Sixth-Ranked A&M Rallies Past NU

Oklahoma City, Okla. - Nothing seemed to go the way of the Nebraska softball team Friday night at the Big 12 Championship as all of the close plays seemingly ended up in Texas A&M's favor, as the sixth-ranked and fourth-seeded Aggies erased a 1-0 deficit to post a 3-1 win over the fifth-seeded Huskers.

Nowhere were the bad breaks more evident than in the two innings Texas A&M produced runs. In the bottom of the fourth, a blooper down the right field line and a grounder down the right field line were both barely fair before Jami Lobpries was ruled safe on a bang-bang play at first for an RBI infield single even though it appeared Nebraska had escaped the inning without allowing a run.

With the score tied 1-1, another fortunate bounce and a key Nebraska error led to a two-run sixth inning for the Aggies. Macie Morrow reached on a one-out infield single after her full swing resulted in the ball dying about eight feet in front of home plate, which she easily beat out without a throw. NU was then its own worst enemy, as a two-out throwing error allowed the game-winning run to score and kept the frame alive for the Aggies to add another run and take a 3-1 advantage to the seventh inning.

In the seventh, the Huskers finally caught a break as senior Jamie Waldecker struck out swinging but reached base safely on a passed ball. With the tying run at the plate and only one out, the final two Huskers were retired.

Despite seemingly all of the breaks going Texas A&M's way, the Huskers had chances to create their own luck as NU led 1-0 and was one out away from escaping both of the innings in which the Aggies scored.

Sophomore right-hander Molly Hill (17-9) took the loss, despite allowing only one earned run in 6.2 innings. Hill walked two and struck out four, with three of the strikeouts coming with a runner on third base.

Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Amanda Scarborough (15-4) earned the win for Texas A&M (40-9). Scarborough allowed only one run on just three hits in a complete-game effort. The right-hander also posted four strikeouts after striking out nine Huskers in the teams' first meeting.

After being frustrated offensively at Texas A&M on April 6 when the Huskers were shut out in back-to-back games totaling 15 innings, NU struck quickly on Friday. Sophomore Meghan Mullin drew a one-out walk and promptly scored when senior Devin Porter laced a 1-1 offering to the gap in left center for an RBI double.

In the circle, Hill worked around baserunners in the first and second innings before escaping a big jam in the third inning. Sharonda McDonald led off the inning with a bunt single before Jamie Hinshaw followed with another single. On Hinshaw's single, McDonald advanced all the way to third and, anticipating a play at third, Hinshaw was caught off first base and tagged out by sophomore first baseman Crystal Carwile for the first out.

The Aggies still had their fastest runner at third with only one out before Hill posted back-to-back strikeouts against the All-American combination of Megan Gibson and Scarborough.

With the loss, Nebraska (37-18) will await the NCAA Tournament selection show, which airs this Sunday between 2 and 3 p.m. (Central) on ESPNews.

Box Score Nebraska Softball Nebraska vs #6 Texas A&M May 11, 2007 at Oklahoma City, Okla. (ASA Stadium Field 4)

Nebraska 1 (37-18)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Barrett, Whitney 2b...... 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 Mullin, Meghan cf........ 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 Porter, Devin ss......... 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 Waldecker, Jamie c....... 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 1 Borg, Jaime pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pascale, Brittany dp..... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Rutherford, Darcy pr.... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Long, Haley rf........... 3 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 1 Kier, Carmen 3b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 Hupp, Alex lf............ 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Hill, Molly p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 DeBuhr, Ashley p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 24 1 3 1 1 4 18 8 3

Texas A&M 3 (40-9)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ McDonald, Sharonda cf.... 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hinshaw, Jamie 3b........ 4 1 3 1 0 0 1 4 0 Gibson, Megan 1b......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 9 1 0 Scarborough, Amanda p.... 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Lobpries, Jami lf........ 2 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 2 Reynolds, Alex dp........ 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 Schroeder, Bailey pr.... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Davis, Joy 2b............ 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 0 Morrow, Macie ss......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 Gorzycki, Lisa rf........ 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 Rowan, Beverly c......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals................... 25 3 9 2 2 5 21 12 10

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 100 000 0 - 1 3 1 Texas A&M........... 000 012 X - 3 9 0 -----------------------------------------

E - Porter(10). DP - Aggies 1. LOB - Cornhuskers 3; Aggies 10. 2B - Porter(11). HBP - Gibson. SH - Reynolds(6); Davis(5); Gorzycki(1).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hill, Molly......... 5.2 9 3 1 2 4 24 30 97 DeBuhr, Ashley...... 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3

Texas A&M IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Scarborough, Amanda. 7.0 3 1 1 1 4 24 25 95

Win - Scarborough (15-4). Loss - Hill (17-9). Save - None. HBP - by Hill (Gibson). PB - Rowan(16). Pitches/strikes: Hill 97/59; DeBuhr 3/3; Scarborough 95/57. Umpires - HP: Pat Lyon 1B: Mike D'Ercole 3B: Bart Hadley Start: 8:10 pm Time: 2:02 Attendance: Game: NU55