Huskers Head to Iowa for Hawkeye Fall Classic

The Nebraska softball team travels to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend for the Hawkeye Fall Classic. The Huskers will face Iowa and Western Illinois on both Saturday and Sunday in their final tournament of the fall season.

 

In its only other fall tournament, Nebraska used dominant pitching to post a 4-0 record at the Husker Fall Classic, Sept. 20-21. The Huskers won three 1-0 decisions, as the pitching staff tossed shutouts in all four games, totaling 26.0 scoreless innings. Senior Molly Hill led the way by posting a 2-0 record with one save. Hill struck out 20 in 15.0 innings and walked only one, while opponents hit just .077 against her.

 

Offensively, Nebraska hit .319 as a team at the Husker Fall Classic. Despite the high average and the fact that nearly one-quarter of NU’s hits went for extra bases, Nebraska averaged under three runs per game. Senior Darcy Rutherford hit .500 while leading the team with three runs, three RBIs and three stolen bases. Fellow senior Crystal Carwile added three RBIs while slugging two doubles.

 

Nebraska will be without the services of some key players this weekend. Their absence has given Nebraska’s talented freshman class a chance to shine, as every healthy newcomer earned at least one at bat in the Husker Fall Classic. Kirby Wright went 1-for-2 while starting one game at catcher and Jamie Gay went 1-for-3 with a double and started one game at third base.

 

When healthy, the Huskers return every starter from last season’s team, which made a run to the title game of the Big 12 Championship. Nebraska opens its 2009 regular season at the UNI Dome Classic in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Feb. 7.