Huskers and Aggies Clash in Key Big 12 Battle

The 17th-ranked Nebraska softball team welcomes 15th-ranked Texas A&M to Bowlin Stadium this weekend for a pivotal series with plenty of postseason implications. The Huskers (37-8, 10-4 Big 12) are currently in second place in the Big 12 Conference, while Texas A&M (32-14, 11-5) sits in third.

The series will go a long way to determine seeding for the Big 12 Championship and may also determine which team can lay claim to a coveted No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament. Both games will be carried live on Huskers.com and Sunday's game will be televised live in the state of Nebraska on NET-2. That game will also be carried nationally on a tape-delayed basis by CSTV. Larry Punteney will handle play-by-play duties, while former Husker All-American pitcher Jenny Voss will add color commentary.

Nebraska takes a five-game winning streak into this weekend's matchup with the Aggies. The wins have not come easily, however, as NU has used a seventh-inning rally to win three of its last five games. After twice rallying from one-run, seventh-inning deficits in a series sweep at Texas Tech last weekend, the Huskers found themselves in for two more close games this week.

Behind a no-hit performance from junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr, Nebraska squeaked past the Kansas Jayhawks, 1-0, on Wednesday. The Huskers then trailed 3-0 against Creighton the next night before rallying for two runs in the fifth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth to post a 4-3 come-from-behind victory. The win marked the biggest deficit the Huskers had overcome this season.

Huskers Pull Out Mid-Week Wins
Nebraska is 2-0 this week after recording a pair of one-run victories against Big 12 foe Kansas and in-state rival Creighton.

Against Kansas on Wednesday, junior Ashley DeBuhr turned in a masterful performance, tossing her second career no-hitter. Facing the fifth-place team in the conference, DeBuhr surrendered just two walks and struck out 16, just one shy of her career high. No Jayhawk advanced past first base as DeBuhr baffled the KU lineup all night long. Senior Katie Linke provided the big hit for the NU offense, recording an RBI single that gave DeBuhr all the run support she would need in the 1-0 win.

The victory over the Jayhawks guaranteed the Huskers a top-four finish in the Big 12 Conference. Even if NU was to lose its remaining four league games, Nebraska would finish no worse than fourth-place in the league standings.

Nebraska returned to its late-inning dramatics the following day as the Huskers posted their biggest come-from-behind victory of the season. Trailing 3-0 in the fifth, NU plated two runs in the fifth and forced extra innings when freshman Brittany Pascale belted her first career home run, a pinch-hit solo shot in the bottom of the seventh.

That set the stage for Linke to deliver her second game-winning hit in as many nights. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eigth, Linke jumped on the first pitch she saw and singled to left to lift the Huskers to victory.

The win marked NU's largest comeback victory of the season. It also marked the third time in four games Nebraska won when trailing entering the seventh inning. The Huskers trailed by one-run in each of their two games at Texas Tech last weekend.

Scouting Texas A&M (32-14, 11-5 Big 12)
No. 15 Texas A&M is 32-14 this season and sits in third place in the Big 12 Conference with an 11-5 league record. The Aggies are 3-2 in their last five games, with both losses coming to ranked teams (No. 19 Baylor and No. 2 Texas). TAMU also boasts a 7-2 road record this season.

A&M has played a difficult schedule that has included 16 games against ranked teams. Texas A&M is 7-9 against top-25 foes, including a 2-6 mark against top-10 opponents with both wins coming versus a No.1-ranked squad.

The Aggies are led offensively by Jamie Hinshaw, who is hitting .326 with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs and 26 RBIs. Megan Gibson has hit a team-high 11 home runs and produced 33 RBIs while hitting .308. Reigning Big 12 Player of the Year Amanda Scarborough has also excelled, hitting .308 with 13 doubles, four homers and 20 RBIs.

In the circle, Scarborough and Gibson have been the Aggies' primary pitchers. In a team-high 139.1 innings, Scarborough has compiled a team-low 2.11 ERA and tossed six shutouts in posting a 15-7 record. Gibson (15-4) boasts a 2.57 ERA in 125.1 innings.

Last Time We Met
Texas A&M swept the season series with Nebraska in 2005, taking the first game, 4-2, and the second, 6-0.

In game one, Anne Steffan had her school-record 26-game hitting streak snapped as Nebraska managed just three hits and plated a pair of unearned runs aided by three A&M errors. Jessica Yoachim was 2-for-3 with a run, while Trisha Tannahill accounted for NU's other hit and was also robbed of a three-run homer in the top of the first.

Ashley DeBuhr tossed five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits in taking the loss. Amanda Scarborough improved to a perfect 17-0 by not surrendering an earned run in a complete-game three-hitter.

In game two, Nebraska managed seven hits and the game was tied heading into the bottom of the fourth before A&M scored six runs over the next three innings to earn a 6-0 win.

Steffan went 2-for-4 for NU, as did Lizzy Aumua, but Nebraska left four on base. Scarborough again earned the win for the Aggies, tossing a shutout with nine strikeouts.

Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 25-21. Five of the last seven meetings between the teams have gone extra innings, with A&M winning three of those extra-inning contests. The Huskers boast an 8-3 record against the Aggies at home.

Quick Hits....

• NU's 37-8 record marks the second-best 45-game record in the 31-year history of Nebraska softball
• NU is 17-1 at home, marking the most wins in the history of Bowlin Stadium
• Nebraska needs just three home victories to tie the school record of 20 home wins in a season
• Nebraska is 30-2 when out-hitting the opponent
• Nebraska is averaging more than five runs per game
• Nebraska scored 238 runs in 43 games, passing last year's season total (232 runs in 59 games)
• NU has scored 70 runs through 14 league games after scoring just 50 runs in 19 league games in 2005
• NU is 30-2 when holding the opponent to two runs or less
• Nebraska has 37 home runs as a team, 18 more than the entire 2005 total (19)
• The Huskers have hit 15 homers in 14 league games, nearly matching the 2005 season total
• NU has 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 IllinoisDevin 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 set single-season career highs in hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBIs
• Right-hander Ashley DeBuhr has thrown nine shutouts in her last 14 starts
• Nebraska has bettered its save total (2) from the entire 2005 season

Seventh Inning Success
Nebraska has rallied from a one-run, seventh-inning deficit in three of its last four victories. After twice rallying from a one-run deficit to sweep Texas Tech last weekend, the Huskers again rallied to beat Creighton on Thursday.

In game one at Texas Tech 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 seventh inning and give NU the 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. Nebraska went on to win the game with a six-run 10th inning.

Against Creighton on Thursday, the Huskers rallied for their largest come-from-behind victory of the season. Trailing 3-0, NU scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth. After being shutout in the bottom of the sixth, freshman Brittany Pascale led off the seventh inning with a pinch-hit solo home run - the first of her career - that forced extra innings, as the Huskers won 4-3 in eight innings. The three-run margin marked the largest deficit overcome for NU this season.

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 bettered last year's league win total in only 14 games. A big reason for that is the increased production out of the Husker offense in Big 12 play. 7

DeBuhr Dominant in Tossing Second Career No-Hitter
Junior right-hander Ashley DeBuhr tossed her second career no-hitter to lead the Huskers past Kansas, 1-0, on Wednesday. DeBuhr surrendered just two walks in the game and did not allow a Jayhawk to advance past first base.

The Beatrice, Neb., native also struck out a season-high 16 in the masterful performance, just one shy of her career high. DeBuhr struck out the first seven batters of the game and retired the final eight batters via the strikeout. DeBuhr's no-hitter was the second by a Husker pitcher this season, as freshman right-hander Molly Hill tossed a five-inning no-hitter against South Dakota State on April 12.

DeBuhr's first no-hitter was a perfect game against Iowa State on April 13, 2005. That marked just the third perfect game in the 31-year history of Nebraska softball. DeBuhr is also just the eighth pitcher in school history to toss more than one no-hitter in a career.

Porter Posting Impressive Numbers in Big 12 Play
Junior Devin Porter, already enjoying a career season, has posted even better numbers in Big 12 Conference play this season. Through the first 14 league games, Porter boasts a .390 average with a .457 on-base percentage and a .732 slugging percentage.

She ranks among the league leaders in nearly every offensive category, including home runs as her four homers rank fourth. Porter has also drawn five walks, while striking out just three times in 41 at bats. Porter has also been a threat on the basepaths, where she has scored 10 runs.

Linke Delivering Clutch Hits
Senior Katie Linke produced the game-winning hit in each of the Huskers' mid-week victories. Against Kansas on Wednesday, Linke scored freshman Crystal Carwile with a one-out single in the bottom of the fourth inning that proved to be the only run in Nebraska's 1-0 victory.

The following night, Linke delivered her second straight game-winning hit, this time in dramatic fashion. Tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Linke stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. She promptly sent the first pitch she saw into left field for a walk-off single that scored fellow senior Jessica Yoachim with the game-winning run. The game-winning hit marked the second of Linke's career against Creighton.

Freshman Pascale Coming Through in the Clutch
Freshman Brittany Pascale has come through in some clutch situations for Nebraska this season. Nebraska has played just three extra-inning games this season, but Pascale has been responsible for getting the Huskers to extra innings in each of those contests.

Against Notre Dame on March 3, Pasacle pinch hit and recorded a game-tying sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh that forced extra innings, before the Huskers pulled out a 5-2 win.

At Texas Tech last Sunday, Pascale gave Nebraska a 4-3 advantage in the top of the seventh when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Her RBI proved huge as Tech rallied in the bottom of the inning for a single run to force extra frames, where the Huskers won 10-4 in 10 innings.

She followed that performance with another clutch pinch hit against Creighton on Thursday. Trailing by one in the bottom of the seventh, Pascale came on to pinch hit and belted an 0-1 pitch over the wall in center field for her first career home run. That paved the way for a 4-3 eight-inning victory for NU.

Let's Play Extra
Nebraska has posted a pair of extra-inning victories in its last three games. On the season, NU is 3-0 in extra-inning games. In each of those wins, the Huskers forced extra innings by rallying from a one-run deficit in the seventh inning.

Against Notre Dame at the Best Western Airport Festival in Tulsa, Okla., on March 3, Nebraska scored one run in the seventh and three in the eighth to win 5-2. NU would not play another extra-inning contest until last Sunday at Texas Tech. The Huskers trailed 3-2 entering the final inning, before NU rallied with two runs to take a 4-3 lead.

After the Red Raiders tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, the game remained scoreless until Nebraska exploded for a six-run 10th inning to earn a 10-4 win.

The Huskers would play extras just two games later against Creighton on Thursday. Once again, NU trailed 3-2 in the seventh before tying the game on a solo home run and winning it in the eighth.

NU Surpasses 2005 Run Total
The 2006 Nebraska softball team scored more runs in 43 games this year 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 April 23, giving them 238 runs on the season. The 2005 team scored 232 runs.

At its current pace (243 runs in 45 games), NU has a chance to crack the 300-run 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.

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 average (.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.