Julie Brechtel Season 2008

Career Honors & Awards

• Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Finalist (1 of 30 in 2011)
• NFCA All-Midwest Region Second Team (2010)
• Big 12 All-Tournament Team (2009)
• Nebraska Career (34) and Season (11) Hit-by-Pitch Record Holder
• Two-Time Academic All-District VII First Team (2010 & 2011)
• Three-Time Academic All-Big 12 First Team (2009, 2010 & 2011)
• Two-Time Richard Raimondi Memorial Scholarship Recipient
• Eight-Time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll Selection

Career Capsule
Julie Brechtel started 212 games at second base in her Husker career. She finished with a .288 career batting average, 28 doubles and 18 home runs. Brechtel became only the eighth player in Nebraska history to produce 100 career hits, runs scored and RBIs, finishing with 165 hits, 114 RBIs and 102 runs.

Brechtel ended her career as Nebraska's all-time leader in hit-by-pitches with 34, while her 114 RBIs ranked ninth in school history and her 73 walks tied for ninth.

Senior Season [2011]
Brechtel produced her best offensive statistical season as a senior. While starting all 55 games at second base, Brechtel batted .323, the highest mark of her career. She also set career highs for runs scored (37), hits (50), doubles (9) and on-base percentage (.436), while tying her career high with six home runs. She posted a .497 slugging percentage and drove in more than 30 runs for the second straight year.

Brechtel proved to be a versatile hitter in her senior season, ranking second on the team in doubles and fourth in home runs and RBIs, while also leading NU in sacrifices with nine. Brechtel batted .345 with runners in scoring position and also set the table by batting .370 as a leadoff hitter. In Big 12 play, Brechtel led Nebraska with a .377 on-base percentage, while also tying for the team lead in doubles. She homered in her final career at bat to tie Nebraska's regional final matchup with Stanford at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning

Defensively, Brechtel committed six errors while posting a .957 fielding percentage. She committed only one error in conference play.

In the classroom, Brechtel was a first-team academic all-district selection for the second straight season. In the preseason, she was also the first Husker softball player to be nominated for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, when she was one of 30 national candidates and the only player from the Big 12 Conference.

Junior Season [2010]
Brechtel was arguably the Huskers’ most consistent player in 2010. She started 52 games at second base, missing seven games with concussion-like symptoms early in the year. Brechtel finished with a .287 average and produced a career-best  37 RBIs. She also tied her career high with six home runs and added one triple.

Brechtel spent the majority of the season as the Huskers’ cleanup hitter, batting in the No. 4 spot in 38 of her 52 games. She thrived in that role, as her 37 RBIs tied for the third-highest total by a junior in Husker history. Brechtel was at her best in clutch situations, as she batted .330 with runners on base and her average rose to .348 with runners in scoring position. Her 11 multi-RBI games also tied for the team high.

Brechtel set a pair of school records in 2010 with her propensity to get hit by pitches. She was plunked 11 times on the season, tying teammate Ashley Guile for the school record. Her 11 hit-by-pitches also moved her career total to 25, another Husker record she continued to add to as a senior. Brechtel also struck out the fewest times in her career despite recording her most at bats. Her 11-game hitting streak early in the season is the longest streak of any Husker.

Defensively, Brechtel was one play away from becoming the second Husker ever to post an error-free season when fielding at least 150 chances. She committed only one error in 160 chances, beginning the year with a career-best 32-game errorless streak. Her one error was the fewest of any second baseman in the Big 12 Conference.

Brechtel was a second-team NFCA All-Midwest region selection and a first-team academic all-district pick.

Sophomore Season [2009]
In her second year as NU’s starting second baseman, Brechtel started all 54 games in 2009, as she was one of three players - and the only non-senior - to start every game. Brechtel enjoyed a breakout season after showing great potential as a freshman. She finished 2009 with a .313 average, seven doubles, six home runs and 28 RBIs. Brechtel tied for the team lead with six home runs, and she ranked among the top three Huskers in doubles, RBIs, runs scored, walks, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

Brechtel finished with 13 extra-base hits after totaling only four doubles in 2008. Her slugging percentage increased from .252 in 2008 to .500 in 2009, as Brechtel became the first Husker sophomore to slug .500 in a season since three-time All-American Ali Viola in 1996. Overall, Brechtel’s .500 slugging percentage ranked as the fourth-highest total ever by a Husker sophomore. Brechtel added a .431 on-base percentage thanks to 25 walks, which tied for the fifth-highest total by a sophomore in Nebraska history.

She earned the first Big 12 Player-of-the-Week award of her career following an outstanding performance at the Judi Garman Classic in her hometown of Fullerton, Calif. In five games at the tournament, Brechtel batted .583 with seven RBIs and five runs scored. She led the 17-team tournament in average and on-base percentage while ranking second in RBIs, a noticeable accomplishment as nine of the 17 teams were ranked, including four top-10 squads. Highlighting her weekend was her first career grand slam against Penn State on the final day of the tournament.

For the second straight year, Brechtel caught fire in March. She hit .460 in 21 March games, going 23-for-50, while scoring 16 runs and producing 17 RBIs. Brechtel added three doubles and three home runs to post a .680 slugging percentage in March, while 12 walks and three hit-by-pitches helped her finish the month with a .585 on-base percentage.

Defensively, Brechtel posted a 31-game errorless streak at second base while finishing with only five errors in 187 chances for a .973 fielding percentage.

Freshman Season [2008]
Brechtel started all but two games at second base during a solid freshman campaign. A .220 hitter on the year, Brechtel proved to be at her best in clutch situations, as she batted .279 with runners in scoring position while producing seven of her 16 RBIs with two outs. Brechtel also showed patience at the plate, drawing 16 walks and posting a .346 on-base percentage. Aiding her on-base cause were nine hit-by-pitches, a total that ranked second in school history. She finished her rookie year with six multi-hit games and ranked third on the team with five multi-RBI contests.

After a slow start, Brechtel broke out at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic. She went 4-for-11 (.364) with a .563 on-base percentage at the tournament, recording her first two career multi-hit games. Brechtel ended the tournament with a 2-for-2 effort against No. 4 Tennessee that included a walk and ignited a stretch where she recorded a hit in seven consecutive at bats and reached base safely in 10 consecutive plate appearances. After the Leadoff Classic, Brechtel continued to emerge in the month of March. She hit .314 in 20 March games, while recording all four of her extra-base hits on the season and posting a .426 on-base percentage.

Brechtel finished her season on a strong note by going 3-for-10 at her first Big 12 Championship, including a 2-for-2 effort with a walk in the title game against national runner-up Texas A&M. Defensively, Brechtel committed only seven errors in 196 chances for a .964 fielding percentage. She posted three separate stretches where she went at least 10 games without an error, including two 12-game stretches.

Before Nebraska
Brechtel played her prep ball at Sunny Hills High School and played for the Orange County Batbusters and Corona Angels in the summer. She was a four-time first-team All-Freeway League selection at Sunny Hills, as well as the two-time Freeway League Player of the Year. A two-time second-team Division III All-CIF selection, Brechtel led the league with a .412 average as a junior, while ranking third with 11 RBIs and second with two home runs as Sunny Hills won the league title. As a senior, she again led the league with a .438 average with four doubles, four home runs, three triples and 12 RBIs. Defensively, Doug Myers, head coach for the Batbusters declared Brechtel – who played third base – as the best fielder on the team, a major accomplishment on a team that produced several Division I scholarship athletes.

Brechtel was also a member of the Batbusters team that captured the ASA 16-and-under national championship in 2005. She also played for the Corona Angels, the same team as classmate Tori T yson. The Angels were coached by Marty Tyson, Tori’s father.

Personal
Julianne Jenelle Brechtel is the daughter of John and Joanne Brechtel and was born on July 6, 1989, in Fullerton, Calif. Julie has one sister, Jennifer and one brother, Justin. Julie is a double major in business administration and marketing with minors in economics and art and is on pace to earn her degrees in May of 2012.