Huskers Stretch Streak To 14 With Sweep Of Texas Tech

Lubbock, Texas --- The Nebraska softball team narrowly hung on to an unblemished Big 12 record and season-long win streak Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Texas Tech. Nebraska collected a 2-1, 11-inning win in the first game and a 5-1 victory in the second to stretch its win streak to 14 games, which is just three wins shy of the school record. The Huskers improve to 4-0 in the Big 12 and 27-15 overall with the sweep.

The majority of the first game was a pitcher's dual that featured three of the Big 12's best. Jenny Voss started for Nebraska and gave up three hits over six innings before being relieved by Leigh Ann Walker, who pitched a two-hitter the rest of the way. Texas Tech sent All-Big 12 pitcher Amanda Renfro to the hill and she held the Huskers to just three in 11 innings of work. Neither team could get a run in on these pitchers until the top of the 10th when Nebraska struck first with an RBI single by Amber Burgess to score Kim Ogee, who was placed on second with the international tiebreaker rule. Tech would answer right back when Susie Gomez scored on a wild pitch from Walker to send the game into the 11th. Freshman Amanda Buchholz was placed on second to lead off the 11th and stole third after Walker popped up. After a Heather Martin strikeout, Jill Baker came up with two outs and a runner on third. Baker scorched a grounder to Tech's third baseman who mishandled it allowing Buchholz to score and put NU up 2-1. In the bottom half of the inning, Tech advanced Amanda Douglas to third with one out. But after an infield single that failed to score Douglas, Walker struck out the final two Tech batters to collect the win. Walker improved to 11-4 after striking out six in five innings of work. Renfro fell to 9-15 after striking out seven and walking none. Jamie Fuente collected two of Nebraska's three hits in the game.

The second game of the afternoon had far less drama but many more fireworks. The two teams combined for 15 hits, including three homers and two doubles, before Nebraska came out on top, 5-1. It took NU only two innings to get on the board in the second game as Fuente led off with a solo homer to center to put the Huskers up, 1-0. Tech left runners stranded on the corners in the fourth inning before Husker starter Penny Cope got Texas Tech pitcher Dana Yocum to ground out to end the inning. Nebraska took a 1-0 lead into the top of the sixth before padding its lead with two runs in each of the last two innings. Following a two-out Fuente walk, senior Jenifer Williams slammed her second homer of the year to left field to put NU up 3-0. The Red Raiders finally got on the board in the sixth when Workman joined the home run derby with her third of the year. TTU continued to threaten in the inning before leaving three stranded to end the inning. Alice Brewer led off the seventh with a single to right field. Voss pinch ran for Brewer and scored two batters later when Ogee doubled to center field. Martin then pinch hit for Ginger Taylor and singled to left to score Ogee for the final run of the game. Walker, who pitched the final 1.2 innings earned the save after striking out three of her seven batters faced, including two in the bottom of the seventh. Cope improved to 7-5 on the year with the win. Williams and Brewer led all hitters with 2-for-3 performances.

Nebraska will return to action on Thursday with a 7 p.m. contest in Omaha, Neb., against Creighton.