Hill Pitches Huskers to Doubleheader Sweep

Lincoln - Junior right-hander Molly Hill completed a dominating performance with her second shutout of the day, as she pitched the Nebraska softball team to a 1-0 victory over North DakotaState in the nightcap of Wednesday's doubleheader at Bowlin Stadium.

Hill's five-hit shutout came on the heels of her three-hit shutout in game one. On the day, Hill tossed 14 scoreless innings and struck out 13 while allowing only eight singles. She also allowed only one baserunner past second, while her two wins improved her season record to 9-12.

The two shutouts were a nice start to Nebraska's season-ending nine-game homestand. With the pair of victories, the Huskers improved to 19-23 on the year and clinched a winning non-conference record for the 15th consecutive season.

Hill's timing was perfect, as Nebraska managed only two hits in the second game, winning for the first time this season when being out-hit by the opponent. The Huskers' first hit of the game was a towering solo home run from junior Crystal Carwile in the bottom of the first inning. The home run was Carwile's second of the day and fourth in the last five games. Junior Meghan Mullin added NU's other hit with a sixth-inning single, while freshman Ashley Guile walked.

North Dakota State fell to 33-16 on the season with the loss, while Nebraska improved to 12-0 all-time against the Bison and 43-0 all-time against current members of the Summit League. NDSU was shut out by Hill in both games of Wednesday's doubleheader as Hill has never allowed an earned run in 28.0 career innings against the Bison. Overall, North DakotaState has not scored an earned run in any of the eight recent meetings, a streak totaling 54 innings.

Allison Bakke (21-7) took the loss for NDSU, despite allowing only two hits and facing just three batters over the minimum. After Carwile's home run, Bakke walked the next batter before retiring 15 in a row and 16 of her final 17 batters.

North Dakota State made a late attempt at a rally when the first two batters reached in the top of the sixth. Carwile then cut down the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt attempt, before sophomore shortstop Whitney Barrett turned an unassisted double play at second, tagging the runner heading to third before stepping on second to end the threat.

After wrapping up its non-conference schedule, the Huskers return to Big 12 Conference action this weekend when they host fifth-ranked and league-leading Texas A&M at Bowlin Stadium. First pitch on Saturday is set for 12:30 p.m. and the game can be seen live in the state of Nebraska on NET-HD or NET-1 and nationally on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV).

Nebraska Softball North Dakota State at Nebraska (Game 2) Apr 23, 2008 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bowlin Stadium)

North Dakota State 0 (33-16)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Laurel Pipkin 2b......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Elisa Victa lf........... 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 Melissa Chmielewski 3b... 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 Aimee Enzler 1b.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 Richel Briones rf........ 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 Kelly Cantrell c......... 2 0 0 0 1 0 7 0 0 Bekki Rasmussen pr...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Allison Bakke dp......... 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Taylor Lynn cf........... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Kelly Vivant ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nicole Rivera ss......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 Andi Padilla p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 25 0 5 0 3 3 18 1 8

Nebraska 1 (19-23)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rutherford, Darcy lf..... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Mullin, Meghan cf........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 3 1 1 1 0 0 9 1 1 Guile, Ashley c.......... 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 Linke, Kelli dp.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Long, Haley rf........... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Foland, Heidi 3b......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 Barrett, Whitney ss...... 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 Hill, Molly p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Totals................... 20 1 2 1 1 5 21 10 2

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- North Dakota State.. 000 000 0 - 0 5 0 Nebraska............ 100 000 X - 1 2 2 -----------------------------------------

E - Foland(11); Barrett(9). DP - Huskers 1. LOB - Bison 8; Huskers 2. HR - Carwile(9). SH - Bakke(5). SB - Bakke(7). CS - Victa(1).

North Dakota State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Andi Padilla........ 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Allison Bakke....... 6.0 2 1 1 1 5 20 21 84

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hill, Molly......... 7.0 5 0 0 3 3 25 29 109

Win - Hill (9-12). Loss - Bakke (21-7). Save - None. WP - Hill(12). Pitches/strikes: Bakke 84/54; Hill 109/71. Umpires - HP: Kevin Killingsowrth 1B: Mike D'Ercole 3B: Andy Hahn Start: 4:13 pm Time: 1:42 Attendance: 381 Game: livegame