NU Dominant at Opening Fall Tournament

The Nebraska softball team opened its fall season on Saturday with a set of rainy games at the Augie Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Huskers went 2-0, but managed to play only one complete game as rain fell off and on for the most of the day.

 

Nebraska put together a great combination of pitching and hitting, outscoring its three opponents, 21-3. The Husker pitching staff allowed only one earned run on the day.

 

NU opened the tournament with a rain-shorted 6-0 win over South DakotaState in five innings. Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr tossed a no-hitter in the victory. Four Huskers finished with a perfect game at the plate, led by senior Trisha Tannahill, who went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs.

 

Freshman right-hander Molly Hill pitched a complete-game three-hitter in the next game, a 4-1 seven-inning victory over North DakotaState. Offensively, senior Jessica Yoachim and juniors Carmen Kier and Devin Porter had two hits a piece.

 

In the nightcap, the Huskers took an 11-2 lead over St. CloudState in the top of the fourth before the game was called due to rain. The game was not official, but junior right-hander Jaime Borg did not allow an earned run in three innings, while senior Lizzy Aumua and sophomore Cassie Kleinsmith produced multi-RBI games.

 

For the day, 12 Huskers collected at least one hit, with nine recording two or more hits.

 

Below is a recap of each of Nebraska’s three games on Saturday. The tournament continues tomorrow with the Huskers scheduled to play host Augustana (S.D.) and Concordia-St. Paul.

 

Game 1: Nebraska 6, South DakotaState 0 ? Final Five Innings

(game called with Huskers leading 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning and batting with two outs and a runner on first)

Nebraska opened the tournament with a rain-shortened 6-0 win over South DakotaState. The Huskers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after only two innings and that was more than enough support for junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr, who faced one batter over the minimum in tossing a five-inning no-hitter.

 

NU’s offense struck quickly in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Jessica Yoachim reached on a one-out infield single, after fellow senior Lizzy Aumua was thrown out attempting to steal second following her infield single. With Yoachim on second, senior Trisha Tannahill doubled to left center on 3-1 pitch to score Yoachim. On the next pitch, junior Jamie Waldecker lined a single up the middle and a great slide at home plate by Tannahill produced the Huskers’ second run.

 

NU kept the offense rolling by scoring four runs in the second inning to increase the lead to 6-0. DeBuhr led off the inning with a triple over the center fielder’s head and junior Devin Porter followed with a single up the middle to score DeBuhr. Senior KoKo Tacha recorded another single to put runners at first and third with no outs.

 

Aumua then reached on an infield single that scored freshman pinch runner Darcy Rutherford and Tacha advanced to third on a throwing error by the third baseman. Following a lineout from Yoachim, Tannahill again provided the big blow with a two-run double to left field to make the score 6-0.

 

Nebraska had more scoring chances in the next 2.2 innings, but was unable to score when the game was called due to rain.

 

For the game, Tannahill finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs to pace the Husker offense, while Aumua (2-for-2), sophomore Cassie Kleinsmith (2-for-2), Porter (1-for-1) and freshman Kimberly Fuller (1-for-1) each finished with a perfect game at the plate. Porter, Waldecker and Aumua also added RBIs for Nebraska.

 

DeBuhr pitched all five innings, allowing just one walk while striking out six.

 

Game 2: Nebraska 4, North DakotaState 1

Nebraska’s second game of the tournament proved to be the only full game NU would get in on day one. Freshman right-hander Molly Hill nearly match junior Ashley DeBuhr’s opening-game performance by only allowing one hit through the first five innings.

 

The Huskers again took an early lead in their second game of the day, plating a run in the top of the first. Seniors Lizzy Aumua and Jessica Yoachim led off the game with back-to-back single and moved up to second and third, respectively, on a groundout from fellow senior Trisha Tannahill. Aumua then scored the game’s first run on an RBI groundout from junior Jamie Waldecker.

 

NU earned some cushion by adding three more runs, including two with two outs, in the sixth inning. Waldecker reached on a one-out double to deep left field and was lifted for freshman pinch runner Meghan Mullin. Mullin came home to score the Huskers’ second run of the game two batters later when freshman Crystal Carwile singled to right field.

 

Junior Devin Porter followed with a single up the middle and fellow junior Carmen Kier drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Senior KoKo Tacha then hit a sharp grounder to the shortstop, whose throw to first sailed high, allowing freshman pinch runner Darcy Rutherford and Porter to score and put Nebraska up 4-0.

 

North Dakota State scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the seventh to make the final margin 4-1. Kelly Cantrell singled up the middle and scored on an RBI triple from Casi Conrad. After hitting the ball past Tannahill in left field, Conrad attempted to score but a good throw from Tannahill and a perfect relay from Porter nailed her at the plate.

 

Hill finished her complete-game three-hit victory with five strikeouts and no walks.

 

NU was paced offensively by Yoachim, Kier and Porter, who each collected two hits.

 

Game 3: Nebraska 11, St. CloudState 2 - Game Not Official

(Game called with Nebraska leading 11-2 and batting with runners at first and third with one out in the top of the fourth inning)

In the third game of the day, NU scored early and often and took an 11-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning before the game was called due to rain and lightning.

 

Just as they had in the previous two games, the Huskers struck quickly, scoring eight runs in the top of the first inning. Senior Jessica Yoachim and freshman Crystal Carwile recorded back-to-back one-out singles and senior Katie Linke drew a walk to load the bases. After recording the second out, junior Carmen Kier drew a walk to score Yoachim with the game’s first run.

 

Freshman Brittany Pascale then reached on an error by the shortstop that allowed Carwile and Linke to score and increase the Huskers’ lead to 3-0. Freshman Kimberly Fuller followed with another walk to load the bases, where fellow freshman Darcy Rutherford reached on an infield single that plated Kier.

 

Senior Lizzy Aumua then cleared the bases with a three-run triple down the right-field line. Leading 7-0, Yoachim recorded her second single of the inning to score Aumua and close out the scoring in a tremendous first inning for Nebraska.

 

St. Cloud State answered back in the bottom of the frame by scoring two runs. The Huskies loaded the bases with two outs for Abby Augdahl, who hit a sharp ground ball to Kier at third. Kier’s throw to first was low and Carwile was unable to come up with it, allowing two runs to score.

 

The Huskers responded with a single run in the third inning. Pascale drew a leadoff walk and freshman pinch runner Meghan Mullin promptly stole second base and advanced to third when the catcher’s throw sailed into center field. Fuller then singled up the middle to bring Mullin home with the ninth run of the game.

 

Nebraska added two more runs in the top of the fourth before the game was called. Yoachim led off the inning with her third hit of the game and moved up to second after Carwile was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on a groundout from Linke and both scored on a hard-hit RBI double from sophomore Cassie Kleinsmith.

 

Kier followed with a single to right field to put runners at first and third before the game was called.

 

Yoachim led a potent offense with a 3-for-3 night, while junior right-hander Jaime Borg pitched three innings, allowing four hits and two runs, both of which were unearned.