Huskers Earn Fourth Straight Victory

Las Vegas, Nev. ? A delayed arrival of more than 14 hours and a delayed start of more than one hour did nothing to slow the 23rd-ranked Nebraska softball team, as the Huskers opened the UNLV Invitational with a 5-2 victory over Southern Utah late Friday night.

 

Nebraska’s fourth straight win was the capper to a whirlwind 36 hours for the Huskers, who had a Thursday flight out of Omaha canceled, then bused to Kansas City for a 6:30 flight Friday morning and arrived in Las Vegas at 7:45 a.m. before having to wait until a 9:22 p.m. first pitch.

 

Sophomore right-hander Molly Hill improved to 2-3 on the season with her second win in as many games. Hill allowed only three balls to leave the infield while tossing a complete-game two-hitter. She allowed just one earned run and struck out 12, but also surrendered six walks.

 

With the win, Nebraska improved to 8-5 on the season, while Southern Utah fell to 8-9. Bobbi Jo Merrill (1-1) took the loss for the Thunderbirds, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 3.0 innings of work.

 

Nebraska showed no ill effects of the hectic travel schedule, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Sophomore Darcy Rutherford led off with an infield single, advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored on a double off the bat of senior Devin Porter. The Huskers then loaded the bases with two outs but were unable to push another run across.

 

Some tough hitting luck thwarted another NU scoring threat in the second, when Porter hit a rocket that the centerfielder caught from her knees with two outs and runners on second and third.

 

The Huskers added three more runs in the top of the third. Sophomore Brittany Pascale reached on a one-out single before fellow sophomore Haley Long was hit by a pitch. Senior pinch runner Jaime Borg teamed up with Long for a double steal and senior Carmen Kier brought Borg home with a single to shallow center.

 

Long made it 3-0, scoring on an RBI bunt single from sophomore Kimberly Fuller before Rutherford’s second hit of the game plated Kier to give the Huskers a four-run cushion.

 

Southern Utah put a run on the board in the bottom of the frame, despite not putting the ball in play. Hill struck out the first batter before walking four straight to force in a run and leave the bases loaded. After allowing her first earned run in 12.2 innings, Hill responded by striking out the next two hitters to end the inning.

 

The Huskers got the run back in the top of the fourth, when Pascale scored Mullin with a one-out, RBI single.

 

Southern Utah added an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the gap to 5-2, but the Thunderbirds went quietly in the seventh to end the game.

 

Offensively, Nebraska's 10 hits were just one shy of its season high, while the lineup produced five runs for the third time this season. Rutherford led the charge by recording a career-high three hits in a perfect 3-for-3 effort that also included her first career RBI.

 

After a long first day at the UNLV Invitational, Nebraska returns to action at 1:15 p.m. on Saturday against DePaul. The Huskers will then face FresnoState immediately after their game against the Blue Demons.

Box Score The Automated ScoreBook #23 Nebraska vs Southern Utah Mar 02, 2007 at Las Vegad, Nev. (Eller Media Stadium)

Nebraska 5 (8-5)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rutherford, Darcy lf..... 3 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 Mullin, Meghan rf........ 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 Porter, Devin ss......... 4 0 1 1 0 2 2 3 2 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 2 0 0 0 2 1 5 0 0 Pascale, Brittany c...... 4 0 2 1 0 1 12 0 0 Borg, Jaime pr.......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Long, Haley dp........... 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 Kier, Carmen 3b.......... 3 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 3 Fuller, Kimberly 2b...... 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 Gonzalez, Crystal cf..... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Hill, Molly p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 27 5 10 5 4 8 21 8 7

Southern Utah 2 (8-9)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Pratt, Marci ss.......... 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 0 Cresswell, Cassie cf..... 2 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 Niederhauser, Erin lf.... 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 Merill, Bobbi Jo p/1b.... 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 Kennedy, Lindi 3b........ 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 Fernandez, Caroline c.... 3 0 0 0 0 2 8 0 0 Brooks, Kristina dp...... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Gaastra, Monique 1b/2b... 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 Clapham, Trish ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Carli, Kayleen rf........ 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 Ashton, McKell 2b........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Gonzalez, Marissa p..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Totals................... 23 2 2 1 6 12 21 6 6

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 103 100 0 - 5 10 1 Southern Utah....... 001 001 0 - 2 2 1 -----------------------------------------

E - Kier(5); Merill. DP - Thunderbirds 2. LOB - Cornhuskers 7; Thunderbirds 6. 2B - Porter(4); Kennedy. HBP - Long. SH - Mullin(5). SB - Rutherford(3); Mullin 2(6); Carwile(4); Borg(1); Long(2); Niederhauser.

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hill, Molly......... 7.0 2 2 1 6 12 23 29 134

Southern Utah IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Merill, Bobbi Jo.... 3.0 7 4 3 3 4 14 19 74 Gonzalez, Marissa... 4.0 3 1 1 1 4 13 14 57

Win - Hill (2-3). Loss - Merill (1-1). Save - None. WP - Merill. HBP - by Merill (Long). Pitches/strikes: Hill 134/75; Merill 74/43; Gonzalez 57/37. Umpires - Start: 9:22 pm Time: 2:15 Attendance: Game: NU13