Huskers Wrap Up Regular Season Against Missouri

The Nebraska softball team concludes the regular season this weekend, when the Huskers host the14th-ranked Missouri Tigers for a two-game series on Saturday and Sunday at Bowlin Stadium.

Both games will start at Noon and Saturday’s contest will be televised nationally on FSN, with Brenda VanLengen and Tracy Warren on the call. Saturday’s game is Senior Day and Husker seniors Whitney Barrett and Alex Hupp will be honored before the game. Both games can also be heard for free on Huskers.com with veteran softball play-by-play announcer Nate Rohr calling all of the action.

Nebraska will be looking to snap a recent skid this weekend, as the Huskers have lost seven of their last nine games. NU was a season-best eight games above .500 after defeating Baylor on April 17. The Huskers were 5-4 in Big 12 play at that point and sat in fourth place in the conference standings. But a loss to the Lady Bears the next day began the recent slide, and NU has gone 1-6 since in league play. The Huskers are 6-10 in conference play this season and will finish with a losing league record for only the second time since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.

Despite the recent struggles, there is good news for the Huskers. Nebraska needs just one victory this weekend to clinch the No. 6 seed for the Big 12 Championship and avoid the play-in round of the tournament. While a sixth-place finish in the conference may not have been what the Huskers hoped for, it would still be a solid finish considering that five Big 12 teams are ranked this week and as many as six have been ranked at one point this season, while Texas Tech has been among the top vote getters in recent weeks.

While Nebraska has struggled to win games of late, Missouri comes to Lincoln on a roll. The Tigers have won 16 of their last 17 games, including five straight. The Tigers are 43-9 on the season and boast the best winning percentage of any Big 12 team. Fueled by a 7-1 record over its last eight conference games, Missouri is tied for fourth in the league standings with a 10-6 record.

The Tigers, who advanced to the Women’s College World Series last season, have been hot at the plate. Over the past 17 games, Missouri is averaging 8.2 runs per game. The Tigers have scored at least five runs in 13 straight games, including four double-digit run totals.

Contrastly, a thin Husker pitching staff has given up at least five runs in eight of its last nine games. Robin Mackin, a 2007 All-American at Fresno State, announced her retirement from the sport this week, as she has continued to battle pain in her throwing shoulder, which required offseason surgery. Mackin had been limited by the injury all year, and with only two pitchers left on the roster, sophomore Madison Drake has resumed her high school pitching role.

With the powerful Tiger offense coming to town and Nebraska’s limited pitching depth, the Husker offense may need to be at its best this weekend. NU has been shut out in each of its last four conference games, but even with the recent struggles, the Huskers’ offensive totals still rank in the top five in school history in doubles per game (2nd, 1.3), batting average (4th, .283), home runs per game (4th, 0.7) and slugging percentage (5th, .418).

Scouting the Missouri Tigers (43-9 Overall, 10-6 Big 12)
Missouri is 43-9 after sweeping a Wednesday doubleheader at Western Illinois. The Tigers own the fewest losses and best winning percentage of any Big 12 team. MU is 10th in the most recent NCAA RPI rankings, while the Tigers are ranked 14th in the coaches’ poll.

Since being swept in a two-game series atNo. 12Texas on the second weekend of April, Missouri has won 16 of its last 17 games, including a 7-1 record in conference play during that stretch. The Tigers’ offense has led the way, as Missouri leads the league in runs. Five starters are hitting at least .300, as MU’s .304 team average ranks second in the conference. All-American Rhea Taylor leads the league with a .449 average, five triples and 33 stolen bases, and has added eight doubles, seven homers and 34 RBIs. Freshman Jenna Marston is batting .388 with 16 doubles and a team-high 47 RBIs. Ashley Fleming, the national player of the week, boasts a .363 average. Shana White is hitting .338, Nicole Hudson is batting .326 and Marla Schweisberger leads the team with nine homers. In Big 12 play, MU averages a league-best 6.6 runs per game, as Marston and Fleming are tied for the league lead in total bases and both rank in the top three in batting average, doubles and RBIs.

In the circle, Missouri has put up solid numbers after losing the services of ace Chelsea Thomas. Thomas was 12-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 77.1 innings and owned a perfect 4-0 record against No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Arizona. But an arm injury has potentially sidelined her for the remainder of the season, as she has not thrown an inning in conference play. Without her, the Tigers still rank fourth in the league with a 2.15 ERA, although that number has risen to 3.79 in conference play. Kristin Nottelmann has emerged as Missouri’s top pitcher in Thomas’ absence. Nottelmann is 17-6 on the season with a 2.09 ERA in a team-high 130.2 innings, but she is just 4-4 with a 4.20 ERA in Big 12 play. Jana Hainey is 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA in conference action and boasts an overall record of 9-1 with a 2.57 ERA. Lindsey Muller (5-1, 1.75 ERA in 36.0 innings) and Lisa Simmons (0-0, 7.00 ERA in 4.0 innings) round out the Tiger staff.

Husker History vs. Missouri
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Missouri, 50-33, including a 21-7 advantage in Lincoln, but the series is tied 4-4 since Bowlin Stadium opened in 2002. The teams have split the regular-season series in each of the last three years. Neither team has won more than two straight games in the series since a six-game Husker win streak from 2000 to 2002. Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 26-19 in her career against Missouri, including a 3-3 mark against Tiger Head Coach Ehren Earleywine. Nebraska and Missouri are meeting on the final weekend of the regular season for the eighth straight year.

Last year, Nebraska took game one at Missouri before the Tigers won game two. In the first game, the Huskers took better advantage of their scoring chances in a 6-1 upset victory over the 14th-ranked Tigers. Nebraska only out-hit Missouri 8-6, but MU was just 1-for-15 with runners on base in the game, including 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-3 with the bases loaded. Whitney Barrett hit her first career home run for the Huskers and drove in a career-high three runs in the win, while Julie Brechtel was 2-for-3 with an RBI. In game two, Missouri delivered the timely hit. The Tigers totaled only three hits in a 5-0 victory, but all three hits came during a five-run third inning that featured a grand slam. Ashley Hagemann pitched the final 3.0 innings and did not allow a hit for the Huskers, who matched Missouri with three hits in the game.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest as the Huskers play their final two regular-season games againstNo. 14Missouri this weekend:

• 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 in its last home game.
• 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 35 runs this season. The three players producing 35-or-more RBIs are a first for Nebraska since 1995. 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 are 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).
• Brooke Thomason has 49 hits this season. With her next hit, she would become the first Husker freshman to record 50 hits in a season since Nicole Trimboli in 2001.

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 sixth and seventh 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 .006 and their slugging percentage .030 points. The lost production has been more than made up for by the emergence of Nebraska’s underclassmen, as the recent Husker lineup has regularly featured five freshmen and sophomores batting in the top eight spots in the lineup and as many as six.

The sophomore class is batting .327 collectively, while Nebraska’s freshmen have combined for a .466 slugging percentage. Together, the underclassmen (10 players) have combined to bat .301 with 46 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 117 RBIs. Nebraska’s junior and senior classes (seven players) have combined for a .260 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 .343 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 .277 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 .664 slugging percentage. Her slugging percentage ranks third 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 seventh in the Big 12 in home runs (11) and doubles (13) and ninth in slugging percentage (.664) and RBIs (38).
• In conference-only games, Thomason ranks second in the league in home runs (5).

Foland Enjoying Career Year
Junior Heidi Foland ranks second in the Big 12 in total bases (104), fourth in home runs (12) fifth in hits (58) and ninth in runs scored (46). She has set career highs in every offensive category while batting .324 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, 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 Still Hitting Well in Big 12 Play
Even though Nebraska has been shut out in its last four Big 12 Conference games and totaled only 12 hits in those four games, the Husker offense is still producing totals not seen at Nebraska for several seasons. The Huskers’ conference-only batting average has dropped from .276 to .246 over the last four games, but Nebraska can still post a .260 batting average in Big 12 play for the first time since 2001. 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:

• The Huskers rank second in the league with 23 doubles, one fewer than Texas. 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.
• Nebraska owns a .386 slugging percentage in league play, a total that ranks fifth in Nebraska history and is the highest since 2000 (.433).
• Nebraska’s 34 extra-base hits (23 doubles, 11 home runs) rank fourth in the league and mark the Huskers’ highest total since recording 38 extra-base hits in 2000.
• The Huskers have homered 11 times in 16 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.
• 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. Freshman Brooke Thomason has added two doubles in Big 12 play for the Big Red this 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 .386 on the year and has an outside chance 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 6.3 plate appearances, while she has 20 fewer career strikeouts (36) than walks (56).
• In conference-only games, Guile ranks second in the league in doubles (5), seventh in hits (18) and ninth in batting average (.395)

Thomason Posts Big Week
Although Nebraska struggled offensively while going 1-3 last week - including a pair of losses at No. 11 Oklahoma State - freshman Brooke Thomason was a bright spot for NU. In four games, Thomason batted .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles, one home run and eight RBIs. She posted a .923 slugging percentage on the week and had six of Nebraska’s 21 hits, three of NU’s four doubles, eight of the team’s 13 RBIs and the Huskers’ lone home run.

Thomason opened the week with a 2-for-4 effort against Northern Iowa that included a double, a homer and three RBIs. She tied her career highs with three hits, two doubles and five RBIs in a 3-for-4 performance against Creighton the next day. Thomason then went 1-for-5 at Oklahoma State, collecting one of Nebraska’s five hits on the weekend.