Huskers Finish Worth Fall Classic at 3-1

The Nebraska softball team posted its fifth consecutive shutout of the fall Sunday morning in a 1-0 victory over Western Michigan before suffering a 7-4, six-inning loss to Michigan on the final day of the Worth Fall Classic in South Bend, Ind.

In game one, sophomore right-hander Alex Hupp was dominant in the circle, tossing her third shutout in as many starts this fall. Hupp allowed only three hits and struck out 10 Broncos to improve to 3-0 this fall.

The Husker offense gave Hupp all the support she would need in the bottom of the first, courtsey of great baserunning from junior Meghan Mullin. Mullin reached base on a single, before stealing second and third. On her steal of third, the Western Michigan catcher threw wildly into left field, allowing Mullin to score the game's only run.

In game two, Nebraska struck quickly again as Mullin laced a triple to the right-center field gap and scored when a Michigan outfielder threw wildly back to the infield. The Huskers increased their lead to 2-0 after junior Crystal Carwile singled, advanced to second on a ground out and scored on an RBI single off the bat of junior Amanda Duran.

Michigan struck right back with four runs in the bottom of the first, scoring the first runs against the Nebraska pitching staff in 35.1 innings this fall. The Wolverines plated their first run on an RBI single before junior right-hander Molly Hill, battling a tight strike zone, surrendered a two-out, three-run homer.

Michigan added two more runs in the bottom of the second with the help of another home run before Hill settled down. After surrendering six runs in the first two innings, Hill allowed only one run on just one hit and struck out four over her final four innings.

Trailing by a score of 6-2, the Nebraska offense responded with a run in the third when freshman Julianne Brechtel tripled and scored on an RBI single from junior Haley Long. After the Wolverines matched the Huskers' run an inning later, a Carwile single and a second RBI single from Duran pulled NU to with 7-4 after five innings of play.

The game was called after six innings due to a time limit that was in effect. The Huskers' outhit the Wolverines, 8-7, and committed just one error to Michigan's three. Both teams plated runs in three of the six innings, but the long balls made the difference for Michigan.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Rhonda Revelle was pleased with how her team fared this weekend at a tough fall tournament.

"With the fall being about getting better and improving, we couldn't be more pleased with the fight that our players had," Revelle said. "We have a young infield out there playing very poised softball.

"We've got a lot of players going up there with very few collegiate at bats and they're making adjustments. We're just really excited about where we're going."

Nebraska is 5-1 this fall after finishing with a 3-1 record this weekend. The Huskers wrap up the fall season this weekend, when NU hosts the Big Red Fall Classic at Bowlin Stadium.