Huskers Continue Road Trip at Wichita State

The 22nd-ranked Nebraska softball team continues its eight-game road trip this weekend, when the Huskers travel to Wichita, Kan., for three games in two days against Wichita State. Nebraska and WSU will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m., followed by a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

In addition to battling the Shockers, Nebraska (14-5) may have to contend with the weather this weekend. Wichita State (9-9) postponed its Wednesday home doubleheader with Oklahoma due to unplayable field conditions at Wilkins Stadium following a pair of recent snowstorms. Although the field is expected to be ready for play this weekend, the forecast calls for rain on both Saturday and Sunday. Nate Rohr will call of the action for Huskers.com this weekend, while a video stream will be available with a subscription to HuskersNSide, courtesy of wwww.shockervision.tv.

The Huskers take a three-game winning streak to Wichita, as Nebraska began its eight-game road trip with a 3-1 record in Oklahoma last weekend. NU dropped its first game of the road trip, as No. 1 Oklahoma broke a 3-3 tie with seven two-out runs in the bottom of the fifth inning en route to a 10-3 victory. But the Huskers bounced back in game two, using a seven-hit shutout from freshman right-hander Emily Lockman and a solo home run from junior Tatum Edwards to upset the previously unbeaten Sooners, 1-0. The loss snapped OU’s season-opening 17-game win streak and marked only the second time in Husker history that Nebraska had defeated a No. 1-ranked team.

The Huskers also made history the next day while sweeping a doubleheader at Oklahoma State, defeating the Cowgirls in Stillwater for the first time since 2006. Tatum Edwards posted her third shutout of the season in Nebraska’s 3-0 game-one victory, before the offense exploded in a 10-5 game-two win. The second victory was Head Coach Rhonda Revelle’s 768th win at Nebraska, as she passed former baseball coach John Sanders as the Huskers’ all-time wins leader across all sports.

Nebraska’s talented freshman class shined last weekend. Lockman posted a pair of wins, including the shutout of top-ranked Oklahoma, while Danica Bishop threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief against the Sooners. At the plate, Alicia Armstrong, Hailey Decker and Dawna Tyson combined for four home runs against Oklahoma State. Armstrong and Tyson each hit their first career home run against the Cowgirls, with Tyson homering twice, once in game one and again in game two. Kiki Stokes added five hits, three stolen bases and three runs scored in the two games against Oklahoma State.

Scouting the Wichita State Shockers (9-9)
Wichita State brings a 9-9 record into its first home games of the season this weekend. The Shockers were scheduled to host No. 1 Oklahoma on Wednesday, but the games were postponed due to field conditions. The Shockers have won five of their last six games and despite a .500 record, Wichita State has outscored its opponents by 13 runs this season.

Offensively, Wichita State is batting .262 as a team and averaging 3.8 runs per game. The offense has hit its stride recently, as the Shockers have scored at least four runs in six consecutive games, while averaging 4.8 runs per game over their last 10 contests. Individually, Melanie Jaegers leads the team with a .356 average. One of four Shockers hitting above .300, Jaegers has also added team-high totals of 13 runs scored, eight walks and 10 stolen bases. Brianne Bond is batting .333 and is tied for the team lead with 10 RBIs, while Hayley Temple is hitting .328. Layne Greenlee and Megan McCracken each have three home runs, combining to slug six of Wichita State’s 10 home runs this season.

In the circle, Wichita State owns a 2.51 staff ERA, and the Shockers are allowing an average of 3.1 runs per game. Like the offense, the pitching staff has excelled as of late, allowing two runs or less in four of the last six games, including a pair of shutouts. Sloan Anderson and Katie Armagost have split the innings for the Shockers this spring. Anderson has made 11 appearances and nine starts, posting a 6-3 record with a 1.86 ERA in 56.1 innings. She has tossed all three of Wichita State’s shutouts, including two in her past three starts. Armagost has made 10 appearances and eight starts, compiling a 3-6 record with a 2.98 ERA in 56.1 innings. Neither Anderson nor Armagost are strikeout pitchers, but Anderson has walked only five batters this season, while Armagost has walked 30. Hunter Stohlmeyer (0-0, 3.82 ERA in 7.1 IP) rounds out the Shocker staff.

Wichita State’s 18-player roster includes some ties to Husker players. Starting infielder Laura Vickers attended Olathe East High School in Olathe, Kan., from 2007 to 2010, where she was a teammate of Husker freshman outfielder Kiki Stokes in both 2009 and 2010. Kacie Eich, a native of Overland Park, Kan., and a transfer from Southern Miss, starred for Blue Valley Northwest High School, where she was a two-year high school teammate of Nebraska senior outfielder Brooke Thomason.

Husker History vs. Wichita State
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Wichita State, 30-13. The Huskers have won nine straight games in the series - the longest winning streak for either team in series history - and 15 of the last 16. WSU has been held to one run or less eight times during Nebraska’s current nine-game winning streak, while the Huskers have averaged 6.4 runs per game during that stretch. Overall, Nebraska has held Wichita State to one run or less in 12 of the last 15 meetings. Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle is 16-5 in her career against Wichita State, but she will be facing second-year Wichita State Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner for the first time this weekend.

The teams last met in 2009, with the Huskers winning a pair of games from the Shockers by a combined score of 20-5. Each of the last five meetings have come in Wichita, where Nebraska owns a 15-10 advantage. The Huskers have won six straight games in Wichita, with the Shockers’ last win coming in 1999 (2-1).

In the most recent meeting in 2009, Nebraska took game one by a 12-4 score, before earning a series sweep with an 8-1 victory the next day. Nebraska also twice defeated North Dakota that weekend, as the Shockers were hosting a three-team, round-robin tournament. In game one against WSU, Nebraska scored five times in the first inning and never looked back. Every Husker starter had a hit, as NU pounded out 15 hits. Six Huskers produced multi-hit games, while Haley Long hit her first career home run. In game two, Nebraska’s slappers combined for six of the Huskers’ 12 hits, and Heidi Foland and Brittany Pascale each homered.

In the circle, Tori Tyson, the older sister of NU freshman Dawna Tyson, earned the game one win by throwing 3.2 shutout innings of relief. Ashley Hagemann earned the win in game two and Molly Hill picked up the save.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes as the 22nd-ranked Huskers take a 14-5 record to Wichita, Kan., this weekend for a three-game series with the Wichita State Shockers.

• Nebraska owns an all-time record of 434-250 (.635) in the month of March. The Huskers have posted a winning month of March for 17 straight seasons dating back to 1994.
• NU’s roster features seven freshmen, tying for the most freshmen in Coach Revelle’s 21 seasons (also 2008).
• Five freshmen started the season opener, the most in Coach Revelle’s tenure and believed to be the most ever.
• NU’s starting lineup has featured at least three freshmen in every game, including nine games with five freshmen.
• Nebraska has allowed one run or less in 11 of its 19 games this season, including seven shutouts. In 55 games last season, NU allowed one run or less just 16 times, posting 13 shutouts.
• Tatum Edwards is one home run shy of cracking Nebraska’s all-time top 10.
• In the circle, 21 of the 51 hits Tatum Edwards has allowed this season have been infield singles (41 percent).
• Eight of Tatum Edwards’ nine hits this season have gone for extra bases, including four doubles and four homers.
• Taylor Edwards is six walks shy of passing Jennifer Lizama (92) for the most walks through a player’s first three seasons in school history.
• Taylor Edwards is also 14 RBIs from entering Nebraska’s all-time top five.
• Gabby Banda is three doubles shy of cracking Nebraska’s all-time top 10.
• Banda is two hit-by-pitches from moving into Nebraska’s all-time top five.
• Banda has started 154 consecutive games for the Huskers.
• Tatum and Taylor Edwards, along with Brooke Thomason, each homered against Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 9. That marked the third time all three players had homered in the same time, while also marking the eighth time that the Edwards twins had homered in the same game.

Revelle Becomes Nebraska’s All-Time Coaching Wins Leader
Nebraska’s 10-5 victory at Oklahoma State in the second game of a March 3 doubleheader was a historic one, as it made Rhonda Revelle Nebraska’s all-time wins leader across all sports. The victory was Revelle’s 768th at Nebraska, as she passed former baseball coach John Sanders, who won 767 games from 1978 to 1997.

Huskers Knock Off No. 1 For Second Time in School History
Behind a seven-hit shutout from Emily Lockman and a solo home run from Tatum Edwards, No. 25 Nebraska upset top-ranked Oklahoma, 1-0, in Norman on March 2. The win was Nebraska’s second victory over a top-ranked opponent in school history, joining a 1-0 upset of No. 1 Florida on March 12, 2011. The win over the Gators came at a neutral site in Clearwater, Fla., as the win over Oklahoma marked the highest ranked opponent the Huskers have ever defeated on the road. The win also snapped the Sooners’ 17-game season-opening win streak.

On the Road Again
Nebraska has enjoyed success on the road this season. The Huskers have played six true road games through the first four weeks of the season, posting a 4-2 record in those contests. Nebraska owns road wins over New Mexico State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (twice), with losses to the Sooners and Arizona. Both of Nebraska’s road losses have come to ranked teams, as Arizona was ranked 16th when it defeated the Huskers, 1-0, on Feb. 15. Oklahoma was No. 1 when it defeated Nebraska in game one of a March 2 doubleheader. The Sooners moved to 17-0 on the season after that win, but the Huskers snapped that win streak with a 1-0 win in game two.

Nebraska plays three games at Wichita State this weekend, continuing an eight-game road trip that ties for the longest in school history. The Huskers began the trip with a 3-1 record in Oklahoma last weekend. Included in that trip was the upset of No. 1 Oklahoma, the highest ranked opponent NU has ever defeated on the road, and the program’s second win ever against a No. 1 opponent. The next day, NU swept a doubleheader at Oklahoma State, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Cowgirls in Stillwater that dated back to 2006.

This weekend, Nebraska will be playing in a city where it has enjoyed recent success. Overall, the Huskers have won 15 consecutive games in Wichita, dating back to 1999. That streak includes tournament games against teams other than Wichita State, but the Huskers have also won six straight against the Shockers during that streak. If the Huskers can sweep Wichita State this weekend, they will match last year’s total of seven road victories, as NU was just 7-12 on the road last season.

Overall, Nebraska is scheduled to play 23 true road games this season, which would mark the second-highest total in school history. The school record for road wins in a season is 12 in 2001.

Huskers Fare Well in Tough Stretch of Schedule
Nebraska is off to a strong start this season, posting a 14-5 record. All five losses have come to teams ranked in the top 20 at first pitch, including No. 1 Oklahoma twice, No. 8 California, No. 9 Oregon and No. 16 Arizona.

Over its last 10 games, Nebraska owns a 6-4 record against very challenging competition. Each of Nebraska’s last 10 games have come against opponents from a BCS conference and four have been true road games, while the other six were played at a neutral site. Six of the 10 games have been against ranked opponents, including three games against No. 1 Oklahoma and five total matchups against top-10 opponents. The Huskers went 2-4 against those ranked opponents, including the program’s second-ever victory over a top-ranked opponent. The two wins matched last year’s entire season total of victories against ranked teams.

Fabulous Freshmen
Nebraska’s talented seven-player freshman class has made an immediate impact over the first four weeks of the season. Freshmen lead the team in several categories, including Kiki Stokes, who leads Nebraska in runs (20), triples (1), walks (14), on-base percentage (.507) and steals (6), Emily Lockman, who paces the Husker pitching staff in ERA (1.45), and Danica Bishop, who boasts Nebraska’s lowest opponent batting average (.167).

Stokes and Hailey Decker have started every game this season, while Alicia Armstrong has made 18 starts, missing one game due to an ankle injury. Lockman has started nine of Nebraska’s 19 games in the circle, while Dawna Tyson has earned 12 starts, nine at first base and three as the designated player. Overall, the freshmen have combined for 77 starts this season, as Nebraska has started at least three freshmen in every game, including nine games where five freshmen were in the starting lineup.

Offensively, the freshmen have combined for a solid .286 batting average with six doubles, one triple, six home runs and 23 RBIs. The group is slugging .422 and reaching base at a .374 clip. In addition to her team-leading totals, Stokes ranks second on the team with a .364 batting average, while she leads the Big Ten in runs scored and ranks second in walks. Decker ranks second on the team with four doubles, and she is third with three homers and 12 RBIs. Armstrong and Tyson have also homered this season.

The combination of Armstrong, Decker, Stokes and Tyson produced impressive results in a doubleheader at Oklahoma State last Sunday. Armstrong hit the first home run of her career in game two, while Decker doubled, homered and drove in two in the doubleheader, while adding two walks. Stokes produced four hits, three runs scored and three stolen bases in the two games, reaching base safely in five of her nine plate appearances. Tyson enjoyed a big day as well, finishing 3-for-7 with her first two career home runs, four RBIs and two runs scored.

In the circle, Lockman has split innings with junior Tatum Edwards, while Bishop has impressed in limited action. Lockman, who ranks fifth in the Big Ten in ERA, is 6-1 on the year with 1.45 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .211 against her, and she has thrown three shutouts. She has been excellent in her two starts against ranked teams, allowing one run in a complete-game effort in a 1-0 loss to eighth-ranked Cal on Feb. 24, before tossing a seven-hit shutout in a 1-0 upset of top-ranked and previously unbeaten Oklahoma on March 2. Bishop has made four appearances, posting a 1.91 ERA with one save. She has not allowed a run in three of her four appearances, including 1.1 shutout innings of relief against No. 1 Oklahoma.

Thomason Continuing Strong Start to Senior Season
Brooke Thomason is off to an outstanding start in her final season at Nebraska. Thomason leads the Huskers with a .419 batting average, 26 hits, five doubles, five home runs and a .742 slugging percentage. Among all Big Ten hitters, Thomason ranks first in RBIs, second in home runs and total bases, third in hits, fourth in doubles and slugging percentage and sixth in average.

Over the past two weeks, Thomason has climbed Nebraska’s career charts while joining some exclusive clubs. She is only the ninth Husker to produce 100 career hits, RBIs and runs scored and just the fourth with 30 career doubles and home runs. Last weekend, Thomason became the 11th Husker to record 300 total bases, and she also moved into Nebraska’s all-time top 10 in doubles (36) and batting average (.333), while moving into third place on NU’s all-time RBI chart and fourth on the Huskers’ all-time home run chart.

Tyson Breaks Through at the Plate
Freshman Dawna Tyson had turned in increasingly impressive at bats recently, and her work was finally rewarded with a breakout doubleheader at Oklahoma State last Sunday. After going a hard-luck 1-for-5 in a doubleheader with No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday, Tyson’s hits began to fall the next day.

A native of Corona, Calif., Tyson went 1-for-3 with her first career home run in game one against the Cowgirls. She was then rewarded for her consistently strong at bats with a move to the No. 5 spot in the lineup for game two. In the second game, Tyson made an immediate impact in her move up the lineup, hitting a three-run homer in the top of the first inning. She finished 2-for-4 in game two, setting career highs for hits, runs scored and RBIs.

Overall, Tyson finished 3-for-7 in the doubleheader with her first two career home runs, four RBIs and two runs scored. Through her first 10 career games prior to Sunday’s doubleheader, Tyson had produced six hits, no extra-base hits and three RBIs.

Huskers Continue Stretch of Eight Straight Road Games
This weekend’s three-game series at Wichita State continues a string of eight consecutive road games for the Huskers. The streak ties the longest stretch of true road games in school history. The only other time a Nebraska team played eight consecutive road games was in 2011. That year, the Huskers finished the trip 6-2, going 3-1 at New Mexico State, 2-0 at UTEP and 1-1 at Oklahoma. Nebraska is 3-1 halfway through this season’s four-game road trip, splitting a doubleheader with No. 1 Oklahoma and sweeping a doubleheader at Oklahoma State.