No. 19 Huskers Hold Off Pesky Longhorns

Austin, Texas - No. 19 Nebraska saw two streaks come to an end on Saturday in Austin, Texas, but kept alive the most important streak. NU pushed its winning streak to 11 straight games by defeating Texas, 5-3, but the Longhorns scored the first run off Husker pitching in 49.2 innings in the first inning, snapping the staff's string of seven consecutive shutouts.

For the second straight game, Nebraska scored two runs in the first to take an early lead. Sophomore Jessica Yoachim, who moved up to second in the lineup after hitting ninth on Friday, reached on a one-out error and scored on an RBI double by senior Nicole Trimboli. Trimboli advanced to third on a passed ball and came home on a wild pitch to put the Huskers up 2-0.

Texas answered right back in the bottom of the first. Tina Boutelle led off with a double and scored on Sarah Wieszczak's RBI single. Wieszczak was caught stealing before the Longhorns' Wynter Turner tied the game with a solo home run over the wall in center.

Nebraska scored two more runs in the fifth. Senior Liz Lawhorn singled with one out, but was forced out at second when freshman Devin Porter reached on a fielder's choice. Junior Anne Steffan reached on an infield single and wound up on second after a throwing error by Texas' second baseman Chez Sievers.  With runners on second and third and two outs, UT attempted to pick off Steffan at second base, but Sievers was unable to handle the throw, allowing Porter to score the go-ahead run. Steffan came home to put the Huskers up 4-0 on sophomore pinch hitter Katie Linke's RBI single up the middle. Linke fell behind in the count 1-2, before singling on a 3-2 pitch.

Texas pulled to within one in the bottom half of the inning and threatened to tie the game. Wieszczack led off with a double and scored on Sievers' one-out single. Tamara Poppe followed with a hard-hit single off of James' leg to put runners on first and second.

James was able to stay in the game and worked out of the jam by striking out Jaclyn Daniels and getting Alexis Garcias to foul out to third.

Texas mounted one final threat in the bottom of the seventh. Down 5-3, the Longhorns loaded the base with one out for Jaclyn Daniels. Daniels sent a fly ball to deep left, where Tannahill ran it down to record the out. Wieszczak tagged up to score on the play, but the Huskers were able to turn a double play by forcing out Poppe at first, who had not tagged up on the play.

James (23-5) earned the win for NU and matched a career high in wins. In 2003, James also won 23 games. In seven innings, James allowed three runs, pitching with runners on base for most of the day. Texas pounded out 12 hits, tying James' career-high for hits allowed. The Longhorns also stranded 10 base runners.

Lizi Sowers (6-9) took the loss for Texas.

A superb effort by Nebraska's defense helped James pick up the win. Lawhorn was especially influential in helping NU leave Austin with its first sweep of Texas since 2001. Lawhorn, the right fielder, raced towards the line and made a diving grab to rob Texas' Alexis Garica of an extra base hit with one out in the second inning.

In the third inning, Lawhorn came up big again. With runners on first and second and two outs, the Longhorns' Chez Sievers singled to right. Amber Hall raced around third attempting to give Texas its first lead of the series, but a perfect throw from Lawhorn nailed Hall at the plate to end the threat.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 29-11 and 8-0 in the conference. Following Missouri's loss to Oklahoma on Saturday, the Huskers are now the lone unbeaten team in the Big 12 Conference. Texas fell to 18-17 overall and 0-7 in conference. The Longhorns are now 0-12 this season against ranked teams.

Nebraska returns home on Monday to face Notre Dame. The game will be aired locally on NETV2 and will air nationally on CSTV. Radio coverage is also available in Lincoln on 1400 KLIN. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.