Huskers Host Final Home Games This Week

The Nebraska softball team finishes the regular season with a flurry this week, as the Huskers are set to play five Big 12 Conference home games in six days, starting with a makeup contest with Iowa State at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. NU will then host Kansas for a Wednesday doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. before wrapping up the regular season with a two-game series with Missouri on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets for Tuesday’s single game and Wednesday’s doubleheader - along with both games of the weekend series with Missouri - can be purchased online by visiting Huskers.com, over the phone by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED or at the Bowlin Stadium ticket office 90 minutes prior to first pitch.

Fans unable to make it out to the ballpark can follow the action live on Huskers.com. A free radio call will be available for all five games this week, while Sunday’s games with Missouri will offer live video streaming to HuskersNSide subscribers.

Nebraska is currently four games into its season-ending nine-game homestand. The Huskers finished 2-2 last week, sweeping a doubleheader from North Dakota State, which sits in first place in the Summit League standings, before falling twice to fifth-ranked Texas A&M, which clinched the Big 12 regular-season title with a hard-fought 6-3 victory on Sunday.

Despite the 2-2 record, NU performed well last week competing against teams with a combined .780 winning percentage, including a .929 mark in their respective conferences.

The Huskers opened the week with a convincing doubleheader sweep of NDSU. NU pounded out 10 hits while erupting for seven runs in a 7-0 win in game one. Game two was much closer, as NU pulled out a 1-0 victory. Junior Molly Hill tossed a shutout in both ends of the doubleheader, while fellow junior Crystal Carwile homered in both games.

On the weekend, Texas A&M was too much for the Huskers to handle on Saturday, as All-American Megan Gibson tossed a three-hit shutout and homered to lead A&M to a 6-0 victory. Game two was a different story, as the Huskers were in the game from start to finish, sending the tying run to the plate with only one out in the seventh before falling, 6-3. In the game, NU recorded more hits against Gibson than any other Big 12 team this year.

Scouting the Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State is 26-25 on the season, including a 3-12 mark in the Big 12 Conference. The Cyclones have lost six straight since defeating Nebraska 13-4 on April 15. Iowa State is 2-4 on the road in Big 12 play, posting victories at Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Iowa State and Nebraska match up well statistically, as the Huskers boast a slightly better average, but the Cyclones have more power which was on display in the first meeting. Iowa State hit three home runs in that contest to Nebraska’s one, while nine of the Cyclones’ 13 runs came courtesy of the long ball.

Offensively, Ariel Coburn and Courtney Wray are both hitting above .300 to pace the Cyclone offense. Coburn ranks second with a .330 average, but leads the team with eight home runs after finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of homers and five RBIs in the first meeting. Wray leads the team with a .342 average and nine doubles, while ranking second with 22 RBIs. Alex Johnson, who hit a grand slam against Nebraska in the first meeting, has driven in a team-high 30 runs to go along with a .255 average.

In the circle, Iowa State has utilized a three-pitcher staff. Rachel Zabriskie has seen the majority of the action, posting a 12-11 record with a team-best 2.77 ERA in a team-high 154.0 innings. Zabriskie has thrown five shutouts while striking out 129, but in Big 12 play, she is 2-5 with an ERA of 4.01. Zabriskie earned the start in the first meeting in Ames, allowing three earned runs in 5.1 innings. Charissa Carlin has thrown 99.1 innings for the Cyclones, going 10-9 with a 3.52 ERA. She has made eight appearances in Big 12 play, allowing 22 earned runs in 20.2 innings, and teams are hitting .400 against her as she has posted a 7.45 ERA. She earned the win in the first meeting, allowing one hit in only two-thirds of an inning of work. Ami Ford rounds out the staff, as she is 4-5 this season with a 3.50 ERA in 78.0 innings. Ford has thrown only 14.2 innings in conference action, allowing opponents to hit .369 against her. In league play, Ford is 0-3 with a 9.55 ERA.

A Look at the Series History
NU swept the series from Iowa State 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 in Ames.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 62-16, after the Cyclones’ victory two weeks ago. In Lincoln, the Huskers own a 27-4 advantage, and NU is a perfect 7-0 against ISU at Bowlin Stadium, posting six shutouts while winning by a combined score of 30-1. Overall, Nebraska has won 26 of the 29 meetings since the start of the Big 12 era dating back to 1996. Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 33-9 in her career against the Cyclones, as she owns more victories over ISU than any other conference opponent.

The Cyclones are much improved this season, however, as they entered this season’s first meeting 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. The two meetings this season also mark the first time ever that Iowa State brought 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 Iowa State had a winning record entering a meeting with Nebraska prior to this year, the Cyclones were just 13-12 in 2002 before falling to the fourth-ranked Huskers, 2-0 in Lincoln. Nebraska will need another win at Bowlin Stadium on Tuesday to avoid its third-ever sweep at the hands of the Cyclones. Iowa State won the lone meeting in 1979 and 1981. ISU has never swept the Huskers when the teams have met more than once in a season.

Scouting the Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks enter Wednesday’s doubleheader with a 35-16 overall record, including a 5-9 mark in Big 12 Conference play. KU has won five of its last six games, including a two-game series split at Oklahoma State last weekend. Kansas’ five Big 12 victories have come against OSU, Texas Tech (twice), Texas and Baylor, but the Jayhawks are just 1-7 on the road in conference play.

Kansas and Nebraska boast similar averages. The Huskers have more speed, but the Jayhawks have shown much more power which has helped KU average more than one run per game more than NU. Defensively, the Jayhawks have a better fielding percentage and an ERA 0.94 lower than the Huskers. In Big 12 play, KU is hitting just .218, but the Jayhawks are still averaging more than three runs per contest. The pitchers have also struggled in conference action, posting a 4.76 ERA and allowing opponents to hit .307 despite a pair of shutouts.

Offensively, Dougie McCaulley is the only Jayhawk hitting above .300 this season. McCaulley leads the team with a .394 average and eight doubles, and ranks third with 33 runs scored and has also added 22 RBIs. Val Chapple is batting .295 on the season while tying for the team lead with eight home runs and has driven in a team-high 32. Liz Kocon has homered five times while producing 24 RBIs, but two of her homers and 11 of her RBIs have come in Big 12 play. Betsy Wilson has stepped up her play in the conference season, as she is hitting .394 with a homer and six RBIs in 14 league games.

In the circle, Valerie George has thrown nearly half of the team’s innings, compiling an 18-8 record with a 1.83 ERA in 160.2 innings. Opponents are hitting just .208 against her, while she has tossed six shutouts and struck out 172. In conference play, George is 4-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 57.2 innings. Sarah Vertelka (10-5, 2.54 ERA in 93.2 innings) and Allie Clark (7-3, 3.39 ERA in 82.2 innings) round out the Jayhawk staff. Both have struggled in Big 12 play, as Clark is 0-1 with a 6.77 ERA in conference games, while Vertelka is 1-2 with a 6.79 ERA.

A Look at the Series History
Nebraska and Kansas split the season series last year, with the road team winning each game. The Huskers took the meeting in Lawrence by a score of 3-0, but the Jayhawks rebounded to win a 5-3 decision in Lincoln.

In the first meeting, Ashley DeBuhr tossed a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts to earn the victory. Brittany Pascale and Whitney Barrett each recorded an RBI in the win, while Haley Long finished 2-for-3. In game two Kansas scored four runs in the sixth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit. NU trailed 5-1 in the seventh and had been no-hit through the first 6.2 innings before rallying. The Huskers recorded three consecutive singles, including a two-run, bases-loaded single from Crystal Carwile, to cut the deficit to two. Nebraska had the tying runs on base before a strikeout ended the comeback bid.

The Huskers and Jayhawks have met 100 times, with Kansas holding a 53-47 edge in the all-time series. KU is one of only three Big 12 teams with a winning all-time record against Nebraska. Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 27-23 in her career against Kansas, including a 22-11 mark against Jayhawk head coach Tracy Bunge. The road team has enjoyed recent success in the series, as the road squad has won eight of the last nine meetings, with the exception being a 1-0 Nebraska win in 2006 at Bowlin Stadium. Overall, Nebraska is just 16-18 at home against Kansas, as the Jayhawks are the only Big 12 (or Big Eight) school with a winning all-time record in Lincoln. Since Bowlin Stadium opened in 2002, Kansas owns a 4-3 record in Lincoln.

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 Iowa State. NU has homered at least once in each of the past six meetings with Iowa State, dating back to the first meeting of 2005. In those five games, the Huskers have homered eight times, including a two-run home run from junior Crystal Carwile in the first meeting this season.

Carwile Approaching Second Double-Digit Home Run Season
Junior Crystal Carwile has homered four times in her past five games to give her nine roundtrippers on the season. After hitting 12 homers as a freshman, Carwile needs just one more home run this season to record her second season with at least 10 home runs. If she can accomplish the feat, Carwile would join three-time All-Americans Ali Viola and Jennifer Lizama as the only players in the 33-year history of Husker softball to produce two double-digit home run seasons in a career.

Triple Your Pleasure
Junior Meghan Mullin hit her first career triple on Sunday to give Nebraska five triples as a team this season. The Huskers recorded only two triples last season and NU has recorded five or more triples for just the second time in four years.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest to keep in mind as the Huskers host Iowa State and Kansas in mid-week action at Bowlin Stadium:

• Nebraska has scored in the first inning in 14 of its 19 wins this season. Scoring in the first inning has proven to be a precursor to success for NU, as it is 14-3 this season when doing so and 90-15 over the last five years.
• NU is 18-2 when out-hitting its opponent this season, but is 1-23 when being out-hit or when the hits are even, with that lone win coming last week in the second game of a doubleheader with North Dakota State.
• The Huskers have been successful on 57-of-69 stolen base attempts (83 percent) this season. Nebraska has exceeded last year’s total, when NU swiped 51 bases in 71 tries (72 percent).
• Not only has NU played only five one-run games this year, the Huskers have played 28 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 272-4 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.
• The Huskers are 0-19 this season when trailing after three innings of play and only once this season has Nebraska come back to win a game it had trailed at the end of any complete inning (second game of a doubleheader with South Dakota State on April 2).
• Despite seven home losses this season, Nebraska has still won 48 of its last 57 regular-season home games dating back to 2005.
• Nebraska allowed more runs in the first 33 games of this season (122) than it did in 57 games a season ago (120). In conference play, the Huskers surrendered more runs through the first seven games of Big 12 Conference play (42) than they did in 18 league games a season ago (41). So far this season, Nebraska has allowed 179 runs, its most since 1996.
• NU is in the midst of a stretch that sees it play its final 15 regular-season games against teams with a winning record. The Huskers are currently 3-7 through the first 10 games, including a 3-4 mark at home.

Carwile Nearing Exclusive Club
Junior Crystal Carwile has produced four home runs, six RBIs and eight runs scored in her last eight games. The strong recent performances have left Carwile on the verge of joining an exclusive club of Huskers who have produced 100 career hits, 100 career runs scored and 100 career RBIs. The list includes only six players and Carwile not only has the chance to become the seventh, but she could also join three-time All-American Ali Viola as the only players in school history to reach all three milestones prior to their senior season.

After homering twice, scoring three times and driving in two on Wednesday, Carwile now boasts 139 career hits, 98 runs scored and 97 RBIs.

Hill Nearing 500th Strikeout
Junior right-hander Molly Hill needs 16 strikeouts to become only the sixth player in school history to record 500 career strikeouts. Although she already ranks sixth on Nebraska’s all-time strikeout list, Hill still has a long ways to go to catch Jenny Voss in fifth place, who struck out 708 in her career.

Huskers on Home Run Binge
Led by junior Crystal Carwile, Nebraska has enjoyed a recent power surge. The Huskers have homered in six of their last 10 games, including four home runs from Carwile. Freshman Kelli Linke got the streak started by belting her first career home run against Creighton on April 9. Overall, the Huskers have slugged six home runs in their past 10 games after totaling just five home runs through the first 34 contests.

Nebraska Ties 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 two pitches against fifth-ranked Texas A&M on Sunday, Huskers have now been hit by 39 pitches this season to tie the school record, set last season. With their next hit batter, the Huskers will have established a new school record for the third consecutive season.