Huskers Travel to New Mexico State Tournament

The 22nd-ranked Nebraska softball team heads west again this weekend, playing five games in three days at the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. Live audio will be available for every game from the New Mexico State Softball Complex, with Nate Rohr calling all of the action for Huskers.com.

The Huskers open the tournament on Friday at 3 p.m. against a Colorado State team that went 1-2 against Nebraska during last fall's exhibition season. NU closes Friday play with the first of two road matchups against an undefeated New Mexico State team that advanced to the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Huskers also face Stephen F. Austin and Weber State this weekend.

Nebraska is coming off a 3-3 record at last weekend's season-opening Kajikawa Classic. Two of the Huskers' three losses came to ranked teams - including a loss to No. 23 Georgia Tech in the bottom of the seventh inning - while the third came to an Oregon State team that is receiving votes in the polls. NU also posted a victory over eighth-ranked Arizona to finish 1-2 against ranked teams.

The Husker offense led the way last weekend, putting up tremendous numbers. After being shut out in the season opener, Nebraska scored 41 runs over its next five games. The Huskers hit .333 as a team and showed great plate discipline, walking 35 times - an average of nearly six walks per game - to post an impressive .460 team on-base percentage. The high average and walks gave Nebraska plenty of chances to hit with runners on base and the Huskers delivered. Nebraska batted .375 with runners on base and .397 with runners in scoring position. That production came against some talented pitching, as the Huskers faced two-time All-American Kenzie Fowler of Arizona, 2010 All-American Hope Rush of Georgia Tech and Washington's Kaitlin Inglesby, who was an all-region selection as a freshman in 2011.

Nebraska will not face as heralded of pitchers this weekend, in what figures to be an offensive-dominated tournament. Including the Huskers, each of the five teams in this weekend's tournament gave up an average of more than four runs per game last weekend. In fact, Colorado State, Nebraska, Stephen F. Austin and Weber State all allowed an average of at least 5.8 runs per game last weekend.

The Husker pitching staff struggled at the Kajikawa Classic. Nebraska pitchers combined for a 4.43 ERA, but the Huskers surrendered an average of more than six runs per game. Defense played into that total, as NU committed 13 errors in six games, contributing to a total of 14 unearned runs.

Scouting Colorado State (2-3)
Colorado State went 2-3 last week at the Texas Invitational, losing twice to No. 18 Texas, splitting a pair of games with Cal State Fullerton and defeating Texas-San Antonio. The Rams had a potent offense in Austin, averaging 5.8 runs per game despite being shut out in both games against the Longhorns.

CSU boasts a .308 team batting average and five starters are hitting .333 or better. Ashlie Ortega, who spent the past two seasons at Missouri, is leading the way with a .444 average, three doubles and one triple. Chelsea Biglow has hit the team's only home run and leads the Rams with seven RBIs and a .929 slugging percentage. Shae Rodriguez and Lyssa Roberts have both opened the season going 6-for-16 (.375), while Kendal Butterfield is batting .333.

In the circle, five different Rams saw action last weekend, as Colorado State allowed 6.4 runs per game and posted a 6.37 ERA. Opponents hit .348 against CSU last weekend. Kelli Eubanks was the only pitcher to start more than one game in Texas, making two starts and posting a 1-1 record with a team-low 3.50 ERA in a team-high 10.0 innings. Kailey Snyder earned one start and made a team-high three appearances at the Texas Invitational, posting a 1-0 record with a 4.84 ERA in 8.2 innings. Rounding out the staff are Kacie McCarthy (0-0, 0-0, 4.85 ERA in 4.1 IP), Molly Randle (0-1, 12.93 ERA in 4.1 IP) and Kali Haas (0-1, 15.02 ERA in 2.1 IP).

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Colorado State, 15-4, and the Huskers have won the last nine matchups. The last time the teams met also came in Las Cruces, N.M., when the Huskers defeated the Rams 6-2 in 2010. That marked Husker hitting coach Diane Miller's second season at Nebraska, after spending eight seasons at Colorado State from 2000 to 2008.

Scouting New Mexico State (5-0)
New Mexico State is 5-0 overall this season and 5-0 at home. Three of the Aggies' wins have been run-rule victories, while NMSU's average margin of victory this season is 6.2 runs.

The Aggies' offense has been outstanding in the early going, after putting up huge numbers a season ago. In 2011, New Mexico State ranked third nationally in batting average, fourth in slugging percentage, fifth in scoring and sixth in home runs per game. Through five games this year, New Mexico State is batting .405 as a team and averaging 10.4 runs per game.

Malena Pailla is one of four starters hitting over .500. She leads the team with a .636 average and has added one home run and six RBIs. Tiare Jennings is also off to a blazing start, batting .563 with three home runs, 15 RBIs, a 1.438 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. Overall, NMSU boasts nine players who have made a start this season that are hitting .333 or better.

In the circle, New Mexico State is allowing 4.2 runs per game, the lowest total of any team in the Troy Cox Classic. Alexa Newman has appeared in all five games and started three contests, posting a 4-0 record with a 4.14 ERA in 22.0 innings. Celisha Walker boasts a 1-0 record, one save and a 2.86 ERA in 7.1 innings. Kelsey Schueler (0-0, 4.20 ERA in 1.2 IP) and Sydney Williard (0-0, 99.00 ERA in 0.0 IP) round out the Aggie staff.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with New Mexico State, 8-5. The Huskers have won three straight in the series, winning the final three games of a four-game series last season. Before Nebraska's current win streak, the Aggies had won three straight games in the series, all one-run victories. Seven of NU's 10 returning hitters own a career batting average over .300 against New Mexico State, led by Taylor Edwards' .636 mark (7-for-11).

Scouting Stephen F. Austin (1-4)
Stephen F. Austin owns a 1-4 record heading into a home doubleheader with Houston Baptist on Wednesday. The Ladyjacks opened their 2012 season at Florida State, falling to the Seminoles in extra innings, losing a pair of run-rule games to Ole Miss and splitting two games with Tennessee Tech.

SFA hit just .207 as a team last weekend, averaging 2.2 runs per game. In the circle, the Ladyjacks surrendered 5.8 runs per game and issued more walks (24) than strikeouts (19). Stephen F. Austin also committed nine errors to post a .937 fielding percentage.

Offensively, a trio of Ladyjacks are hitting .300 or better, while six players are hitting under .200. Cadie Weaver leads the way with a .545 average, three RBIs and a .643 on-base percentage. Bethany Brown is next with a .333 average, and she leads the team with three runs, two doubles, one triple and a .667 slugging percentage. Jessica Arana rounds out the trio with a .300 average, while her older sister Elizabeth (.273) is the only other Ladyjack hitting above .250.

In the circle, Carlie Thomas and Angela White saw the majority of the action for Stephen F. Austin last weekend. Thomas posted an 0-3 record with a 4.12 ERA in 18.2 innings. White picked up the Ladyjacks' lone win, going 1-1 with a 7.45 ERA in 10.1 innings. Kaitlyn Mixon (0-0, 14.00 ERA in 1.0 IP) rounds out the SFA staff.

NU is a perfect 4-0 all-time against Stephen F. Austin, including a 2-1 win in 2006 in the most recent meeting.

Scouting Weber State (2-3)
Weber State went 2-3 in Las Vegas last weekend, opening the year with two straight victories, before losing its final three games. The Wildcats began the year with a 2-1 win over Kent State, before posting an 11-5 victory at UNLV. But after losing a one-run game to Cal State Bakersfield, Weber State was outscored 20-2 in run-rule loses to fifth-ranked Oklahoma (12-2) and Minnesota (8-0).

The Wildcats averaged 3.8 runs per game in the opening weekend and allowed 6.2 runs per contest. WSU hit .250 as a team, but posted an on-base percentage of only .293, while striking out 35 times and drawing just six walks. Defensively, Weber State committed 16 errors in five games, which contributed to 12 unearned runs and a .903 fielding percentage.

Three Wildcats hit better than .300 in the opening weekend, led by Lyndsey Minnich and Sarah Clark. Minnich hit .400 in Las Vegas, while Clark posted a .357 average. The duo combined to hit all three of Weber State's home runs, with Minnich homering twice and Clark once. Minnich posted an .867 slugging percentage, while Clark notched a .643 mark, as they were the only two Wildcats to post a slugging percentage above .333.

Clark also saw the majority of the action in the circle last weekend. She threw more than half of Weber State's innings, appearing in four games and posting a 1-2 record with a 2.19 ERA in 16.0 innings. Morgan Allaband posted a 1.05 ERA in 6.2 innings, allowing 10 total runs, but only one earned run. Kelsie Vallies (1-0, 6.30 ERA in 6.2 IP) and Angela Devries (0-1, 21.00 ERA in 2.1 IP) round out the Weber State staff.
 

Nebraska and Weber State are meeting for the first time on Saturday.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest as the Huskers look for more consistency at the Troy Cox Classic this weekend.

• The Huskers are 145-80 (.644) all-time in the month of February, including a 14-2 record last season. Nebraska's 14 wins last February were its most wins ever in the month.
• Nebraska has posted a winning month of February in nine of the last 10 seasons (3-6 in 2008).
• Under Revelle, Nebraska is 136-65 (.677) in February. She has posted a winning month of February 14 times in 18 seasons (the Huskers did not play a game in February of 1993, Revelle's first season).
• Nebraska scored a total of 16 runs in the fourth inning last weekend, 10 more than it scored in any other frame.
• The Huskers have committed 13 errors this season, including 11 miscues in its last three contests.
• The errors have led to 14 unearned runs, as NU is allowing an average of more than two unearned runs per game.
• Sophomore twin sisters Tatum and Taylor Edwards are each batting .412 this season and each sister is also 7-for-17 with five walks and a .565 on-base percentage.
• Tatum Edwards suffered the first loss of her career despite not allowing an earned run against Georgia Tech. The loss was the first of Edwards' career, as she entered the game with  9-0 career record. The loss also marked the first time a Husker pitcher other than Ashley Hagemann had suffered a loss since Haley Workman took the loss against Nevada on Feb. 26, 2011.
• Senior Madison Drake enters this weekend with 98 career games played.
• Junior Brooke Thomason enters this weekend with 98 career starts in right field.

Guile Honored for Outstanding Weekend
Senior first baseman Ashley Guile became the first Nebraska softball player to win a Big Ten weekly award on Monday, when she was named the conference's player of the week. The award was the second weekly honor of Guile's career, as she was named the Big 12 Player of the Week in May of 2010.

A native of Olathe, Kan., Guile was honored following an outstanding performance at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend. In six games at the tournament, Guile went 11-for-20 at the plate to produce a .550 batting average with three doubles - three shy of her entire 2011 total - one home run, eight RBIs and eight runs scored. She recorded multi-hit games against No. 8 Arizona, Idaho State and Cal State Northridge and also drew three walks to post a .609 on-base percentage.

Guile's big weekend got started with an outstanding performance in the Huskers' thrilling 11-10 upset of eighth-ranked Arizona in the second game of the season. Guile finished 3-for-4 against the Wildcats with a walk and a pair of RBIs. The next day, Guile went 4-for-4 with a home run, four runs scored and two RBIs against Cal State Northridge. Guile set a career high with four hits against the Matadors and tied the school record with her four runs scored. She closed her tournament with a double and a pair of RBIs against No. 23 Georgia Tech.

Banda Breaks Out Big Bat in Arizona
Junior Gabby Banda produced a big weekend at the plate in the season-opening Kajikawa Classic, going 6-for-18 (.333) with a .455 on-base percentage and .556 slugging percentage. She added a double, a home run, four walks, four runs scored and seven RBIs.

Banda produced all seven of her RBIs on Friday, hitting a grand slam against Arizona and then adding a two-run single and another run-scoring single in the nightcap against Idaho State. Banda's seven RBIs in that two-game span nearly matched the entire production from her 55-game 2011 campaign, when she produced 10 RBIs. After the power display, Banda showed patience in the Huskers' final game of the tournament, tying the school record by walking four times against No. 23 Georgia Tech.

A native of Angleton, Texas, Banda produced career highs in hits, home runs, RBIs and walks during Nebraska's opening weekend.

Huskers Show Ability to Rally
Nebraska showed an ability to come from behind last week, rallying from a six-run deficit, a four-run deficit and a one-run, seventh-inning deficit. Both comebacks came on the second day of the season, when the Huskers twice rallied to defeat eighth-ranked Arizona, 11-10, before falling behind by four runs in a come-from-behind victory over Idaho State.

Against Arizona, Nebraska trailed 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning before scoring nine straight runs, highlighted by junior Gabby Banda's grand slam. The Huskers led 9-6 going into the top of the seventh inning, only to see the Wildcats plate four runs and take a 10-9 lead. But Nebraska would not be denied, scoring twice in its final at bat, capped by junior Courtney Breault's two-out, walk-off, RBI single. The comeback from six runs down was Nebraska's largest ever against a ranked team and is believed to be the biggest come-from-behind victory in school history, based on available records. The win was also the Huskers' first seventh-inning walk-off victory since defeating 18th-ranked Stanford in nine innings at the 2011 Kajikawa Classic.

After the thrilling win against Arizona, Nebraska immediately hit the field against Idaho State, falling behind 4-0 after three innings of play. But the Huskers plated nine runs in the fourth inning and ended the game with 12 unanswered runs to post a 12-4, run-rule victory.

On the weekend, Nebraska twice rallied to win from four-run deficits. Before last weekend, the Huskers had rallied from a four-run deficit to win a game only twice since 2000 (vs. South Dakota in 2010 and at Iowa State in 2005).

Walk This Way
Nebraska walked 35 times in six games at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend, a whopping average of nearly six walks per game. The Huskers drew at least five walks in each of their final five games, walking eight times against No. 8 Arizona and seven times each against Oregon State and No. 23 Georgia Tech. NU also walked six times in only five turns at bat against Idaho State and five times in a six-inning win against Cal State Northridge. Overall, Nebraska averaged one walk every 5.8 plate appearances and combined with a .333 batting average, the Huskers averaged a hit, walk or hit batter every 2.2 trips to the plate last weekend.

Individually, junior Gabby Banda walked in each of her four plate appearances against No. 23 Georgia Tech on Sunday, tying the school record for walks in a game. Freshman Jordan Bettiol joined Banda with four total walks last weekend, while sophomore twins Tatum and Taylor Edwards and junior Brooke Thomason tied for the team lead with five walks.

Stat of the Week
Nebraska defeated eighth-ranked Arizona last weekend, despite giving up 10 runs. The 11-10 victory marked just the second time in school history that a Husker team had won when giving up double-digit runs. The only other time in the 37-year history of Nebraska softball that the Huskers have won when giving up 10 runs was a 15-11 win at home against Kansas on April 6, 1996. Nebraska is 2-40 all-time when giving up 10 runs or more.

Huskers Tie School Records in Opening Weekend
Just four games into the 2012 season, Nebraska had already tied one school record as a team and seen three individuals tie school records. The record-tying weekend began in the Huskers' dramatic come-from-behind victory over eighth-ranked Arizona in the second game of the year. Sophomore Taylor Edwards tied the school record for runs scored, scoring four times against the Wildcats. She became the 10th Husker to score four runs in a game and the first since her twin sister Tatum scored four runs at UTEP last season.

The next day against Cal State Northridge, senior Ashley Guile joined the Edwards twins in the record book. Not only did Guile score four times against the Matadors, she also went 4-for-4, falling one hit shy of the school record in that category. On the final day of the tournament, junior Gabby Banda walked in each of her four plate appearances against No. 23 Georgia Tech to join a trio of Huskers - including Guile - who have drawn four walks in game.

From a team standpoint, Nebraska scored a total of 33 runs in a three-game span against Arizona, Idaho State and Cal State Northridge, putting up 11 runs against the Wildcats, 12 versus the Bengals and 10 against the Matadors. The Huskers scored at least 10 runs in three consecutive games for only the third time in school history, but for the second time in the four-year tenure of Husker hitting coach Diane Miller.