Huskers Host No. 18 Aggies in Saturday Doubleheader

The Nebraska softball team hosts its first Big 12 home games of the season this weekend, when the Huskers welcome 18th-ranked Texas A&M to Bowlin Stadium. In a change from the original schedule, the possibility of inclement weather forced the postponement of Friday’s game, as the teams will square off in a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.

Fans with tickets for Friday’s game may use their ticket for admission into any future Husker softball game this season, including Saturday’s doubleheader. The ticket will be good for general admission seating only, which includes one section (section 102 on first base side) of chairback seating at Bowlin Stadium. Saturday’s scheduled Easter Egg hunt for elementary school kids will still take place approximately 15 minutes after the conclusion of game two.

Fans unable to make it out to Bowlin Stadium can follow the games on Huskers.com. Free live video and audio will be available for both games, with veteran softball play-by-play announcer Nate Rohr calling the action for both the video and audio streams.

The Huskers have already played four games this week, splitting a doubleheader with a strong Drake squad on Tuesday, before sweeping a doubleheader from South Dakota State on Wednesday. Nebraska takes a three-game winning streak into play this weekend, where the Huskers will be looking for their first Big 12 victory of the season after being swept by 15th-ranked Texas last weekend in Austin.

Despite a loss to Drake on Tuesday, the Huskers can draw on several positives from the mid-week action as they prepare to face a top-20 conference opponent for the second straight week. One of the biggest positives would have to be the work of the NU pitching staff, especially the 1-2 combination of junior Robin Mackin and sophomore Ashley Hagemann.

Each pitcher threw well in two starts this week. Mackin posted a 1-1 record with a deceiving 2.15 ERA. Against Drake, Mackin had a no-hitter with two outs in the seventh inning, before allowing a game-tying two-run homer. The Bulldogs then scored twice more in the eighth after Mackin quickly set down the first two batters of the inning. She rebounded by throwing five shutout innings against South Dakota State on Wednesday and finishing with 20 strikeouts in 13.0 innings of work.

Hagemann was able to close out both of her starts to pick up her third and fourth shutouts of the season. She fired a two-hitter against Drake, then threw a one-hitter against SDSU. She struck out 19 in 14.0 innings, while walking only two.

Offensively, juniors Julie Brechtel and Heidi Foland, along with freshman Brooke Thomason, all drove in four runs in the four mid-week games. Each hit at least .500, as Thomason went 7-for-12 (.583) with a pair of doubles, while Brechtel was 8-for-14 (.571) with a triple, and Foland was 6-for-12 with a double and two home runs. The trio also scored 12 of Nebraska’s 21 runs in the four games.

Scouting the No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M is 29-8 on the season and 2-1 in the Big 12 after losing a two-run seventh-inning lead in a 3-2, 10-inning loss at No. 24 Baylor on Wednesday. The 18th-ranked Aggies opened conference play with a pair of run-rule victories over Kansas, as Texas A&M has won 13 of its last 15 games, with both losses coming to ranked teams.

The Aggies are known for working the count, which could challenge the Husker pitching staff. Texas A&M has walked a Big 12-leading 168 times this season, but the Aggies have also struck out a league-high 261 times. Nebraska’s pitching staff has issued the most walks in the Big 12 (118), but also averages the most strikeouts per game (8.2).

A&M’s top hitter is also a leading contender for Big 12 Freshman of the Year. In her first season, Meagan May is batting .430 with 15 doubles, 16 home runs and 50 RBIs. She leads the league in home runs, RBIs, walks (32), on-base percentage (.567) and slugging percentage (1.019), where her mark is .193 points higher than the next best average. Three other Aggies are hitting above .300, led by Rhiannon Kliesing with a .371 mark that includes seven home runs and 33 RBIs.

In the circle, Texas A&M boasts a 2.22 ERA. Freshman Melissa Dumezich is 8-0 with a 1.01 ERA. In 62.1 innings, she has struck out 62 while allowing only 41 hits, as opponents are batting just .186 against her. Rebecca Arbino, who was a teammate of several Huskers on the Corona Angels travel team, has seen the most action, posting a 15-5 record with a 2.02 ERA in 128.0 innings. Kliesing (6-3, 3.96 ERA in 58.1 innings) rounds out the Aggie staff.

Husker History vs. Texas A&M
Texas A&M leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 32-23. The Aggies had won seven straight in the series until NU rallied for a 3-2 nine-inning win in College Station last season. A&M has won nine of the last 11 meetings overall, including two straight at Bowlin Stadium. Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 19-18 against Texas A&M, including a 19-17 mark against Aggie Head Coach Jo Evans. Both of last year’s meetings were decided by one run, as the series has been defined by close games. Over the past 30 meetings dating back to 1998, 21 of the games have been decided by two runs or less, including 16 one-run games and eight extra-inning contests.

The Huskers opened conference play at Texas A&M last season. In game one, the 19th-ranked Aggies rallied from a 1-0 deficit with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. The tying run scored as a result of a Nebraska error and the winning run scored on a bases-loaded walk, as Husker starter Molly Hill walked four batters in the sixth inning. Nebraska had only one hit in the game, an RBI single from Brittany Pascale.

In game two, the Husker offense again struggled before coming alive late. Texas A&M led 1-0 with two outs and nobody on in the top of the seventh. A walk and back-to-back pinch-hit singles from Alex Hupp and Kelli Linke tied the game and forced extra innings. After a scoreless eighth, Nebraska scored twice in the ninth and then held off a Texas A&M rally in the bottom of the frame to win 3-2.

Individually, Nebraska’s current hitters have struggled against Texas A&M. Whitney Barrett is a .286 hitter against the Aggies in her career, thanks to a 5-for-12 performance in five games against A&M the past two seasons. Julie Brechtel is a .300 hitter against Texas A&M with a .500 on-base percentage. No other Husker is hitting above .222 against A&M. No Husker has produced an RBI and Heidi Foland is the only player to produce an extra-base hit with one double. In the circle, Alex Hupp is the only Husker who has faced A&M, posting a 0.88 ERA by allowing one run on six hits in 8.0 innings over three relief appearances.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest as the Huskers host their first Big 12 home games of the season on Saturday against 18th-ranked Texas A&M.

• Nebraska finished the month of March with a 10-8 record, thanks to a 3-1 record this week. It marked the 16th straight season where the Huskers had posted a winning record in the month of March.
• The Huskers are 452-217 (.676) all-time in the month of April, including an 8-8 record last April.
• NU has outscored its opponents 139-33 in its 20 wins, winning by an average of 5.3 runs per game.
• Nebraska is just 1-6 this season in one-run games.
• Three Huskers have already hit at least four home runs this season.
• Nebraska tied the school record by turning three double plays at No. 10 Arizona State on March 14.
• Junior second baseman Julie Brechtel has not committed an error in 29 straight games, as she is perfect in 90 chances this season. The 29-game errorless streak is the second-longest streak of Brechtel’s career, as she posted a 32-game errorless streak last season. Overall, Brechtel has posted five separate 10-game stretches without an error in her career.
• The Nebraska outfield has gone 17 straight games without committing an error, after committing eight errors through the first 21 games of the season.

Classmates Reach 100 Hits in Same Game
Juniors Julie Brechtel and Heidi Foland each produced the 100th hits of their careers in Wednesday’s first game against South Dakota State. Foland’s 100th hit came in her second at bat against the Jackrabbits when she homered off the foul pole in left. Brechtel’s 100th hit came three innings later, when she singled in her third at bat of the game.

Foland’s 100th hit came in her 377th career at bat, while Brechtel produced her 100th hit in her 348th at bat. Junior Robin Mackin, who spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Fresno State, picked up her 100th career hit on Feb. 27 against Central Florida in her 365th career at bat.

Since 2006, only three Husker juniors had reached the 100-hit milestone prior to the three this season. Overall, Brechtel, Foland and Mackin have given Nebraska three juniors with 100 career hits for the first time since 2002, when all four Husker juniors (Amanda Buchholz, Amber Burgess, Kim Ogee and Lisa Wangler) boasted 100 hits.

Home Sweet Home
Nebraska is 7-1 at home this season and the Huskers have put up impressive statistics inside Bowlin Stadium. NU is batting .338 as a team and has produced 17 extra-base hits while averaging 6.1 runs per game. The Huskers have also drawn 26 walks and been hit by nine pitches, as the 35 free bases match their total of 35 strikeouts. NU has posted a .427 on-base percentage at home, while stealing 12 bases in only 13 attempts.

Defensively, the Huskers have thrown three shutouts in eight home games. Opponents are hitting just .166 against Nebraska and have struck out 80 times in only 55.0 innings for an average of 10.2 strikeouts per seven innings. The Huskers also boast a .973 fielding percentage at Bowlin Stadium.

Individually, junior Heidi Foland is 12-for-24 (.500) with a pair of doubles, two home runs and five RBIs at home this season. Sophomore Ashley Guile is also batting .500 (11-for-22) with four doubles and eight RBIs, while freshman Brooke Thomason is 10-for-24 (.417) with three doubles and eight RBIs. Junior Julie Brechtel rounds out Nebraska’s .400 hitters at home with a .414 average that includes one triple, six RBIs and nine runs scored.

Husker Hurlers Piling up Strikeouts
Nebraska’s pitching staff has struck out 273 batters in only 234.0 innings this season. The Huskers’ average of 8.2 strikeouts per seven innings leads the Big 12 Conference, while the 273 total strikeouts rank second behind Texas, which has struck out five more batters in 11.1 more innings. The 8.2 strikeouts per seven innings are on pace to rank as the second-highest total in school history (8.8 in 2006).

The Huskers have posted 12 double-digit strikeout games this season, including six times in the last 10 games. Through four games this week, Nebraska has struck out 39 batters, but perhaps more encouraging has been the decreased amount of walks. The Huskers have issued 118 walks, 26 more than any other team in the league. But this week, Nebraska’s 39 strikeouts came against only seven walks, including game two against Drake on Tuesday, when the Huskers did not walk a batter for the first time all season.

Individually, sophomore right-hander Ashley Hagemann ranks fourth in the league in total strikeouts (138) and third in strikeouts per seven innings (9.1), while junior right-hander Robin Mackin ranks seventh in total strikeouts (110) and eighth in strikeouts per seven innings (7.6).

Drake Posts Career Day
Sophomore Madison Drake enjoyed a career game against South Dakota State in game two on Wednesday. Making just the fourth start of her career, Drake finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of RBIs. Entering the game, Drake was 1-for-9 in her career with no RBIs. The two hits doubled her career total, while she drove in her first two career runs and scored for the first time when she was in the starting lineup.

Drake also fared well in left field, although only one ball was hit her way. That ball was the Jackrabbits’ lone hit of the day, a double off the fence. But Drake played the carom perfectly and unleashed a near perfect throw to second base that nearly got the runner.

Hagemann Dominant in Mid-Week Action
Sophomore right-hander Ashley Hagemann has been outstanding in her two starts this week. She has posted two shutouts while allowing only three hits and striking out 19 in 14.0 innings. In game two against Drake on Tuesday, Hagemann helped Nebraska salvage a split by tossing a two-hit shutout. She added seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter for only the second time in her career and for the first time this season.

On Wednesday against South Dakota State, Hagemann was even better, firing a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Her career-best scoreless streak is currently at 14.1 innings dating back to game two of a March 24 doubleheader with Wisconsin.

Two-Out Troubles
Nebraska has won three straight games after snapping a three-game losing streak with a win in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader with Drake. Contributing to the three-game losing streak was the Huskers’ struggle to close out innings defensively. In a pair of losses at 15th-ranked Texas last weekend, the pitching staff allowed a total of 13 runs, but 11 of those scored with two outs. Then in game one of the doubleheader with Drake, the Bulldogs scored twice with two outs in the seventh inning to rally from a two-run deficit, then scored twice with two outs in the eighth inning to complete the comeback and post a 4-2 victory.

Overall, 21 of the last 24 runs the Huskers have allowed have scored with two outs (88 percent).

Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Heidi Foland has been hit by a career-high nine pitches this season, as teams have had to work carefully to the junior, who is batting .392 with six doubles and 10 home runs. Her nine hit-by-pitches are just one shy of the Nebraska season record and have tied classmate Julie Brechtel for second place on the list, as Brechtel was plunked by nine pitches last season. Foland has now been hit by 16 pitches in her career, good for sixth place on the Husker career chart.

Freshmen Showcasing Power Potential
Freshman Brooke Thomason has hit eight doubles and five home runs this season, as 13 of her 31 hits have gone for extra bases. Thomason has produced 13 extra-base hits through 36 games this season, although she has only started 29 games. Classmate Gabby Banda has recorded four doubles, one triple and two home runs, as seven of her 17 hits have gone for extra-bases.

Together, the duo have combined for the most extra-base hits by a pair of freshmen since the 2001 season. They are also the first pair of freshmen to homer more than once in the same season since 2004.

In the last 10 seasons, only four Husker freshmen have totaled more than six extra-base hits in their rookie season. Thomason and Banda are the first since Ashley Guile had seven extra-base hits in 2008, and Thomason’s extra-base hit total already ranks as the second-highest by a Husker freshman since the 2002 season.