NU Hosts Kansas and Creighton in Mid-Week Action

The 17th-ranked Nebraska softball team opens a season-ending six-game homestand with mid-week games against Big 12 foe Kansas and in-state rival Creighton on Wednesday and Thursday at Bowlin Stadium. Thursday's game with Creighton was originally scheduled for Tuesday.

As part of the season-ending homestand, NU has several fan-friendly promotions scheduled, including a pair for the mid-week contests. Wednesday's game is Fan Appreciation Day that features free general admission seating to the public and 250 bags of Colby Ridge popcorn distributed at the gate. Thursday's game with the Bluejays is Student Day, when 100 adidas softball t-shirts will be handed out to the first 100 students entering Bowlin Stadium.

Nebraska is 35-8 this season with a 9-4 mark in the Big 12 Conference after splitting a pair of games with Iowa State last week and earning a dramatic series sweep at Texas Tech over the weekend. Against the Red Raiders, NU trailed entering the seventh inning of both games before rallying to win twice.

The Huskers currently sit in third place in the league standings and welcome second-place Texas A&M to Bowlin Stadium this weekend. Sunday's Noon game with the Aggies will be televised live in the state of Nebraska on NET-2 and will be tape delayed on CSTV, which will air the game at the following times: Monday, May 1 at 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 2 at 1 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m.

Scouting Kansas (27-21, 6-7 Big 12)
Kansas is 27-21 this season and boasts a 6-7 mark in Big 12 play after splitting a pair of games with No. 2 Texas over the weekend. The Jayhawks have played a tough schedule that has included 14 games against ranked teams. KU has played tough, but is just 8-13 in one-run games this season.

The Jayhawks are led offensively by Serena Settlemier, who is hitting .355 and leads the Big 12 with 20 home runs and 57 RBIs. Kansas is hitting just .245 as a team, but has belted 44 home runs, while surrendering just 12.

In the circle, Kassie Humphreys has emerged as one of the elite pitchers in the league. Humphreys is just 12-14 this season, but has tossed six shutouts and boasts a 1.25 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 1681. innings. In addition to being a great hitter, Settlemier (15-5) has also been outstanding in the circle, compiling a 1.30 ERA in 123.2 innings.

Last Time We Met
Nebraska and Kansas have met twice this season, with the Jayhawks earning a 4-0 win in non-conference action and the Huskers earning a 2-0 win in Big 12 play.

In the non-conference meeting, Serena Settlemier tossed a three-hit shutout as Kansas handed Molly Hill the first loss of her career.

In the league matchup, the Husker offense again struggled, but made the most of its opportunities. Nebraska was no-hit by Kassie Humphreys, but Trisha Tannahill scored a pair of runs on a wild pitch and a passed ball to lead the Huskers' to the 2-0 win.

Ashley DeBuhr was brilliant in the circle, allowing just four hits and striking out 11 in the shutout.

Kansas is one of three Big 12 schools that lead the all-time series with Nebraska, as the Jayhawks are 51-45 all-time against the Big Red. The Huskers' win at Lawrence this season marked the sixth straight victory in the series by the road team.

Scouting Creighton (20-23, 8-12 MVC)
Creighton is just 20-23 this season and has lost four of its last five games, with the lone win in that span coming at 25th-ranked Southern Illinois on Saturday.

The Bluejays are led by Lauren Cisneros (formerly Flores), who boasts team-best totals of two triples, 11 homers and 34 RBIs, in addition to a team-high .383 average. Lincoln native Bailey Dawson has excelled in her freshman season, hitting .331 with nine doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs.

In the circle, Stephanie Cortese (10-7) has compiled a 1.76 ERA in 151.1 innings this season. She has posted four shutouts and is holding opposing hitters to a meager .203 average.

Last Time We Met
Nebraska defeated Creighton, 3-1, on March 28 in Omaha, despite recording just one hit. Lizzy Aumua, Jessica Yoachim and Devin Porter each scored a run for the Huskers, while Jamie Waldecker doubled for the lone NU hit.

Nebraska did show patience at the plate, drawing five walks and adding two hit-by-pitches and made the most of four wild pitches.

In the circle for NU, Molly Hill earned a complete-game win, allowing one run on three hits while striking out 10.

Jessica German led Creighton's offensive attack with a 2-for-3 day that included an RBI.

Nebraska leads the all-time series, 71-31, and has won 24 of the last 27 games, despite being swept by Creighton last season.

Quick Hits....

• NU's 35-8 record marks the second-best 43-game record in the 31-year history of Nebraska softball
• NU is 15-1 at home, marking the most wins in the history of Bowlin Stadium
• Nebraska is 28-2 when out-hitting the opponent
• Nebraska is averaging more than five runs per game
• Nebraska has scored 238 runs in 43 games, passing last year's season total (232 runs in 59 games)
• NU has scored 69 runs through 13 league games after scoring just 50 runs in 19 league games in 2005
• NU is 29-2 when holding the opponent to two runs or less
• Nebraska has 36 home runs as a team, 17 more than the entire 2005 total (19) over 59 games
• The Huskers have hit 15 homers in 13 league games, nearly matching the 2005 season total
• NU has already hit more than three times as many triples in 2006 (9) than it did in 2005 (3)
• Nebraska is 71-of-82 in stolen base attempts
• Lizzy Aumua tied an NU single-game record with a 5-for-5 effort against Illinois
• Devin Porter (2), Jamie Waldecker (1) and Crystal Carwile (1) have each produced 5 or more RBIs in a game
• Prior to this season, a Husker had produced 5+ RBIs four times in the last five years
• KoKo Tacha has already set single-season career highs in hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBIs
• Right-hander Ashley DeBuhr has thrown eight shutouts in her last 13 starts
• Nebraska has already bettered its save total (2) from the entire 2005 season

Huskers Rally for Weekend Victories
Nebraska entered the seventh inning trailing by one run in each game at Texas Tech last weekend, and each time the Huskers rallied to pull out the victory. In game one, NU led 2-0 before the Red Raiders plated one run in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. Nebraska quickly responded when junior Jamie Waldecker and freshman Crystal Carwile homered on consecutive pitches to lead off the inning and give NU the 4-3 win.

Game two of the series was even more dramatic, as Nebraska would not take its first lead of the game until the seventh. Trailing 3-2 entering the final inning, the Huskers sent eight batters to the plate and scored runs on an error and a hit batter with the bases loaded to take a 4-3 lead. NU had a chance to add more with the bases loaded and only one out, but was unable to push across another run.

In the bottom of the frame, Texas Tech scored when its leadoff hitter struck out swinging, but reached first on a wild pitch. She then stole second and scored on a double. The Red Raiders then put runners on first and third with one out in the eighth and loaded the bases with two outs, but junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr made a perfect 3-2 pitch to get a strikeout to end the threat.

In the 10th, Nebraska exploded for six runs to put the game out of reach. The inning was highlighted by an RBI single from Waldecker, a surprising squeeze bunt by Carwile and a three-run homer off the bat of junior Devin Porter.

TTU put runners at first and second with no outs in the bottom of the inning, before DeBuhr retired the next three hitters.

Earlier in the week, the Huskers fell at Iowa State when they were unable to rally. The Cyclones hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-5 lead and Nebraska managed just one baserunner the rest of the game. NU responded by run-ruling ISU, 8-0, at Bowlin Stadium two days later. That game was highlighted by a one-hit shutout from DeBuhr and a two-run homer for senior Trisha Tannahill.

Huskers Already Eclipsing 2005 Totals in Big 12 Play
After finishing with a 9-9 record in the Big 12 Conference in 2005, the Huskers have matched last year's league win total in only 13 games. NU has also matched or surpassed the 2005 team totals in every offensive category, including hits, doubles, triples, home runs, runs, average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Nebraska has scored 69 runs through the first 13 Big 12 games after scoring 50 runs in 19 league games a season ago.

NU Surpasses 2005 Run Total
The 2006 Nebraska softball team has already scored more runs in 43 games than the 2005 squad produced in its 59-game season. This year's Huskers reached the mark by scoring 10 runs at Texas Tech on Sunday, giving them 238 runs on the season. The 2005 team scored 232 runs.

At its current pace, NU has a chance to crack the 300 mark and would become just the fourth team - and first since 2000 - at Nebraska to score 300 runs in a season. The school record is 358 by the 1996 team. The 1995 (333) and 2000 (312) squads also eclipsed the mark.

Stealing Success
Senior Jessica Yoachim has developed into one of the most prolific base stealers in the 31-year history of Nebraska softball. Yoachim is 27-for-27 in stolen bases this year, and has not been thrown out in her last 47 attempts, a stretch which spans 81 games. The 47 consecutive stolen bases is a new Nebraska record. In her career, Yoachim has stolen 78 bases in 82 attempts for a remarkable 95 percent success rate.

Carwile Showing Knack for Game-Winning Homers
Freshman Crystal Carwile has shown a penchant for winning games with the long ball this season. Carwile, who leads the team with 12 homers, has hit five home runs this season that have produced the game-winning RBI. Of those five, three have come in a tie game in the Huskers' final at bat, although none has been a walk-off home run.

Softball Success Mirrored by Baseball
Softball and baseball, in their basic existence, share many similarities. At Nebraska, the two sports share another similiarity: winning. While the 17th-ranked softball team boasts a 35-8 record, the fourth-ranked baseball team is 32-6. Combined, NU boasts a 67-14 record for a winning percentage of .827, which is believed to be the best combined softball-baseball winning percentage in Division I.

Each team has fewer than 10 losses on the season. The only other Division I school that can claim the same is Oregon State. The Beavers have a combined 61-16 record (.792), including a 33-7 record for the softball team, which the Huskers defeated 8-2 on the first day of the season.

In addition to the success in the win column, Husker baseball and softball also boasts tremendous success in drawing fans. On April 14, despite overlapping game times, baseball (8,757) and softball (1,027) combined to draw nearly 10,000 fans to the Haymarket Park complex.

Huskers Pick up Win No. 30
With a 5-0 win over South Dakota State in the second game of a doubleheader on April 12, Nebraska improved to 30-6 on the season. It marked the ninth consecutive season that the Huskers have posted 30 victories in a season. NU won its 35th game of the season at Texas Tech last Sunday, also marking the ninth straight 35-win season.

It took this year's team just 36 games to reach the 30-victory mark, tying the 2002 squad for the fastest team to 30 wins in school history.

Huskers Among National Leaders
Nebraska was well represented in the second set of NCAA statistical rankings, released on Tuesday, April 25. As a team, Nebraska ranks 12th in the nation in stolen bases per game (1.65), 15th in fielding percentage (.974), 18th in scoring (5.53 runs per game), 29th in batting average (.298), 30th in slugging percentage (.451) and 11th in winning percentage (.814).

Several individuals also rank among the national leaders. Senior Lizzy Aumua ranks 28th in stolen bases per game (0.49), while fellow senior Jessica Yoachim ranks 48th in avverage (.406) and eighth in stolen bases per game (0.63). Senior Trisha Tannahill ranks 29th in hit-by-pitches (0.21), while freshman Crystal Carwile rounds out the Husker offensive leaders with a No. 24 ranking with 0.28 home runs per game.

In the circle, junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr ranks 26th in the nation with an average of 9.4 strikeouts per game.

Carwile Producing in Clean-Up Role
Freshman Crystal Carwile drove in a pair of runs over the weekend to push her season total to 40 RBIs, which leads the team and ranks fifth in the Big 12.

With her game-winning homer at Oklahoma State on April 9, Carwile became the first freshman at Nebraska to produce 30 RBIs in her rookie season since Nicole Trimboli drove in 45 in 2001. The freshman and school RBI record is 72 by Ali Viola in 1995.

Yoachim Ties Sacrifice Record
Senior Jessica Yoachim recorded her 11th sacrifice of the season against 19th-ranked Baylor on April 15. She now has 41 in her career, which ties Gloria Von Rentzell's NU career record.

The sacrifice record marks the second school record for Yoachim. A two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, Yoachim set a school record with five hits in a single game last season, a feat that was matched by senior Lizzy Aumua this season.