Hill Leads NU Past New Mexico

Fullerton, Calif. - Molly Hill tossed her third shutout of the season and Crystal Carwile drove in a pair of runs to lead the Nebraska softball team to a 3-0 win over New Mexico on Saturday at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.

The win was the Huskers' eighth in their past nine games, as NU improved to 14-5 on the season. Hill, a senior right-hander from Wayne, Neb., improved to 9-3 on the season. She allowed nine hits but struck out seven while not walking a single batter.

Offensively, Carwile was 1-for-1 with a walk and a double in addition to the two RBIs. Senior Meghan Mullin finished with a pair of hits, while sophomore Julie Brechtel went 2-for-3 with a run scored. A Fullerton native, Brechtel is now 5-for-10 with three runs scored and three RBIs in four games at the Judi Garman Classic.

Analise Rubalcava (5-9) took the loss for New Mexico, which fell to 9-13 on the season. Rubalcava allowed three runs on six hits over 4.1 innings.

Nebraska took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Carwile ripped a 1-0 pitch to the gap in right center for an RBI double that scored fellow senior Darcy Rutherford.

The Huskers added another run in the third. Brechtel led off with a single and Mullin followed with another single. The runners moved to second on third on a sacrifice bunt from Rutherford, then Carwile brought Brechtel home with a sacrifice fly to center.

In the top of the fifth, an error, a bloop single and a stolen base gave the Lobos runners at second and third with only one out. Hill got the next batter to fly out to shallow left before coaxing a fly out to right to end the inning.

A pair of one-out singles in the bottom of the frame marked the end of the day for Rubalcava. Danielle Castro entered the game and walked Carwile on five pitches to load the bases. Senior Amanda Duran then put the Huskers in front 3-0 on an RBI ground out that scored Mullin. Castro then walked senior Brittany Pascale to load the bases again but escaped further damage by getting an inning-ending fly out to center.

The Huskers survived a strange seventh inning to earn the victory. The first hitter was quickly retired before the next batter popped up a ball between first and second that NU was unable to field. Then with two runners on and only one out, Samantha Hughes lined a single down the left field line. Rutherford made a nice slide to stop the ball then got up and threw out Tianna George, who was attempting to score from second.

With two outs, the next batter popped up back to the circle but another miscommunication allowed the ball to drop. On the play, Cristin Anderson tried to score from second but sophomore Heidi Foland alertly retrieved the ball and threw home to end the game.

Nebraska wraps up play at the Judi Garman Classic at 11 a.m. (Central) on Sunday against Penn State.

Box Score 2009 Nebraska Softball New Mexico vs Nebraska Mar 14, 2009 at Fullerton, Calif. (Field 2)

New Mexico 0 (9-13)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Hughes, Samantha cf...... 4 0 3 0 0 1 5 0 0 Rubalcava, Analise dp/p.. 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 Gilmore, Katie 1b........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 8 0 3 Duarte, Shaunte 3b....... 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 Cox, Shenise rf.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 Lujan-Dresslar, Jess lf.. 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 Garcia, Jessica c........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 George, Tianna ss........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 Brandow, Erin pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Anderson, Cristin 2b..... 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 Castro, Danielle p/dp.... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 29 0 9 0 0 7 18 11 8

Nebraska 3 (14-5)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Mullin, Meghan cf........ 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 Rutherford, Darcy lf..... 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 1 0 1 2 1 0 8 0 0 Drake, Madison pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Duran, Amanda c.......... 3 0 0 1 0 0 8 2 1 Pascale, Brittany dp..... 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Gay, Jamie pr........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Foland, Heidi 3b......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 Long, Haley rf........... 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Barrett, Whitney ss...... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 Hill, Molly p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 21 3 7 3 3 0 21 8 7

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- New Mexico.......... 000 000 0 - 0 9 0 Nebraska............ 101 010 X - 3 7 1 -----------------------------------------

E - Barrett(3). DP - Lobos 1. LOB - Lobos 8; Huskers 7. 2B - Carwile(3). HBP - Long 2. SH - Rutherford(3). SF - Carwile(1). SB - Hughes.

New Mexico IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Castro, Danielle.... 1.2 1 0 0 2 0 6 8 35 Rubalcava, Analise.. 4.1 6 3 3 1 0 15 20 55

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hill, Molly......... 7.0 9 0 0 0 7 29 29 118

Win - Hill (9-3). Loss - Rubalcava (5-9). Save - None. HBP - by Rubalcava (Long); by Rubalcava (Long). PB - Garcia. Pitches/strikes: Castro 35/17; Rubalcava 55/33; Hill 118/82. Umpires - Start: 1:03 pm Time: 1:47 Attendance: Game: NU19