Huskers Host Texas Tech This Weekend

The 14th-ranked Nebraska softball team wraps up a six-game homestand this weekend when the Huskers welcome Texas Tech to Bowlin Stadium for a two-game conference series on Saturday and Sunday.
Both Nebraska and Texas Tech are looking to climb the Big 12 standings this weekend after superb non-conference records. The Huskers went 30-3 against non-conference competition this season, but with a 4-6 record in league play, Nebraska enters the weekend in seventh place in the conference standings. Similarly, Texas Tech posted a 35-1 record outside of league play, but the Red Raiders are just 4-10 in the conference season and enter the weekend just behind Nebraska in eighth place in a talented Big 12 Conference that features seven ranked teams.
First pitch for Saturday’s contest is set for 1 p.m., while Sunday’s game will start at Noon. Fans can purchase tickets for each game by visiting the Bowlin Stadium ticket office on game day, located at the main entrance behind home plate, by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED or by visiting Huskers.com. With the Husker baseball team also at home this weekend, fans can use their baseball ticket for a $1 general admission ticket into the softball game.
Fans unable to make it out to the ballpark can follow all of the action on Huskers.com through a free radio broadcast, with softball play-by-play announcer Nate Rohr calling all of the action. Sunday’s game will also be carried live in Lincoln on B107.3 FM.
This weekend’s series matches some of the top offensive newcomers in the Big 12 Conference this season. For Nebraska, freshman Taylor Edwards appears to be the frontrunner for Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year honors. Edwards, one of 25 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player-of-the-Year award, is batting .392 this season with 16 homers and 58 RBIs. She leads the league in slugging percentage (.832), is tied for the Big 12 lead in RBIs and ranks second in the conference in home runs and total bases, sixth in average and eighth in walks.
For Texas Tech, a pair of transfers have made an immediate impact. Cydney Allen, who spent last season at Salt Lake C.C., ranks second in the league with a .398 batting average, while also ranking sixth in home runs (123) and fifth in RBIs (52). Sandy James, a transfer from Angelo State, is tied with Taylor Edwards for the Big 12 RBI lead (58), while she ranks just behind Edwards in a tie for third in the conference with 15 home runs this season.
The Red Raiders have been off since being swept in a two-game series against No. 3 Texas last weekend. While Tech has lost four straight, the Huskers have won three of their last four.
After splitting a two-game series with eighth-ranked Missouri last weekend, Nebraska swept a doubleheader from South Dakota State on Wednesday. The Husker pitching staff allowed only one run and just three hits in the two wins, while Taylor Edwards homered and had three RBIs in the sweep.
Scouting the Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech enters this weekend’s series with a 39-11 overall record and a 4-10 record in Big 12 Conference play. The Red Raiders have been ranked for most of the season, but have fallen out of the polls recently. TTU has lost four straight games, five of its last six and eight of its last 11. The Red Raiders are just 2-2 in true road games this season. Nebraska and Texas Tech share four common Big 12 opponents this season in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. NU posted a 4-4 record against that group, while TTU went 2-6.

Tech is led by a potent offense that leads the nation with a .361 batting average, ranks fourth nationally in scoring (7.9 runs per game) and seventh in slugging percentage (.568). The Red Raiders have also homered 55 times. Transfers Cydney Allen and Sandy James have been key additions for Texas Tech. Allen ranks second in the Big 12 with a .398 batting average, ranks six with 13 home runs and fifth with 52 RBIs. James is batting .357 and is tied with Nebraska’s Taylor Edwards for the conference RBI lead with 58, while ranking third with 15 home runs. The Red Raiders boast three of the conference’s top-five RBI producers, as another transfer, Logan Hall, has added 54 RBIs. Returning All-Big 12 selection Emily Bledsoe is batting .397 with 31 RBIs, as she is one of seven starters hitting at least .300 and one of six Red Raiders with 30 RBIs this season.

In the circle, Texas Tech is allowing 3.4 runs per game while posting a 3.25 team ERA. The Red Raiders have used five pitchers this season, but have mainly relied on left-handers Kelsey Dennis and Brittany Talley. Dennis, who was a teammate of NU’s Saige Wright at Wallace State C.C. the past two seasons, is 12-3 on the year with a team-low 2.62 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 91.0 innings. Talley, a freshman, is 13-5 with a 2.79 ERA and 64 strikeouts in a team-high 105.1 innings. Kermitria Ward (5-2, 2.94 ERA in 50.0 IP), Ashley Brokeshoulder (7-0, 4.70 ERA in 41.2 IP) and Karli Merlich (2-1, 5.75 ERA in 24.1 IP) round out the Red Raider staff.

Husker History vs. Texas Tech
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 30-6, after the Huskers swept the Red Raiders in Lubbock last season. NU has swept the season series 11 times in the 15 years the teams have been members of the Big 12 Conference, while Tech posted its lone series sweep in 2008. Texas Tech has won as many games against Nebraska in the past three years (3), as it did in the first 24 years of the series combined. Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 28-6 in her career against the Red Raiders, including a 2-0 record against second-year Texas Tech Head Coach Shanon Hays. The Huskers also lead the all-time series in Lincoln, 12-2, but Tech won the last game at Bowlin Stadium in 2009.

Last year, Nebraska won a pair of low-scoring games in Lubbock, taking game one, 3-1, before earning a 2-0 win in game two. In the first meeting, Robin Mackin and Ashley Hagemann combined on a one-hitter, while the Husker offense rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull out the win. Brooke Thomason homered in the sixth inning to tie the game, before Ashley Guile delivered a game-winning, two-run single in the seventh. In game two, the Husker pitching staff combined for a three-hit shutout, with Hagemann earning the save after picking up the victory in game one. Offensively, Nebraska had 10 hits in game two, but stranded 13 runners. Nikki Haget went 3-for-4 and drove in both Husker runs, while Guile went 2-for-3.

Individually, Hagemann is 1-0 in her career against Texas Tech, with one save. She has allowed only one hit and struck out six in 5.2 scoreless innings. Offensively, Haget is 3-for-8 with a double and two RBIs against the Red Raiders, while Thomason is 2-for-6 with a homer and Guile is 4-for-15 with two walks and two RBIs.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest as No. 14 Nebraska hosts Texas Tech in a two-game series at Bowlin Stadium this weekend.

• The Huskers are 466-229 (.671) all-time in the month of April, including a 6-5 mark this season. The Huskers own more victories and a better winning percentage in April than in any other month. However, Nebraska posted an 8-7 record in April last season, marking its first winning month of April in three years.
• With only one game remaining this month, Nebraska needs a win to post a winning month of April.
• Nebraska has only been out-hit six times in 43 games this season, but four times in the past 10 games.
• The Huskers have outscored their opponents by an average of 3.6 runs per game this season.
• Seven of Nebraska’s nine losses this season have come to teams ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA RPI.
• Freshman Taylor Edwards has 48 RBIs this season in only 52 at bats with runners in scoring position.
• NU has 101 extra-base hits this year, marking the 11th time in school history a Husker team has produced 100 extra-base hits in a season. NU has also done it in back-to-back years for the first time since 2002-03.
• Sophomore Gabby Banda enters play this weekend with 99 career games played and 98 career starts.
• Junior Nikki Haget enters play this weekend with 99 career starts.

Taylor Edwards Passes 100 Total Bases
Freshman Taylor Edwards homered and singled against South Dakota State in Wednesday’s doubleheader, giving her 104 total bases this season. Edwards, who ranks second in the Big 12 in total bases, is only the third Husker freshman to total 100 bases. She joins elite company as the other two freshmen to reach the mark both earned All-America honors their first season and went on to be three-time All-Americans. Ali Viola totaled 149 bases in 63 games in 1995 (2.37 total bases per game), while Jennifer Lizama had 115 total bases in 52 games in 1997 (2.21). Edwards is currently averaging 2.42 total bases per game.

Huskers Post Best Non-Conference Record in School History
Nebraska posted a 30-3 record against non-conference opponents during the regular season, closing the year with nine straight wins against non-conference competition after sweeping South Dakota State in Wednesday’s doubleheader. The Huskers’ .903 winning percentage marked the best non-conference, regular-season winning percentage in school history. Nebraska also notched 30 wins in the regular season against non-conference competition for only the sixth time in school history.

The Huskers have an excellent chance to post the best overall non-conference winning percentage (including conference and NCAA tournaments) in school history this season, once postseason play is complete. Nebraska’s current .909 winning percentage against non-conference teams is on pace to top the best mark in school history of .813 set in 2002, the last time the Huskers advanced to the Women’s College World Series.

Husker Defense Hitting Stride
Nebraska has committed only 29 errors in 43 games this season, as the Huskers’ .974 fielding percentage is on pace to be the best mark in school history. The Huskers currently rank fourth in the Big 12 Conference and 31st nationally in fielding percentage, and the defense has been exceptional in league play.

After committing three errors in the first two games of conference play, the Husker defense has committed only one error - an overthrow of second base on a stolen base attempt - in its last eight Big 12 games. The Huskers boast a .985 fielding percentage in Big 12 play that ranks second in the league. Nebraska has also allowed only five stolen bases in conference play, the fewest of any team in the league.

Individually, freshman Tatum Edwards is the lone Husker with a perfect fielding percentage with more than 50 chances, while her sister Taylor has committed only one error behind the plate in 320 chances, good for a .997 fielding percentage that ranks as the third-best mark in school history. On the infield, junior Ashley Guile has committed only two errors all season at first base, senior Julie Brechtel has committed only four errors at second base, sophomore Gabby Banda has not committed an error in her last 13 games at short, and senior Heidi Foland has committed only two errors in her last 31 games at third base.

Hagemann Making Mark in Husker Record Book
Junior right-hander Ashley Hagemann has already etched her name in the Nebraska season record book in three categories and could enter several other charts before the season is over. Hagemann is 24-8 this season, with her 24 wins ranking in a tie for sixth in Husker history. Hagemann has also struck out 249 batters this season, a total that is eighth in school history and only 30 strikeouts from the top five. Hagemann has also averaged 8.9 strikeouts per seven innings this season, an average that ranks fifth in school history.

Hagemann is close to cracking the top 10 in several other categories as well. Her .750 winning percentage ranks just outside the top 10 (.786), while she needs only 30.1 innings, two saves, three shutouts and three complete games to crack the top 10 in each category.

Brechtel Makes 200th Start; Foland Nears Mark
Senior Julie Brechtel started the 200th game of her career in game two of Wednesday’s doubleheader with South Dakota State, with each start coming at second base. Classmate Heidi Foland has started 196 career games entering this weekend. Only 17 players in school history have started 200 career games, but Brechtel and Foland would be the first players to reach the mark playing their entire career under the 56-game regular-season limit, which went into effect beginning with the 2006 season.

Taylor Edwards Matches Ali Viola With 15-Homer, 50-RBI Season
Freshman Taylor Edwards has 16 home runs and 58 RBIs this season. Edwards is only the second Husker ever to hit 15 home runs and produce 50 RBIs in the same season. She joins exclusive company, as Ali Viola accomplished the same feat while earning first-team All-America honors as a sophomore in 1996 and as a senior in 1998, when she was a finalist for the Honda Award. Edwards ranks fourth in NU history in home runs and RBIs.

Run Scorers
Junior Nikki Haget leads Nebraska with 41 runs scored this season. Although she is the only Husker to score 30 runs this season, four of her teammates have scored at least 27 runs. If each of those four players score at least three more runs, Nebraska will have five players score 30 runs in a season for only the second time in school history. The 1996 Huskers are the only team in school history to have five players score 30 times in a season.

Striking Out
Junior right-hander Ashley Hagemann ranks fourth among all pitchers in the Big 12 Conference and 16th among all pitchers nationally with a career-high 249 strikeouts this season. Behind her impressive individual total, NU ranks fourth in the league with 339 strikeouts as a staff, even though NU has played the second-fewest games of any league school. On a per-game basis, the Huskers are averaging 8.4 strikeouts per seven innings this season. That figure ranks second in Husker history behind the school record of 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings in 2006.

Edwards Twins Both Reach Double-Digit Homers
Freshmen twins Tatum and Taylor Edwards have combined to hit 27 home runs this season. Through 43 games, the twins have combined to produce the highest home run total ever by a Husker freshman class, and the second-highest tandem home run total in school history. Tatum and Taylor have each reached double figures in home runs this season, becoming only the fifth and sixth Husker freshmen to hit 10 home runs in a season. Taylor has homered 16 times, while Tatum has added 11 home runs. Taylor’s 16 home runs are a Husker freshman record, while Tatum’s 11 homers are tied for fifth among all freshmen in NU history. Together, the twins are only the seventh tandem in Husker history to combine to hit at least 20 home runs.

Huskers Ranked 20th in NCAA RPI
The NCAA released its sixth weekly RPI report on April 20, and Nebraska fell to the No. 20 spot. The Huskers were one of eight Big 12 teams ranked in the top 30 of the poll, along with Texas (3rd), Missouri (5th), Oklahoma (11th), Baylor (13th), Oklahoma State (16th), Texas A&M (24th) and Texas Tech (28th). The Huskers own wins over No. 5 Missouri, No. 6 Florida and No. 11 Oklahoma. The Huskers are 2-4 against the top 10 and 3-5 against the top 20.