Huskers Defeat Hornets, 2-1

Las Vegas, Nev. ? The 23rd-ranked Nebraska softball team rebounded from a pair of tough losses on Saturday to post a 2-1 victory over DelawareState in the first of two games Sunday at the UNLV Invitational.

 

Despite being outhit, 7-4, Nebraska evened its record at 2-2 at the tournament while improving to 9-7 overall. The Huskers were helped by their patience at the plate and speed on the basepaths, as NU drew a season-high five walks and added five stolen bases, one shy of its season high.

 

Sophomore right-hander Molly Hill (3-4) picked up her second victory of the season, tossing 4.2 innings of shutout relief. Hill allowed just three hits while striking out three. Freshman right-hander Alex Hupp made her third career start and surrendered one run on four hits in 2.1 innings.

 

For the second straight game, Nebraska jumped to an early lead by scoring in the first inning. Sophomores Darcy Rutherford and Meghan Mullin drew consecutive walks to start the inning and Rutherford scored on an RBI single off the bat of senior Devin Porter. NU had runners at the corners with no out, but had to settle for just a 1-0 lead.

 

Delaware State quickly responded when Catrina Ansbach led off the top of the second with a deep home run to right center.

 

The Huskers regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth when sophomore Meghan Mullin recorded an RBI slap single that scored freshman Whitney Barrett. NU then loaded the bases with two outs before a ground out ended the inning.

 

Mullin paced the Husker offense by collecting two of NU's four hits, finishing with a 2-for-2 day that included a walk and the game-winning RBI.

 

Nebraska plays again on Sunday against Cal.

Box Score The Automated ScoreBook Delaware State vs #23 Nebraska Mar 04, 2007 at Las Vegas, Nev. (Eller Media Stadium)

Delaware State 1 (1-6)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ SHOCKLEY,Candice cf...... 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 LAMBERTZ,Megan rf........ 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 TABOR,Sha 3b............. 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 DEMERS,Nicole pr/3b..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ANSBACH,Catrina c........ 3 1 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 PONI,Jacinda 1b.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 7 0 1 SCHEAF pr............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 GOMEZ,Diana dp........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SAMS,Courtney 2b......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 SNOW,Samantha lf......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 HOLLOMAN,Aisha ph....... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 GOSS,Kendra pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TAYLOR,Courtney ss....... 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 0 RUARK,Brittney p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 WILSON,Meghan p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 25 1 7 1 0 6 18 9 4

Nebraska 2 (9-7)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rutherford, Darcy dp..... 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Mullin, Meghan rf........ 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 Porter, Devin ss......... 2 0 1 1 1 0 3 3 0 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 3 0 0 0 0 1 8 2 3 Pascale, Brittany c...... 3 0 1 0 0 0 5 2 0 Borg, Jaime pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Long, Haley lf........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Barrett, Whitney 2b...... 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 Kier, Carmen 3b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 1 Gonzalez, Crystal cf..... 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Hupp, Alex p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Hill, Molly p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 19 2 4 2 5 3 21 12 6

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Delaware State...... 010 000 0 - 1 7 0 Nebraska............ 100 010 X - 2 4 0 -----------------------------------------

DP - Cornhuskers 2. LOB - Hornets 4; Cornhuskers 6. 2B - SHOCKLEY,C.. HR - ANSBACH,C.. HBP - LAMBERTZ,M.. SH - Kier(2); Gonzalez(3). SB - TABOR,S.; Rutherford 2(5); Mullin(6); Porter(2); Borg(2). CS - GOSS,K.; Mullin(1).

Delaware State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- RUARK,Brittney...... 4.2 2 2 2 4 2 13 19 66 WILSON,Meghan....... 1.1 2 0 0 1 1 6 7 27

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hupp, Alex.......... 2.1 4 1 1 0 3 10 11 51 Hill, Molly......... 4.2 3 0 0 0 3 15 15 64

Win - Hill (3-4). Loss - RUARK,B. (0-2). Save - None. WP - Hupp(1). HBP - by Hupp (LAMBERTZ,M.). Pitches/strikes: RUARK,B. 66/35; WILSON,M. 27/18; Hupp 51/31; Hill 64/45. Umpires - Start: 11:10 am Time: 2:04 Attendance: Game: NU16