only its second-ever series sweep over the Huskers when the teams meet for the 104th time. Nebraska has played more games and posted more victories (72) against Creighton than any other team in program history. NU leads the all-time series, 72-31, but the Bluejays have won three of the last five after the Huskers posted a 15-game winning streak from 2000 to 2004.

In the first meeting this year, Creighton took advantage of a mental lapse by the NU defense to score three second-inning runs that proved to be the difference in the Bluejays’ 4-1 win. Tara Oltman, a native of Beatrice, Neb., stymied the Husker offense, allowing just one unearned run on only two hits.

Rain delayed the game in the bottom of the second and NU starter Molly Hill was perfect over the final 5.1 innings. Hill allowed four runs on six hits, while striking out nine.

Offensively, Lincoln native Bailey Dawson was 1-for-2 with three RBIs, while Jamie Reiss went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Seniors Devin Porter and Jamie Waldecker recorded the Huskers’ only hits, while fellow senior Carmen Kier scored NU’s lone run on a Creighton throwing error.

Long’s Average Tops .300
After hitting safely in three games last week - including a pair of multi-hit efforts - sophomore Haley Long saw her average creep above .300 for the first time since March 4. Long is currently hitting .301 in her first season at the Division I level.

On the week, Long went 5-for-8, with all five hits coming against Big 12 foes. Long entered the week 0-for-4 in her short conference career. She had two hits against Kansas, two at fourth-ranked Texas A&M in game one of a doubleheader and one in the nightcap. Against the Aggies, Long recorded three of the Huskers’ eight hits.

Long joins fellow sophomore Meghan Mullin (.317) as the only Huskers hitting .300 or above. After Long’s big week, NU now has two hitters batting .300 or better at the end of a week of play for the first time since the conclusion of the Huskers’ second tournament of the season on Feb. 25.

Gonzalez Out for the Season
Freshman outfielder Crystal Gonzalez, who appeared in 30 of the Huskers’ first 34 games - including 23 starts - suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to Nebraska’s April 1 doubleheader with Texas Tech. In NU’s final practice before the series with the Red Raiders, Gonzalez tore her ACL.

Gonzalez is scheduled to undergo surgery on April 16. Although she will miss the remainder of her freshman season, she is expected to be at full strength for the Huskers’ 2007 fall season.

Huskers Post 10th Shutout for 10th Straight Season
When senior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr tossed her second straight shutout at Kansas last Wednesday, it gave the Huskers 10 shutouts this season, marking the 10th consecutive season NU has posted at least 10 shutouts. The last time a Nebraska team failed to record 10 shutouts in a season was in 1997, when the Huskers managed only five shutouts in 53 games.

Streaks Snapped
Nebraska saw several team and individual streaks snapped with a tough pair of 1-0 losses at fourth-ranked Texas A&M last weekend. The loss in game one snapped the Huskers’ seven-game win streak and NU’s streak of nine consecutive doubleheader sweeps. The game two loss also marked the first time since 1999 that Nebraska had been swept in a doubleheader - a span of 30 doubleheaders.

The pitching staff, despite outstanding performances from senior Ashley DeBuhr and sophomore Molly Hill, also saw several impressive streaks come to an end. When the Aggies’ scored the game-winning run in the eighth inning of game one, it marked the first run the Huskers had allowed in 30.0 innings, also breaking a streak of three consecutive shutouts.

Hill saw her career-high streaks of three consecutive shutouts, 8.0 hitless innings and 26.2 scoreless innings snapped. DeBuhr saw her season-high totals of two straight shutouts and 18.2 scoreless innings come to an end, as well as her career-best string of four consecutive starts with 10 or more strikeouts.

The Huskers were also shut out in back-to-back games for the second time in two weeks. Prior to that, Nebraska had not been shut out in consecutive games since 1999 and had not been held scoreless in back-to-back games twice in the same season since 1997.

Porter Sets School Record
Senior Devin Porter was hit by a pitch in game two of last Sunday’s doubleheader with Texas Tech, marking the fourth time this season Porter has been hit by a pitch. Porter has now been hit by 18 pitches in her career, breaking the previous school record of 17, set by Trisha Tannahill just last season.

A Look at the Expected Lineup
1. Whitney Barrett, 2B (22 starts, .211, 0 HR, 4 RBIs)
Barrett earned 13 starts at second base through the first 22 games of the season, before being limited by a hand injury. Barrett has returned to start the last eight games at second and had eight hits in six-game stretch immediately following her return after entering the week with only three career hits.

2. Meghan Mullin, CF (40 starts, .317, 0 HR, 8 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 39 hits, a .317 average and 11 stolen bases, while recording her first career extra-base hit.

3. Crystal Carwile, 1B (40 starts, .282, 1 HR, 19 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 15 RBIs in her last 21 games.

4. Jamie Waldecker, C (17 starts, .184, 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 she made a dramatic return, starting her first game at catcher in 25 games against Drake on March 27 and finishing with two RBIs, including a walk-off RBI single.

5. Brittany Pascale, DP (38 starts, .246, 1 HR, 8 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.

6. Devin Porter, SS (40 starts, .248, 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. Haley Long, RF (32 starts, .301, 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 33 of NU’s 40 games and ranks third second all starters with a .301 average. She has also recorded five doubles and 11 RBIs, while striking out only six times, drawing six walks and being hit by two pitches.

8. Alex Hupp, LF (24 starts, .114, 1 HR, 4 RBIs; 4 starts, 2-0, 1.98 ERA, 12 Ks, 17.2 IP)
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 .114 this year but has three doubles, a homer and four RBIs.

9. Carmen Kier, 3B (38 starts, .198, 0 HR, 9 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 (18 starts, 13-6, 1.37 ERA, 179 Ks, 132.2 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 four shutouts and has six starts against ranked teams (3-3 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, INF (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.

Darcy Rutherford, OF (21 starts, .250, 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 (18 starts, 12-7, 1.03 ERA, 139 Ks, 129.1 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 12-7 this year with a 1.03 ERA.

Crystal Gonzalez, OF (23 starts, .214, 0 HR, 0 RBIs)
Gonzalez was the Huskers’ top defensive outfielder and was also possibly the fastest player on the team. She tore her ACL prior to an April 1 doubleheader with Texas Tech and is out for the season.

April Being Good to Pitchers
Nebraska boasts one of the top pitching staffs in the nation and currently leads the Big 12 Conference with a collective 1.25 ERA. While the right-handed duo of senior Ashley DeBuhr and sophomore Molly Hill have been consistently solid all year, they have stepped up their play in the month of April.

In five April games - all against Big 12 opponents, including three on the road and two versus top-five foes - DeBuhr and Hill have been incredibly tough, despite a 3-2 record.

In five April games, the staff has tossed three shutouts while not allowing a run through 7.1 innings of a fourth contest. The staff has allowed only 15 hits in 34.1 innings this month to post a remarkable opponent batting average of just .135.

Hill currently ranks second in the Big 12 with a 1.03 ERA and in addition to the Huskers’ league-leading 1.25 team ERA, NU also leads the league with 330 strikeouts and a .190 opponent batting average. In conference-only action, Nebraska ranks second in the Big 12 with a 0.91 ERA, and leads the league with three shutouts and a 9.12 strikeouts-per-seven-innings average.

Defense Stepping Up
Pitching is not the only facet of the game the Huskers have improved on lately. Defensively, NU has committed just five errors in its last nine games. Nebraska has posted five errorless games in its last eight contests and had a season-high errorless streak snapped at 100 chances in game one of last Friday’s doubleheader at No. 4 Texas A&M.

Before the current streak, the Huskers had gone an entire game without an error only nine times through the first 33 contests. NU has also turned two double plays in five April games and thrown out 4-of-7 would-be base stealers after allowing opponents to successfully steal nine bases in their previous 10 attempts.

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 a March 28 doubleheader with Colorado State, the strikeout marked the 800th of her career.

DeBuhr is one of only four pitchers in Nebraska history to record 800 or more career strikeouts and the Beatrice native passed her pitching coach, Lori Sippel, for third place on the NU record list with a 13-strikeout performance at Kansas on April 4. DeBuhr is just 19 strikeouts away from moving into sole possession of second place on the NU charts and only 105 strikeouts away from tying Peaches James’ school record.

Pencil Me In
Nebraska has used a different batting lineup in 37 of its 40 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 to mark the first time this season - a total of 33 games to that point- NU had utilized the same lineup.

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.

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 .317 batting average and sophomores claim five of the top six batting averages on the team (minimum of 25 at bats).

In addition to Mullin, Haley Long (.301), Crystal Carwile (.282) Darcy Rutherford (.250) and Brittany Pascale (.248) have all posted totals higher than the team’s collective .238 batting average. Those five are hitting a combined .286 while the entire sophomore class has posted a .273 average.

To put these totals in perspective, the sophomore class is hitting 142-for-521 in 38 games this season after going a combined 72-for-284 (.254) as freshmen in 2006.

The impact is also felt in the circle, where Molly Hill is 12-7 with a team-low 1.03 ERA.

Nebraska vs. Ranked Teams
Nebraska has played a challenging schedule in 2007 and the Huskers have been respectable against the best competition, posting a 4-5 record against ranked teams, while going 23-8 against foes outside of the top 25. Six of the nine games - and three of the four wins - have been decided by one run, with six games coming down to the winning teams’ last at bat.

Four of the nine contests have gone extra-innings, including a 1-0 loss at fourth-ranked Texas A&M last weekend. Nebraska, which had won four of its first five games against ranked foes this season, led in each of its first five games, but has lost four in a row to ranked teams while being shutout in each of those four losses (all on the road to top-15 teams).

In their four wins, the Huskers have produced the game-winning run in the seventh inning once and in the eighth inning twice.