Huskers Travel to Iowa State on Tuesday

Fresh off its first Big 12 Conference victory of the season, the <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska softball team looks to build off that first win when the Huskers face the Iowa State Cyclones for a home-and-home series this week. NU will travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on ISU at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, before the Cyclones travel to Lincoln for a 5 p.m. first pitch on Thursday at Bowlin Stadium.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

Tuesday’s road trip to IowaState marks the first of three away games for the Huskers this week, as Nebraska also travels to Stillwater, Okla., for a two-game weekend series with the Oklahoma State Cowgirls. The two games at OSU mark the final road games for the Huskers this season, as Nebraska finishes with eight straight homes games to end the year, including six against Big 12 foes.

Fans can listen to the remainder of the season on Huskers.com, courtesy of the Husker Sports Network. Every game will be available for free on Huskers.com, while live streaming video of the final seven Big 12 Conference home games is scheduled to be available on HuskersNSide.

After snapping their longest losing streak to open conference play since 1994, the Huskers look to make it two league wins in a row against the Cyclones. Nebraska swept the season series last year, but the Huskers have had to earn their victories in Ames. Nebraska needed eight innings to win at IowaState in 2005 and the next year, the Cyclones defended their home field with a 6-5 victory that snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Huskers. Last season, Nebraska held on for a late 3-1 victory at IowaState.

Overall, Nebraska has dominated the series, winning 26 of the 28 meetings in the Big 12 era, and posting a 62-15 all-time record against IowaState. The Cyclones are much improved this season, however, as they enter the first matchup with a better record than the Huskers for the first time since 1993 and for only the third time in the NCAA era, which dates back to 1982. Tuesday’s meeting will also mark the first time ever that IowaState brings a winning record into the game and Nebraska does not, spanning the 29-year history of the series dating back to 1978.

The last time IowaState had a winning record entering the first meeting with Nebraska, the Cyclones were just 13-12 in 2002 before falling to the fourth-ranked Huskers, 2-0 in Lincoln. Nebraska won both meetings that season, a feat the Huskers are hoping to repeat this season.

Nebraska has a good chance at victory on Tuesday if it can duplicate the solid all-around performance it posted in Sunday’s win over Baylor. Against the Lady Bears, Nebraska posted conference-high totals in runs (5) and hits (7), while recording its first shutout of the league slate and playing error-free ball.

Scouting the IowaState Cyclones
Iowa State is 25-19 on the season, including a 2-6 mark in the Big 12 Conference, as the Cyclones sit one game in front of the Huskers in the league standings. NU and ISU have faced two common conference opponents in Baylor and Texas. The Cyclones split with Baylor and were swept by Texas, the same as Nebraska. Overall, IowaState is 2-2 on the road in Big 12 play, but the Cyclones are still searching for their first conference win of the season at home, as they enter Tuesday’s meeting with an 0-4 mark at the Southwest Athletic Complex.

Iowa State and Nebraska match up well statistically, as the Huskers boast a slightly better average, but the Cyclones have more power that has translated into ISU averaging 0.3 more runs per game than NU. Defensively, the teams boast identical .955 fielding percentages, while IowaState’s 2.76 ERA is lower than Nebraska’s mark of 3.02.

Offensively, Ariel Coburn and Courtney Wray are both hitting above .350 to pace the Cyclone offense. Coburn leads the team with a .379 average, and is tied for the team lead with six homers and ranks second with 20 RBIs. Wray has also driven in 20 to go along with a .361 average and a team-best eight doubles and 27 runs scored. Amanda Bradberry (.298) and Kelsey Kidwell (.296) are both hovering near the .300 mark, while Sydni Jones has hit six home runs and leads the team with 21 RBIs.

In the circle, IowaState has utilized a three-pitcher staff. Rachel Zabriskie has seen the majority of the action, posting a 12-8 record with a team-best 2.60 ERA in a team-high 121.0 innings. Zabriskie has thrown five shutouts while striking out 108, but in Big 12 play, she is 2-2 with an ERA of 4.78. Charissa Carlin has thrown 90.2 innings for the Cyclones, going 9-7 with a 3.01 ERA. She has made four appearances in Big 12 play, allowing 11 earned runs in 12.0 innings, and teams are hitting .413 against her as she has posted a 6.42 ERA. Ami Ford rounds out the staff, as she is 4-4 this season with a 2.71 ERA in 72.1 innings. Ford has thrown only nine innings in conference action, allowing opponents to hit .351 against her. In league play, Ford is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA.

A Look at the Series History
Nebraska swept the season series from IowaState last season for the 10th time in the 12-year history of the Big 12 Conference. The Huskers took the first game in Lincoln by a score of 6-0, before holding on for a 3-1 victory two days later in Ames.

In the first game, Ashley DeBuhr tossed a four-hit shutout, while Nebraska’s offense scored six runs on nine hits. Crystal Carwile homered and scored twice, while Jamie Waldecker finished with two hits and two RBIs. Returning Huskers Haley Long and Brittany Pascale also added an RBI. The Huskers scored two runs in the first inning and never looked back, cruising to their second largest margin of victory in Big 12 play last season.

Game two in Ames proved to be much closer, as Nebraska jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings before holding off a late Iowa State rally to secure a 3-1 victory. Molly Hill earned the victory for NU, as she took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing a run. Leading 3-1 in the seventh, IowaState put runners on second and third with only one out before Ashley DeBuhr recorded the final two outs to earn the save. Jamie Waldecker homered in the win, while Pascale finished with two outs and Darcy Rutherford added an RBI.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 62-15, including a 20-6 advantage in Ames. Nebraska has won 26 of the 28 meetings since the start of the Big 12 era dating back to 1996. Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 33-8 in her career against the Cyclones, as she owns more victories over ISU than any other conference opponent.

Quick Hitters

The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest to keep in mind as Nebraska hits the road to face IowaState on Tuesday:

• Nebraska has scored in the first inning in 12 of its 17 wins this season. Scoring in the first inning has proven to be a precursor to success for NU, as it is 12-2 this season when doing so and 88-14 over the last five years.
• NU is 17-2 when out-hitting its opponent this season, but is 0-18 when being out-hit or when the hits are even.
• The Huskers have been successful on 52-of-60 stolen base attempts (87 percent) through the first 37 games of this season. Nebraska has exceeded last year’s total, when NU swiped 51 bases in 71 tries (72 percent).
• Not only has NU played just four one-run games this year, the Huskers have played 24 games decided by four runs or more. Last season, a total of 11 of Nebraska’s 57 games were decided by four or more runs.
• Nebraska is 270-4 since 2000 when leading after six innings of play. The Huskers had won 106 consecutive games when taking a lead into the seventh inning before losing a 9-6 lead at No. 4 Oklahoma last April.
• NU boasts an all-time record of 448-211 (.680) in the month of April. It has historically been Nebraska’s most successful month, as the Huskers’ win total and winning percentage are higher in April than any other month.
• Despite five home losses this season, Nebraska has still won 46 of its last 53 regular-season home games dating back to 2005.
• Nebraska has already allowed more runs this year (143) than the Huskers did in 56 games last season (120).
• Nebraska earned its first Big 12 victory with a 5-0 shutout over Baylor in its last game. The Huskers’ five runs were two more than they had scored in their first seven conference games combined, while NU led for six of the seven innings after having only led for one out of a total of 52 innings in conference play entering the game.

Husker Hitters Hope to Continue Home Run Streak vs. Cyclones
For a team not known for its home run-hitting power, Nebraska hitters have had a knack for hitting the ball out of the park against IowaState. NU has homered at least once in each of the past five meetings with IowaState, dating back to the first meeting of 2005. In those five games, the Huskers have homered seven times, including homers last season from Crystal Carwile and Jamie Waldecker.

Early Innings Serve as Precursor to Final Outcome
Where Nebraska stands after three innings of play has been a good indicator of how the game will end. When the game has been tied or within one run after three innings, the contest has usually gone right down to the wire.

When Nebraska is ahead by more than one run after three innings, the Huskers have cruised to a 12-0 record while winning by an average of nearly six runs per game. When NU trails by more than one run after three innings of play, the Huskers are 0-13 and lose by an average of more than five runs per contest. When tied after three innings of play, Nebraska is 4-3 this season and all but two of those seven contests have been decided by one or two runs.

Nebraska Nearing Hit-by-Pitch Record
Although no official record is kept for most hit batters in a game, Nebraska surely came close to setting a school record on March 8, as the Huskers were plunked five times in game two of a doubleheader with Northern Colorado. Junior Crystal Carwile was hit twice, as Nebraska was drilled by a total of nine pitches in the first three games of the series. Against BYU six days later, junior Darcy Rutherford was plunked two times as NU was hit four times.

After being hit by three pitches against Baylor on Sunday, Nebraska has been hit by 35 pitches through the first 37 games of the season. The 35 hit batters already rank in a tie for second in school history. The Huskers have established a new school record in each of the past two seasons and are on pace to top last year’s record total of 39 hit-by-pitches.

Two-Out Woes
Nebraska has struggled to get out of innings recently, as the Huskers have been prone to giving up two-out runs. Over its last five games, 20 of the 26 runs the Huskers have allowed have scored with two outs (77 percent). Over the last 10 games, 26 of the opponent’s 42 runs (62 percent) have come with two outs, while 22 of the 42 runs Nebraska has allowed in Big 12 play this season have scored with two outs (52 percent).

Breaking Out the Bats
Nebraska’s offense finally got going in conference play against Baylor in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. The Huskers’ five runs, five RBIs, seven hits, two extra-base hits, one triple, two walks and two stolen bases were all conference highs. Entering the game, Nebraska had scored just three runs through its first seven Big 12 games, but the Huskers matched that with a three-run third inning against the Lady Bears.

Linke Steps Up
Freshman Kelli Linke has been asked to step up for the Huskers following a season-ending injury to starting catcher Amanda Duran. Linke has proven more than up to the challenge so far, as she has earned three straight starts at the designated player, finishing 2-for-8 with her first career home run and triple. Linke also added two of her five RBIs in her three starts last week, including the first game-winning RBI of her career.

Husker Juniors Nearing Milestones
Juniors Crystal Carwile and Meghan Mullin are nearing career milestones, as Carwile needs just eight RBIs to reach 100 for her career, while Mullin needs only two hits to record her 100th career hit. Carwile is the only active player with 100 career hits, as she reached the milestone in the Huskers’ second game this season. Carwile is bidding to become just the 12th player in school history to record 100 career RBIs.

Although not a milestone, junior Darcy Rutherford is also moving up the NU single-season hit-by-pitch chart. Rutherford has been hit by seven pitches this year, a total that ranks fifth in school history. Rutherford is one shy of moving into a tie for second on the single-season chart. The school record is 10, set by Trisha Tannahill in 2006.