Huskers Face Tough Field in Georgia

Lincoln -- No. 12 Nebraska (6-4) heads to Columbus, Ga., for the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The Huskers are in pool one with No. 9 Michigan, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. NU will play each team in its pool once before bracket play begins on Saturday after Nebraska's game against Virginia Tech. Bracket play will continue into Sunday. Live stats for all Nebraska games will be available at Huskers.com.

Nebraska's Schedule (All Times Central)
Feb. 27: vs. No. 12 Michigan, 11 a.m.
             vs. Georgia Tech, 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 28: vs. Virginia Tech, 11:30 a.m
             Bracket play, TBA
Feb. 29: Bracket play, TBA

Players to Watch
Peaches James, Sr., RHP
Peaches James (4-2) had a stellar weekend for Nebraska. James went 2-1 at the Crowne Plaza Classic in Houston, Texas, highlighted by a complete game, no-hitter against Houston on Friday night. Over the weekend, James threw 18 innings, allowing only eight hits and striking out 25, including 13 against Houston and 10 against Florida. She allowed only two earned runs in compiling a 0.78 ERA.

Nicole Trimboli, Sr., CF
Trimboli went 7-for-18 (.389) with seven RBIs, four runs scored, three doubles, a triple, two walks and a stolen base at the Crowne Plaza Classic last weekend. The former leadoff hitter for the Huskers, Trimboli had an on-base percentage of .450 last weekend and moved to the No. 3 spot in the lineup in NU's final game against Indiana.

Katie Linke, So., UT
Linke went 5-for-7 (.714) with two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk at last weekend's Crowne Plaza Classic.

Tough Competition Awaits Huskers in Georgia
The Nebraska softball team will have its work cut out for it this weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. The three teams in NU's pool - No. 9 Michigan, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech - are a combined 23-4 this season.

The Classic is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the nation. Twenty-four of the nation’s top teams will compete at the tournament which will be held at the South Commons Stadium and Complex in Columbus, Ga. Nebraska is currently 2-1 against teams in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.

There will be six pools of four teams each, with the top team from each pool advancing to the Gold Championship. In addition, two other at-large teams will be selected. The remaining second place teams, in addition to four at-large teams, will be chosen for the Silver Championship. The remaining eight teams will be placed in the Bronze Championship.

Each team in NU's pool is coming into the tournament with a wave of momentum. All three schools had perfect records last weekend in capturing the championship at each team's respective tournament. Virginia Tech and Michigan went 5-0 last weekend and Georgia Tech went 4-0.

Both Virginia Tech and Michigan enter this weekend's tournament riding five-game winning streaks, while Georgia Tech is riding a seven-game winning streak.

Nebraska will play Michigan and Georgia Tech on Friday and Virginia Tech on Saturday. Bracket play begins immediately after the Huskers' game with Virginia Tech and continues into Sunday.

Scouting the Pool Field
Michigan
The Huskers have already faced No. 9 Michigan this year, defeating the Wolverines 5-4 on Feb. 14 at the UNLV Classic in Las Vegas. In that game, senior Peaches James starred both at the plate and in the circle. James (4-2) pitched 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out six. Offensively, she went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Nicole Motycka took the loss for Michigan in that game, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits in 5.1 innings.

At the plate, NU was hurt by the Wolverines' No. 3 hitter, Jessica Merchant. Merchant belted two home runs against the Huskers, finishing the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Michigan (8-2) is riding a five-game winning streak. The Wolverines captured the Florida Atlantic International tournament title, outscoring their opponents 25-6. Nebraska leads the all-time series against Michigan, 7-5.

Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech (9-1) heads into this weekend's tournament riding high. The Yellow Jackets have won seven games in a row and won the Georgia State Tournament last weekend, outscoring their four opponents 20-0.

Offensive, Tech is averaging almost five runs a game and has four starters hitting .375 or better. Collectively, the team is hitting .308 on the season. Tara Knudsen is the team's top hitter. She is hitting .429 on the season with two doubles, one triple, two home runs. She has a .905 slugging percentage and a whopping .647 on-base percentage.

In the circle, the Yellow Jackets are just as formidable. They boast a 0.32 team ERA and have allowed only three earned runs in 65 innings as a staff. Opponents are hitting only .119 against Georgia Tech pitching. Jessica Salinger (5-0) is the ace of the staff, with a miniscule 0.23 ERA an opponent's batting average of .061 and 49 strikeouts in only 31 innings pitched.

This weekend's game will mark the first ever meeting between the Yellow Jackets and Huskers.

Virginia Tech
Like Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech heads to Columbus riding high. The 6-1 Hokies are coming off of a 5-0 weekend that earned them the team title at the Elon Invitational. At the tournament, Virginia Tech averaged nearly 10 runs a game in outscoring its opponents 48-12.

Tech has five starters hitting .460 or better. Kelly Brown's .545 average leads a team that is hitting an incredible .386. Megan Evans is the top power hitter for the Hokies, boasting a 1.048 slugging percentage, three home runs and 11 RBIs in addition to her .524 average.

In the circle Karie Morrison (3-0) is Virginia Tech's best pitcher. Morrison has yet to allow a run in 16 innings this year, holding opponents to a .113 average with 15 strikeouts.

This weekend's meeting will be the first ever meeting between the Hokies and Huskers in softball.

Superb Starts
The Nebraska softball team received superb starts from all three of its pitchers in the first three games of the Crowne Plaza Classic in Houston, Texas, last weekend.

In the tournament's opening game, freshman right-hander Ashley DeBuhr threw a complete game one-hitter in a five inning win over Centenary. With two outs in the top of the fifth, pinch hitter Megan Hall singled to right field to break up the no-hitter.

Later that same day, senior right-hander Peaches James topped DeBuhr's performance by tossing a no-hitter and striking out 10 in the Huskers' 2-0 win over host Houston. It was the second no-hitter of James' career.

Not to be outdone, sophomore right-hander Summer Tobias stepped into the circle on Saturday knowing the pitching staff had allowed only one hit in the last two games. Tobias gave up a leadoff single to Manhattan's Elizabeth Strein, but did not allow a hit after that and struck out 10 in the Huskers' 19-0 romp of the Jaspers.

Coming Through in the Clutch
Nebraska's offense came through in the clutch this past weekend to lead NU to two late-inning victories in Houston, Texas.

After being shutout for six innings against Houston, the Huskers plated two runs in the top of the seventh in support of senior right-hander Peaches James. Nebraska had only three hits in the game heading into the inning, but doubled that total by singling three times and scoring twice to win the game, 2-0.

In the final game of the Crowne Plaza Classic on Sunday, NU needed extra-inning heroics to pull out the 5-4 victory. With freshman Carmen Kier on second base per the international tiebreaker rule, senior Liz Lawhorn sacrificed her to third. That set the stage for freshman Devin Porter, who successfully executed a squeeze bunt to bring Kier home for the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth.

James on Record Pace
Senior right-hander Peaches James is striking out opposing hitters at an incredible rate. For the season, James has struck out 55 in 37.2 innings. That translates into 1.48 strikeouts per inning.

Last season, in 243.2 innings, James struck out 250 batters. This season, at the pace of 1.48 strikeouts per inning, she would increase that number to 360 strikeouts.

Currently, James ranks fourth all-time at Nebraska in career strikeouts with 605. She needs 254 strikeouts to move into first. At her current pace, James would need to pitch 172 more innings this season to leave NU as the school's all-time strikeout leader.

James has thrown at least 225 innings in each of the past two seasons.

Nebraska Shuffles Top of the Order
NU Head Coach Rhonda Revelle shuffled the top three hitters in the Nebraska lineup for the Sunday's final game against Indiana at the Crowne Plaza Classic.

Senior outfielder Nicole Trimboli was moved from the leadoff spot to No. 3 in the lineup. Junior Anne Steffan moved up to leadoff from the No. 2 spot and junior Sheena Lawrick moved to the No. 2 spot after spending the last nine games hitting third.

The move paid off immediately against the Hoosiers as Steffan reached base after getting hit by a pitch. She then stole second before Lawrick moved her to third with a groundout to second. Steffan scored when Trimboli hit an RBI single. Steffan and Trimboli each had an RBI and a run scored.

Husker Firsts
Several Nebraska softball players recorded career firsts over the weekend.

• Freshman catcher Jamie Waldecker hit the first home run of her career, a solo shot against Indiana.
• Sophomore KoKo Tacha also hit her first extra base hit as a Husker, a grand slam home run against Centenary. Tacha also recorded the first multi-hit game of her career with a 2-for-3 effort against the Ladies.
• Against Manhattan, sophomore Katie Linke and junior Jocelyn Evans each had their first multi-hit games of their careers. Linke was 3-for-3 and Evans was 2-for-4.
• Finally, the opening game of the tournament marked the first win for freshman right-hander Ashley DeBuhr. In picking up her first win as a Husker, DeBuhr tossed a complete game (five innings) one-hitter, striking out six.

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 four career offensive categories and is poised to enter the top 10 in seven other categories.

Trimboli currently ranks fifth in career RBIs with 133. She needs only five 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 is currently 10th on the all-time home run chart with 20 round trippers. She is also eighth on the all-time hit list with 187 and also ranks 10th all-time in total bases with 276

A career .303 hitter, Trimboli is on the verge of cracking the top 10 in at bats, games played, doubles, runs scored, slugging percentage, stolen bases and hit by pitches.

Trimboli needs 11 at bats, 26 games played, three doubles, three runs scored, five 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.