The 2013 Nebraska softball team went from unranked and not receiving any votes in the preseason polls to a No. 8 final national ranking following a 45-16 record and a trip to the Women's College World Series.
After a second-place finish in the Big Ten Conference behind fellow WCWS qualifier Michigan, Nebraska earned a No. 14 national seed for the NCAA Tournament. Hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2007 - and earning a No. 1 seed for an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2002 - the Huskers swept through their home regional. NU opened with a pair of easy wins before coming-from-behind in a 10-5 victory over Stanford in the regional final.
By winning the NCAA Lincoln Regional, Nebraska advanced to the first NCAA Super Regional in school history (the NCAA first adopted the regional-super regional format beginning with the 2005 season). Nebraska faced No. 3 Oregon for the right to advance to the Women's College World Series, and the Huskers opened the series with a 5-1 victory, handing the Ducks their first home loss of the season and snapping the nation's longest home winning streak. Oregon bounced back the next day, rallying from a one-run seventh-inning deficit before prevailing in 11 innings. But in game three, freshman right-hander Emily Lockman allowed two first-inning runs and nothing more, as the Huskers punched their ticket to Oklahoma City with a 4-2 win.
At the Women's College World Series, the Huskers went 0-2, losing a pair of extra-inning games. In the opener against Washington, Nebraska led 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Huskies scored once in the seventh and once in the eighth to rally for the win.
Nebraska then rallied in game two of its WCWS appearance. The Huskers trailed No. 2 Florida 6-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Nebraska trailed by two when Brooke Thomason hit a one-out sacrifice fly to center that wound up scoring two runs after Gabby Banda scored from second following a rundown between third and home. Florida led again in the 10th inning before Taylor Edwards tied the game with a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the frame. The Gators scored twice more in the top of the 15th, and Nebraska answered with one run in the bottom of the frame before the tying runner was thrown out at third to end the game.
Below is a quick look at the accomplishments of the 2013 squad, along with the team's NCAA Tournament results.
- Finished with a 46-15 overall record
- Finished second in the Big Ten Conference
- One of two Big Ten School to advance to WCWS
- First team to appear in an NCAA Super Regional in school history
- Produced a second-team All-American
- Produced one Women's College World Series All-Tournament team selection
- Earned school's seventh WCWS berth
- Staff named NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year
- Finished in a tie for seventh place at the WCWS
| NCAA Regional (Lincoln, Neb.) | ||
| Opponent | Result | Score |
| Northern Iowa | Win | 4-0 |
| Stanford | Win | 7-1 |
| Stanford | Win | 10-5 |
| NCAA Super Regional (Eugene, Ore.) | ||
| Opponent | Result | Score |
| at Oregon | Win | 5-1 |
| at Oregon | Loss | 3-4 (11) |
| at Oregon | Win | 4-2 |
| WCWS (Oklahoma City, Okla.) | ||
| Opponent | Result | Score |
| Washington | Loss | 3-4 (8) |
| Florida | Loss | 8-9 (15) |