Huskers Set to Make 20th NCAA Tournament Appearance

The Nebraska softball team will make its 20th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend when the Huskers travel to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the four-team, double-elimination Seattle Regional hosted by the University of Washington at Husky Softball Stadium.

The Huskers are the No. 3 seed in the Seattle Regional and will face second-seeded North Carolina on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (Central). Host Washington, the defending national champion and the No. 1 team in the country, is the top seed in the Seattle Regional and the No. 3 overall national seed. The Huskies will begin their quest for back-to-back national championships against the No. 4 seed North Dakota State Bison on Friday at 7 p.m. (Central).

Every game of the Seattle Regional will be televised live on ESPNU, with Cara Capuano and Michele Smith calling all of the action. Fans unable to get ESPNU can listen to the call of veteran softball play-by-play announcer Nate Rohr on Huskers.com and NCAA.com.

Nebraska will be playing its first-ever games in the state of Washington this weekend, but the Huskers are no strangers to the postseason. The trip to Seattle will mark Nebraska’s 20th all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, a total that ranks ninth in NCAA Division I history. The Huskers have been a frequent participant in the postseason under 18th-year Head Coach Rhonda Revelle, who has guided her team to the NCAA Tournament in 15 of the past 16 seasons.

The Huskers earned an at-large berth into the field of 64 as one of seven teams from the Big 12 Conference selected for the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska is 29-27 on the season, as the Huskers are entering the tournament with fewer than 30 victories for only the second time in school history. The other time was in 1997, when Nebraska took a 27-22 record into play at the Tucson (Ariz.) Regional and lost in the regional final to eventual national champion Arizona when the NCAA Tournament consisted of only 36 teams.

Nebraska should be prepared for the strong competition that comes with postseason play, as eight of the Huskers’ last nine games have come against NCAA Tournament teams, including seven contests against teams currently ranked in the national top 20. Overall, Nebraska played 22 total games against 13 teams in the NCAA Tournament field, posting a 7-15 record in those games. The Huskers posted a 2-8 record against six teams that earned a national seed, with victories against eighth-seeded Georgia Tech and ninth-seeded Missouri.

Against North Carolina, Nebraska will be facing a balanced Tar Heel squad that earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament as one of five ACC teams picked for postseason play. UNC is making its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and with a record of 40-18, the Tar Heels have already won 40 games for the fifth straight season.

North Carolina has been ranked as high as 16th in the USA Softball/ESPN.com top-25 poll this season, but the Tar Heels dropped out of the poll in late April and haven’t returned.

Nebraska has historically been successful in its first game of the NCAA Tournament, as the Huskers are 16-3 all-time in their NCAA opener. Nebraska is also 2-0 against ACC teams this season, defeating seventh-ranked Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech by 2-0 scores.

Scouting the No. 2 Seed North Carolina Tar Heels (40-18)
North Carolina is making its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend, as the Tar Heels have won 40 games for the fifth straight season with a 40-18 record entering postseason play. UNC finished in fourth place with an 11-10 conference record in the ACC, which sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels and Huskers share four common opponents this season in No. 7 Georgia Tech, Pacific, No. 14Texas and Virginia Tech. North Carolina posted a 4-5 record against those teams, while Nebraska went 4-2.

UNC boasts a power, speed, pitching and defense. The Tar Heels have hit 63 home runs in only 58 games this season and have also stolen 80 bases. North Carolina pitching has thrown 17 shutouts this season while defensively, the Tar Heels have committed only 44 errors and boast a .972 fielding percentage.

Offensively, three Tar Heels are batting better than .300. Danielle Spaulding leads the way with a .356 average that includes eight homers and 33 RBIs. Christine Knauer is batting .344 and she has stolen 41 bases in only 45 attempts. Kelli Wheeler is hitting .305 with a team-high 12 home runs, while Brittany McKinney has hit 11 home runs and Anna Roberts has produced 32 RBIs. Four Tar Heels have more than 20 walks this season, as North Carolina has walked 177 times as a team while striking out only 221 times.

In the circle, Spaulding is 19-5 with a 1.32 ERA. She has thrown 11 shutouts in her 20 complete games, while starting a team-high 32 games. In 179.2 innings, Spaulding has struck out 294 and walked only 59. Amber Johnson has thrown the most innings for the Tar Heels, as she is 20-13 with a 2.26 ERA in 201.2 innings. Constance Orr (1-0, 8.84 ERA in 12.2 innings) rounds out the staff.

The all-time series between Nebraska and North Carolina is tied 2-2. The Huskers won the first two meetings in by a combined score of 14-1, but the Tar Heels have won the last two in the series, including a 6-3 win in 2009.

A Quick Look at the Rest of the Seattle Regional Field
The defending national champion, No. 1-ranked Washington (45-6) is the top seed in the Seattle Regional and is the No. 3 overall national seed. The Huskies are led by 2009 National Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie, who pitched for NU Associate Head Coach Lori Sippel for Team Canada in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lawrie is again a finalist for player of the year this season, as she is 35-2 with a 0.99 ERA and 407 strikeouts in 247.1 innings. She is the nation’s active career leader in wins (131) and strikeouts (1,772 - a Pac-10 record). Lawrie is also hitting .322 with team-high totals of 14 homers and 55 RBIs. Two more players with NU ties also aide a Husky offense that is hitting .310 and averaging 6.0 runs per game. Jenn Salling, another 2008 Canadian Olympian, is batting .364 with nine doubles, six homers and 32 RBIs. Shawna Wright, who played travel ball for the Corona Angels, coached by Marty Tyson, the father of NU junior Tori Tyson, has produced 12 doubles, 11 homers and 50 RBIs.

The No. 4 seed in the Seattle Regional is North Dakota State (33-23), which earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by winning the Summit League Tournament. The Bison are making their second straight postseason appearance after they won the Norman Regional title in 2009. NDSU is batting .283 as a team and averages 4.3 runs per game. Melissa Chmielewski is hitting .398 with 19 doubles, 10 homers and 59 RBIs. Defensively, NDSU is allowing 3.4 runs per game. Nebraska is a perfect 15-0 all-time against the Bison, and the Huskers are also perfect all-time against the four Division I Dakota schools (37-0) and all members of the Summit League (50-0).

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest as the Huskers travel to Seattle for their 20th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance.

• Nebraska is just 2-6 this season in one-run games, but has won its last two one-run decisions. Overall, each of the last 17 games have been decided by two-or-more runs.
• Nebraska tied the school record by turning three double plays at No. 10 Arizona State on March 14.
• 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).
• Sophomore Ashley Guile (40 RBIs), freshman Brooke Thomason (38) and junior Julie Brechtel (36) have all driven in 35 runs this season. The three players producing 35-or-more RBIs are a first for Nebraska since 1995. Junior Heidi Foland (27) has a chance to give Nebraska four players with 30 RBIs for the first time since 2003.
• Nebraska played solid defense during the Big 12 portion of its schedule. The Huskers ranked fourth in the league in fielding percentage in conference-only games, committing 18 errors in 18 games. Nebraska also turned seven double plays in conference play, tying Missouri for the Big 12 lead in that category.
• Sophomore Ashley Guile has hit 15 doubles this season - the highest total ever by a Husker sophomore - while freshman Brooke Thomason has doubled 14 times. Entering this season, only four Huskers had ever recorded 15 doubles in a season.
• Sophomore Nikki Haget ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 60 hits this season, while junior Heidi Foland and sophomore Ashley Guile both rank ninth with 59 hits. Haget is the first Husker to record 60 hits in a season since Lizzy Rock in 2006, and Nebraska hasn’t had three players record 60 hits in a season since 2002.
• During the Big 12 season, 35 of the 84 runners who scored against Nebraska reached base via a walk or hit batter (42 percent). A walk or hit batter coming around to score cost Nebraska an average of 1.9 runs per game.
• Nebraska pitchers have struck out 389 batters this season, a total that ranks third in the Big 12 Conference. With 11 more strikeouts, NU would total 400 strikeouts for only the seventh time in school history and for the first time since 2007.
• Whitney Barrett has played in exactly 200 games in her career, the 13th Husker ever to reach that mark.

Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament History
Nebraska is in an elite class when it comes to postseason play, as NU’s rich history dates back to the inaugural Women’s College World Series in Omaha in 1982. In the NCAA Tournament, the Huskers have:

• Made 20 all-time appearances, a total that ranks ninth in NCAA Division I history.
• Won 52 games, a total that ranks 10th in NCAA Division I history.
• Posted a .559 winning percentage, a total that ranks 10th in NCAA Division I history.
• Advanced to the WCWS seven times, a total that leads the Big 12 and ranks seventh in NCAA Division I history.
• Posted a 16-3 record in their first NCAA Tournament game, including a 12-2 mark under Coach Revelle.
• Compiled a 52-41 (.559) all-time NCAA Tournament record.
• Compiled a 41-27 (.603) NCAA Regional record.
• Compiled a 5-20 (.200) record against teams from the Pac-10, including an 0-2 mark against Washington.
• Compiled a 1-2 (.333) record against teams from the ACC.

Recapping Nebraska’s 2009 NCAA Tournament
After seeing its streak of 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances snapped in 2008, Nebraska returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, posting a 1-2 record at the Knoxville, Tenn., Regional. The third-seeded Huskers opened the regional with a 4-2, nine-inning win over eventual regional champion Jacksonville State, the No. 2 seed. Nebraska then took a 1-0 lead over top-seeded Tennessee the next day, before a four-run second inning propelled the Lady Vols to a 5-2 victory. Jacksonville State then avenged its earlier loss to Nebraska and eliminated the Huskers with a 4-1 win.

Nebraska scored seven runs in the three games, tying for its highest NCAA run total since scoring 10 runs in the 2005 NCAA Regional at Bowlin Stadium, including six runs in a 7-6 loss to Washington. The Huskers hit just .212 at the Knoxville Regional last season and produced only three extra-base hits, all doubles. Defensively, Nebraska committed four errors in the three games, while the pitching staff held a 3.04 ERA.