Huskers Head to Oklahoma State for Final Road Trip

The Nebraska softball team hits the road for its final road trip of the regular season this weekend, when the Huskers travel to Stillwater, Okla., for a two-game conference series with the 11th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Saturday and Sunday.

The Huskers and Cowgirls will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday before concluding the series at Noon on Sunday. Free audio for both games will be available on Huskers.com, with veteran softball play-by-play announcer Nate Rohr calling all of the action. A video stream will also be available for a fee through okstate.com.

Nebraska enters play this weekend with a 28-23 overall record. The Huskers are 6-8 in Big 12 play and are seventh in the conference standings. Nebraska has had some success on the road in league play, as the Huskers are 3-3 away from Lincoln. Two of the losses came to 12th-ranked Texas, which sits in first place in the league standings with a 10-2 record. Nebraska also swept Texas Tech in Lubbock for its first road sweep of a Big 12 opponent since 2006.

The Huskers will face a stiff challenge this week in a strong Oklahoma State squad. The Cowgirls are ranked 11th in this week’s USA Softball/ESPN.com top 25 poll with a 44-11 overall record. In Big 12 play, OSU is third in the league standings with a 10-4 record. The Cowgirls have been especially tough at home this season, as Oklahoma State is 17-1 in Stillwater and has won 14 straight games at Cowgirl Stadium.

Both Nebraska and Oklahoma State have hit a bit of a rough patch of late. The Cowgirls had won 17 straight games and were undefeated in league play before losing four of their last five Big 12 games. The Huskers were in fourth place in the league standings two weeks ago before losing six of their next eight games, including a 2-5 mark in conference play.

After falling to Northern Iowa on Tuesday, Nebraska snapped a three-game losing streak with an emphatic 11-7 victory over Creighton on Wednesday. The Huskers completed their first sweep of the Bluejays since 2006 thanks to a strong offensive performance. Nebraska pounded out 13 hits in the win and scored 11 runs to tie its highest run total in the nine-year history of Bowlin Stadium.

Freshman Brooke Thomason enjoyed a terrific two games during the midweek. She went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs against Northern Iowa before going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a career-high-tying five RBIs against Creighton. In the two games, Thomason hit .625 (5-for-8) with three doubles, one home run and eight RBIs. She now has 13 doubles, 11 homers and 38 RBIs on the season. Her 24 extra-base hits rank second all-time among all NU freshmen.

Scouting the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (41-11 Overall, 10-4 Big 12)
Oklahoma State is ranked 11th this week with a 41-11 overall record. The Cowgirls are in third place in the Big 12 Conference with a 10-4 league record. OSU began league play 9-0, but the Cowgirls’ bid for an undefeated conference season and their 17-game overall win streak was snapped when they were swept in a doubleheader at Texas Tech on April 22. OSU then split a two-game series at No. 12 Texas before losing at 10th-ranked Oklahoma on Wednesday. Since the hot start, Oklahoma State has lost four of its last five games. During that stretch, the Cowgirls have been outscored 31-3, including a pair of run-rule losses.

The Cowgirls have been nearly unbeatable at home this season. Oklahoma State owns a 17-1 home record and OSU won 14 straight at Cowgirl Stadium. OSU is a perfect 5-0 at home in conference play this season, and the Cowgirls have won seven straight Big 12 home games dating back to last season.

Oklahoma State is solid in all phases of the game, as the Cowgirls are averaging nearly five runs per game, while leading the league in fielding percentage and ranking third in ERA. In conference-only games, OSU is averaging 1.2 fewer runs per game, while allowing 1.0 more run per game.

Offensively, Mariah Gearhart leads the team with a .381 average and ranks second in the Big 12 with 21 stolen bases, although she is hitting just .194 in league play. Julie Ward is the only other Cowgirl batting above .300, as she is hitting .341 on the year. Ward is also OSU’s top power threat, as she leads the Big 12 with 20 doubles, while adding nine home runs and 49 RBIs, a total that ranks third in the league.

In the circle, Anna Whiddon and Kat Espinosa have been the Cowgirls’ primary pitchers. Each pitcher has started 24 games, while Whiddon is 20-6 with a 2.28 ERA in a team-high 160.0 innings and leads the Big 12 with six saves. Espinosa is 18-4 with a team-low 1.56 ERA in 143.2 innings. Opponents are hitting only .178 against Whiddon and have struck out 174 times, as she boasts a strikeout-to-walk ratio of more than 4-to-1. Espinosa has held opposing hitters to a .199 average while tossing a team-high six shutouts. Sarah Odom (1-1, 3.59 ERA in 27.1 innings) and Taylor Marcum (2-0, 2.62 ERA in 10.2 innings) round out the Cowgirl staff.

Husker History vs. Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 44-42, one of only three Big 12 programs with a winning record against NU. The Cowgirls have won three of the last four meetings after the Huskers had won eight of nine to even the all-time series at 41-41. The teams split a doubleheader at Bowlin Stadium last year and in the most recent meeting in Stillwater, the Cowgirls swept Nebraska in 2008 to snap a seven-game home losing streak to the Huskers. Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 22-27 in her career against Oklahoma State, including a 3-3 mark against Cowgirl Head Coach Rich Wieligman.

Last year, Nebraska rallied for a 6-3 win in game one of a doubleheader. The Huskers trailed 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning before Julie Brechtel tied the game with a solo home run. Back-to-back two-out singles capped the four-run sixth inning that propelled Nebraska to the victory. In game two, the Husker bats were silenced as Sarah Odom threw a five-hit shutout in a 2-0 Oklahoma State win. The game was scoreless until Taylor Marcum laced a two-out, two-run double to give Odom all the run support she would need.

In its last trip to Stillwater, OSU posted its first season sweep of Nebraska since 2003.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest as the Huskers play their final road games of the season this weekend at 11th-ranked Oklahoma State:

• The Huskers finished with an 8-7 record in April, marking NU’s first winning month of April in three seasons.
• Nebraska is just 2-6 this season in one-run games, but has won its last two one-run decisions.
• Nebraska tied the school record by turning three double plays at No. 10 Arizona State on March 14.
• Nebraska tied its Bowlin Stadium scoring record with 11 runs against Creighton on Wednesday.
• The Huskers have recorded 10 shutouts in a season for the first time since 2007, after NU posted at least 10 shutouts in every season from 1998 to 2007.
• Freshman Gabby Banda has drawn 22 walks so far this season. She is only the third Husker freshman to draw 20 walks since 2001 and the first since Ashley Guile in 2008 (25).
• Freshman Brooke Thomason (38 RBIs), sophomore Ashley Guile (37) and junior Julie Brechtel (36) have all driven in 30 runs this season. The three players producing 30-or-more RBIs are a first for Nebraska since 2006. Junior Heidi Foland (27 RBIs) has a chance to give Nebraska four players with 30 RBIs for the first time since 2003.
• Three Huskers have produced at least 50 hits this season and two more players within reach of the mark. Nebraska has had five players all total 50 hits only twice since 1997 (6 in 2001 and 5 in 2006).
• With an 11-7 victory over Creighton Wednesday, Nebraska clinched a winning home record for the 33rd straight season dating back to 1977. The Huskers are 11-7 at Bowlin Stadium this season.

Rare Air
Junior Heidi Foland and freshman Brooke Thomason have joined an elite group of Huskers by producing double-digit totals in both doubles and home runs. Foland and Thomason are only the fifth and sixth players in the 35-year history of the program to produce at least 10 doubles and 10 home runs in a season. Together, the duo are the first teammates to accomplish the feat in the same season since 1996 (Jenny Smith and Ali Viola) and only the second duo ever. Foland and Thomason are also the first Husker teammates to each homer 10 times in a season since 2000 (Jamie Fuente and Jennifer Lizama) and only the fourth duo to accomplish the feat in school history.

Underclassmen Driving Productive Husker Offense
Husker Power has been on full display this season, as Nebraska has produced impressive offensive numbers under the direction of second-year hitting coach Diane Miller. The Huskers are enjoying one of the best offensive seasons in school history after entering the year with questions about how productive the offense could be.

Nebraska lost seven of its top eight hitters from last season, as junior Julie Brechtel (.313) was NU’s only returning hitter in 2010 who batted better than .220 last season. But the Huskers have already eclipsed last year’s doubles, triples and home runs totals while raising their team batting average .011 and their slugging percentage .040 points. The lost production has been more than made up for by the production of Nebraska’s underclassmen, as the regcent Husker lineup features six freshmen and sophomores batting in the top eight spots in the lineup.

The sophomore class is batting .336 collectively, while Nebraska’s freshmen have combined for a .480 slugging percentage. Together, the underclassmen (10 players) have combined to bat .310 with 46 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 117 RBIs. Nebraska’s junior and senior classes (seven players) have combined for a .262 average, 25 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs and 89 RBIs.

Fueled by the production of the underclassmen, Nebraska has already set one school record this season and is challenging the top marks in school history in several other categories, despite a 56-game schedule limitation that went into effect last season which has left the Huskers with far fewer games played than in years past.

Thomason Putting Together Fine Freshman Season
Brooke Thomason’s outstanding freshman season has continued into the Big 12 Conference portion of the schedule. Thomason is batting .348 on the year, while leading the team with 38 RBIs and ranking second with 13 doubles and 11 home runs. In Big 12 play, Thomason is batting .286 and has hit five of Nebraska’s 11 home runs, while producing a team-high nine RBIs.

Among the highlights of Thomason’s freshman season:

• Thomason has hit five home runs during Big 12 play, tying Crystal Carwile’s NU freshman record for most home runs in a conference season (Big Eight or Big 12). Thomason’s season total is the fifth highest by any freshman in Big 12 history (1996-present).
• Thomason’s 11 home runs this season rank fourth on the Husker freshman chart and are the most since Crystal Carwile homered 12 times in 2006. Thomason is just the second NU freshman to homer 10 times since 1998.
• Thomason hit two home runs against Pacific on March 13. She is only the sixth Husker freshman to hit two home runs in a game and just the second since 1998.
• Thomason is only the third Husker freshman to reach double digits in both doubles and home runs.
• Thomason has produced 24 extra-base hits this season, which is tied with Jennifer Lizama for the second-highest total by a freshman in NU history.
• Thomason leads Nebraska with a .681 slugging percentage. Her slugging percentage ranks second among all freshmen in NU history, as she is on pace to become only the third NU freshman to slug .550.
• Thomason is bidding to join three-time All-American Ali Viola as the only Husker freshmen to finish with a .300 batting average, 10 doubles and 10 home runs.
• Thomason has produced a pair of five-RBI games this season. She is the first Husker to have two games with five-or-more RBIs in the same season since Devin Porter in 2006 and she joins Ali Viola as the only freshmen in Nebraska history to produce a pair of five-RBI games during their rookie year.
• Thomason is on pace to become only the eighth NU freshman to hit .300 and the first since Kim Ogee in 2000.
• Thomason ranks sixth in the Big 12 in home runs (11) and doubles (13), seventh in slugging percentage (.681) and eighth in RBIs (8).
• In conference-only games, Thomason ranks second in the league in home runs (5), fourth in total bases (29) and seventh in slugging percentage (.690).

Foland Enjoying Career Year

Junior Heidi Foland ranks second in the Big 12 in total bases (104), third in hits (58) and runs scored (46) and fourth in home runs (12). She has set career highs in every offensive category while batting .333 with 27 RBIs and leading Nebraska with 19 multi-hit games. Among Foland’s highlights this season:

• Foland’s 12 home runs this season are tied for eighth in Nebraska history.
• Foland homered 10 times in the months of February and March, joining three-time All-American Ali Viola (11 in 1998) as the only Huskers to ever hit 10 home runs before April 1. Foland was only the fourth Husker to hit even seven home runs before April 1 and the other three players (Viola, Christie McCoy and Jennifer Lizama) each earned All-America honors in the season when they reached the mark.
• Foland set her offensive career highs quickly this season, as she established a new career best for home runs in only 19 games, for hits and runs in only 22 games, for RBIs in only 34 contests and for doubles in only 36 games.
• Foland homered seven times in her first 63 at bats this season after homering seven times in 242 career bats entering this year.
• Foland has homered in Nebraska’s first at bat of the game five times this season. That is believed to be a season record for most leadoff home runs by an individual and a team in Husker history.
• Each of Foland’s 10 doubles and 12 home runs have come when she was the leadoff hitter in the Husker lineup. Foland’s 22 extra-base hits are more extra-base hits than the total production of the leadoff hitters from the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons combined.

Huskers Hitting Well in Big 12 Play
Nebraska ranks fourth in the Big 12 with a .261 batting average in conference-only games. The Huskers have not hit .260 in a conference season since 2001 (.268) and have finished above .270 only once (.277 in 1998). NU has also reached double figures in hits in three league games this season after failing to record more than nine hits during 18 conference games in 2009.

Among other offensive highlights from Big 12 play:

• Nebraska’s .261 average is on pace to rank as the Huskers’ fourth-highest total in Big 12 history.
• The Huskers lead the league with 23 doubles. The total is tied for second in Nebraska history - just two shy of the school record - and is the highest total since 1997, the second year of the conference. Nebraska has never led the Big 12 in doubles in conference-only games.
• NU is on pace to finish the conference season with 30 doubles, as Nebraska would become only the fifth school in Big 12 history to finish with 30 doubles in a conference season.
• Nebraska owns a .417 slugging percentage in league play, a total that ranks fourth in Nebraska history. The Huskers haven’t recorded a slugging percentage above .383 since 2000.
• Nebraska’s 34 extra-base hits (23 doubles, 11 home runs) rank third in the league and mark the Huskers’ highest total since recording 38 extra-base hits in 2000. NU’s average of 2.43 extra-base hits per game ranks third in school history.
• The Huskers have homered 11 times in 14 games after homering 11 times the past two seasons combined (36 games). The 11 home runs mark Nebraska’s highest total since homering 15 times in 2006.
• Several Husker underclassmen are in the running to lead the league in several offensive statistical categories. Sophomore Nikki Haget ranks third in hits (18), while classmate Ashley Guile is tied for the league lead with five doubles. Guile also ranks fourth in the league in hits, while freshman Brooke Thomason is second in home runs (5). Haget is also fourth in the league with a .419 batting average.
• Freshman Gabby Banda has doubled three times in conference play. She is only the fourth Husker freshman to produce three doubles in a Big 12 season. The NU freshman record is six doubles by Amber Burgess in 2000, while Amanda Buchholz (also 2000) is the only other Husker freshman to record four doubles in a conference season.

Guile Producing in Return to the Diamond
Ashley Guile is enjoying a tremendous sophomore season after redshirting last year. Guile is batting a team-high .393 on the year and is threatening to become Nebraska’s first .400 hitter since 1998 and only the program’s sixth ever. Guile has already set career highs in every offensive category, including at least doubling her previous career high in doubles (15-to-6), home runs (2-to-1) and RBIs (37-to-18).

Among the highlights of Guile’s return season:

• Guile leads Nebraska with 15 doubles. That total is the highest by a sophomore in Nebraska history and is tied for fourth overall in Husker history.
• Guile has walked 31 times this season, a total that ranks ninth in Nebraska single-season history.
• Guile walked seven times in a Feb. 19 doubleheader with Central Michigan. In game two, Guile walked four times to tie the Nebraska record for walks in a game.
• In her career, Guile average one walk for every 6.2 plate appearances, while she has 21 fewer career strikeouts (34) than walks (55).
• In conference-only games, Guile is tied for the league lead with five doubles, while ranking fourth in hits (17) and seventh in batting average (.395)

Haget Bidding for School History
Sophomore Nikki Haget is bidding for school history this season, as she is ranks second in the Big 12 in hits with 59, two behind Missouri’s Rhea Taylor, who moved into first place for the first time on Thursday. Since the conference was formed in 1996, a Husker has never led the league in hits. Haget is also bidding to become the first Husker to lead the league in hits in conference-only games, as she ranks third in that category with 18 hits, two behind league-leader Jenna Marson of Missouri.