Huskers Head to Houston

Lincoln -- Nebraska (2-3) heads to Houston, Texas, this weekend for the Crowne Plaza Classic. The Huskers will face five teams in the tournament, including 6-1 Florida, which is on the verge of cracking the USA Today/NFCA poll. The eighth-ranked Huskers will also face Centenary (6-4), Houston (6-3), Manhattan (0-0) and Indiana (2-3).

Nebraska's Schedule (All Times Central)
Feb. 20: vs. Centenary 3 p.m.; 
             vs. Houston 5 p.m.

Feb. 21: vs. Manhattan College 9 a.m.
             vs. Florida 11 a.m.
Feb. 22: vs. Indiana 11 a.m.

Nebraska Travel Plans
The Huskers will leave Lincoln at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19. NU will drive to Omaha before boarding a 12:30 p.m. flight to Houston. In Houston, Nebraska will stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, (713) 495-7831. The team is scheduled to be back in Lincoln at 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22.Players to Watch

Peaches James, Sr., RHP
James (2-1) tossed two complete games at the UNLV Classic last weekend. For the tournament, she pitched 19.2 innings, allowing five runs en route to posting a 1.78 ERA. James allowed opposing batters to a .219 average and recorded 29 strikeouts. Her 14-strikeout performance against Oregon State was the second highest total in her career. For her efforts, James earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Honors.

Anne Steffan, Jr., 2B
The leading Husker hitter, Steffan went 7-for-18 (.389) last weekend. Hitting second in the lineup, she scored a team-high four runs at the UNLV Classic. Steffan also leads the team in stolen bases with four.

Jamie Waldecker, Fr., C
Waldecker is tied for second on the team with a .333 average (3-for-9). Splitting time at catcher with senior Brittney Yolo, she drove in three runs in Las Vegas, tying her for the team lead. Waldecker also ranks fourth on the team in total bases and is tied for second in doubles.

Huskers Head to Houston
The Nebraska softball team (2-3) heads to Houston, Texas, this weekend for the Crowne Plaza Classic. At the tournament, NU will play five games.

The eighth-ranked Huskers will face Centenary and Houston on Friday. On Saturday, Nebraska takes on Manhattan College and Florida. NU concludes tournament play on Sunday against Indiana. Nebraska is coming off a difficult opening weekend when the Huskers played three top-15 teams and two teams being given consideration for the top 25. NU defeated No. 10 Michigan and No. 12 DePaul before losing to No. 1 UCLA and unranked Oregon State and Notre Dame.

Although there are no ranked teams other than Nebraska competing this weekend, NU will face perennial SEC power Florida, which is on the verge of cracking the top 25. The combined record of the teams the Huskers will face this weekend is 22-11.

Nebraska vs. the Field
Centenary
Centenary College (6-4) in Shreveport, La., will be the Huskers’ first opponent at the Crowne Plaza Classic. The Ladies boast impressive offensive numbers, as four starters are batting at least .390 with three hitting better than .400. Janis Kelly is Centenary’s top hitter, boasting a .448 average with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 29 at bats.  In the circle, Cheyenne Daries is holding opposing batters to a .198 average and has struck out 33 batters in 28 innings. Daries has compiled a 1.75 ERA en route to posting a 4-2 record.

Houston
The Houston Cougars (6-3) are no strangers to Big 12 competition. Houston has already played three games against Big 12 foes, dropping two one-run decisions against No. 10 Texas (8-7, 1-0) and falling to Baylor 2-1. The Cougars are scheduled to play a doubleheader against Texas A&M before hosting this weekend’s tournament. Junior first baseman Michelle Keith is one of the Cougars' top hitters. She was named Conference USA's Hitter of the Week after hitting .583, slugging 1.083 and posting a .667 on-base percentage at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational. In that tournament, Jenny Johnson pitched 15.2 innings and went the entire tournament without allowing an earned run.

Manhattan
Manhattan College will be competing for the first time this season in Houston this weekend. Outfielder Jennifer McCracken is the Jaspers’ top returning hitter. She led Manhattan in hits with nine more base hits than anyone else on the team and a .288 average in 2003. McCracken was also fourth on the team in RBIs. In the circle, Jillian Medea returns after compiling a 3.31 ERA in 2003 in which opposing batters hit .262 against her.

Florida
Florida heads to Houston on a roll. The Gators are coming off of tournament championship at South Florida where they went 4-0 and outscored their opponents 13-2. The Gators (8-1) boasts three regulars batting at least .333. Jenny Gladding is hitting .391 on the year with an on-base percentage of .500. She is also tied for the team lead in home runs with one.

In the circle, all four members of the Florida rotation have an ERA of 1.00 or less and have a combined ERA of a miniscule 0.77. The staff as a whole has struck out 104 batters in 64 innings while limiting opposing hitters to .176 batting average. Gladding is the ace of the staff, starting a team-high four games, posting a 4-1 record with an ERA of 1.00. In 35 innings, she has allowed only 16 hits (.131 opponent average) and has struck out 57.

Indiana
The Hoosiers of Indiana (2-3) are the last team Nebraska will face this weekend. Karly McCormack boasts a slugging percentage of .667 for Indiana, including a .417 average with one home run and four RBIs. Ashley Griffiths has also been good at the plate, batting .389 in her five starts. In her two starts in the circle, Mariangee Bogado has thrown complete games both times, posting a 2-0 record with a microscopic 0.53 ERA. In 17 innings pitched, she’s allowed only one earned run and has struck out 13.

James Named Pitcher of the Week
Senior right-hander Peaches James was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb. 17. James went 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 19.2 innings at last weekend's UNLV Classic. Her two victories came against No. 10 Michigan (5-4) and No. 12 DePaul (10-2).  James collected 29 strikeouts at the tournament, including 14 in a 1-0 loss to Oregon State, the second highest total of her career.

Huskers Run Wild
It took very little time for the Nebraska softball team to showcase its speed and aggressiveness. In their opening weekend of play, the Huskers swiped 10 bases in 12 attempts (.833) in five games. Against Notre Dame, NU swiped five bases. Junior Anne Steffan was the leading base stealer with four. Senior Peaches James is second on the team with three, including two in the Michigan game.

In contrast, Husker catchers Brittney Yolo and Jamie Waldecker have only allowed two opposing players to successfuly steal a base.

James Defeats Ranked Teams
Senior pitcher Peaches James went 2-0 last weekend against top-15 teams at the UNLV Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.

Facing No. 12 DePaul in her first start of the season, James threw a complete game six-hitter, allowing two runs and striking out six.

Against No. 10 Michigan the following day, James picked up the win, striking out six in 6.2 innings. She left the game prior to the seventh inning with the score 5-2. After Michigan trimmed the deficit to one at 5-4, James re-entered the circle and recorded the final two outs to secure her second victory of the season.

When is a Save Not a Save?
Peaches James found herself in a unique position against No. 10 Michigan last Saturday.

James pitched the first six innings against the Wolverines and left the game with a 5-2 lead. In line to be the winning pitcher, James watched as Michigan rallied to cut the lead to 5-4 with only one out and the winning run on base.

James re-enered the game and recorded the final two outs to preserve a 5-4 victory. For her efforts, she was credited as the winning pitcher. But could she have also received a save?

Under normal circumstances, James would have picked up the save. However, since James was already the winning pitcher, she was unable to pick up a save according to NCAA rules.

The Official NCAA Softball Rulebook states that a pitcher cannot be credited with a save if she is also the winning pitcher.

Trimboli Leaving Mark at NU
Senior Nicole Trimboli's time at Nebraska may be drawing to a close, but her legacy will live on in the Husker record book. The former left fielder and current starter in center already ranks among the top 10 in two career offensive categories and is poised to enter the top 10 in nine other categories.

Trimboli currently ranks sixth in career RBIs with 126. She needs only 12 RBIs to move up to second in Husker history. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native has averaged almost 42 RBIs in her first three seasons and at that pace would finish with 167 RBIs. Capable of hitting for power, Trimboli enters the 2004 season 10th on the all-time home run chart with 20 round trippers.

A career .301 hitter, Trimboli is on the verge of cracking the top 10 in at bats, games played, hits, doubles, runs scored, total bases, slugging percentage, stolen bases and hit by pitches.

Trimboli needs 29 at bats, 31 games played, two hits, six doubles, seven runs scored, two total bases, six stolen bases and three hit by pitches to crack the top 10 in each category.

Tough Schedule Awaits
The 2004 Nebraska softball schedules features 14 games against teams ranked in the preseason USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, including five games against 2003 Women’s College World Series participants. NU opened the season on Feb. 13 with a doubleheader against defending national champion and preseason No.1 UCLA and No. 12 DePaul. Nebraska fell to UCLA 10-1, but defeated DePaul, 10-2. The Huskers also defeated No. 10 Michigan (5-4) and will play the Wolverines again at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

NU will also face 19th-ranked Florida State and No. 20 Arizona State before entering the conference season.

The Big 12 Conference schedule includes four games against WCWS participants Oklahoma and Texas. Nebraska will also play a pair of games at 21st-ranked Oklahoma State and at home against No. 18 Texas A&M.

Nebraska is currently 2-1 against teams in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.