Huskers Come up Short Against Memphis

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Tempe, Ariz. ? For a second time on Saturday, Head Coach Rhonda Revelle was denied her 600th career victory as the Nebraska softball team fell to the Memphis Tigers 7-3 in the nightcap of day two at the Kajikawa Classic.

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The loss to Memphis followed much the same formula as the Huskers’ earlier Saturday setback to fifth-ranked ArizonaState. Like the Sun Devils, Memphis used multiple home runs and a strong performance from a left-handed pitcher to keep Nebraska at bay.

 

In the circle, left-hander Janelle Valle (3-0) handcuffed the Nebraska offense, as she did not allow an earned run. In support of Valle, the Memphis offense belted three home runs as part of an eight-hit attack to help the Tigers even their season record at 4-4.

 

Sophomore right-hander Alex Hupp (0-2) took the loss for Nebraska, which fell to 1-3 on the season. In a complete-game effort, Hupp struck out a career-best 10 batters, but also surrendered a career-high seven earned runs, including allowing a career-high three home runs.

 

Memphis nearly put up all of the runs it would need in the top of the first, using back-to-back home runs to jump in front 3-0 just four batters into the game. After walking the next batter following the home runs, Hupp settled down to retire nine straight.

 

Nebraska cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when freshman Heidi Foland reached on a one-out single and scored on an RBI single from junior Darcy Rutherford three batters later.

 

Memphis got the run back in the top of the fourth when Melissa Nance brought Leigh Rowan home with a one-out single. The Tigers then went on top 5-1 on a two-out single from Leila Dolfo.

 

The Tigers capped the night with their third home run as this time it was Heather Mott drilling a 2-0 pitch over the wall in center for a two-run homer.

 

Trailing 7-1, the Huskers were able to scrap for a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. After Hupp scored on a single from Rutherford and a Memphis error, junior Crystal Carwile recorded her first RBI of the season with a run-scoring single before freshman Ashley Guile lined out to end the game.

 

Rutherford finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to lead NU, which also got hits from three of its freshmen.

 

 

Nebraska wraps up its first weekend of the season at 10 a.m. on Sunday with a contest against No. 6 Northwestern. Free audio and live stats are available on Huskers.com and the game can be heard in Lincoln on KLIN 1400 AM.

Box Score Nebraska Softball Memphis vs Nebraska Feb 16, 2008 at Tempe, Ariz. (Farrington Stadium)

Memphis 7 (4-4)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ DOLFO, Leila 1b.......... 4 0 2 1 0 2 9 0 0 HINES, Leandra lf........ 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 3 KELSO, Lindsay cf........ 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 HAYDEN, Kimmi c.......... 4 1 2 1 0 0 5 0 0 GOOCH, Brittany pr...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MOTT, Heather ss......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 ROWAN, Leigh dp.......... 3 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 NANCE, Melissa 3b........ 3 0 1 1 1 2 0 2 3 SCHNEIDER, Sara pr...... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SIRMAN, Kim rf........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 KASSNER, Kailey ph...... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 GROSS, Tori 2b........... 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 VALLE, Janelle p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 Totals................... 30 7 8 7 4 10 21 8 7

Nebraska 3 (1-3)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Mullin, Meghan cf........ 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Rutherford, Darcy lf..... 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 0 1 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 4 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 2 Guile, Ashley c.......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 10 0 1 Liegl, Sammi pr......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 Linke, Kelli dp.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Long, Haley rf........... 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 Duran, Amanda ph........ 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 Foland, Heidi ss......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Hupp, Alex p............. 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Pascale, Brittany ph.... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hughes, Abby 3b/pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 30 3 7 2 1 5 21 3 7

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Memphis............. 300 200 2 - 7 8 3 Nebraska............ 001 000 2 - 3 7 2 -----------------------------------------

E - KELSO, L.; NANCE, M.; GROSS, T.; Rutherford(1); Hughes(1). LOB - Tigers 7; Huskers 7. HR - KELSO, L.; HAYDEN, K.; ROWAN, L.. HBP - GROSS, T.. SB - Mullin(3); Carwile(1).

Memphis IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- VALLE, Janelle...... 7.0 7 3 0 1 5 30 31 133

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hupp, Alex.......... 7.0 8 7 7 4 10 30 35 140

Win - VALLE, J. (3-0). Loss - Hupp (0-2). Save - None. WP - Hupp(1). HBP - by Hupp (GROSS, T.). PB - Guile(1). Pitches/strikes: VALLE, J. 133/88; Hupp 140/78. Umpires - Start: 8:07 pm Time: 2:33 Attendance: 287 Game: NU4