Nebraska Tops North Dakota

Wichita, Kan. - Senior Haley Long homered for the second straight game as the Nebraska softball team picked up its fourth consecutive victory with a 9-1 six-inning win over North Dakota on Sunday at the Shocker Invitational at Wilkins Stadium.

Senior right-hander Molly Hill earned the win, improving to 6-2 on the season. Hill tossed 4.2 innings and allowed one run on two hits while striking out five. Hill retired nine of the final 10 batters she faced, including four by strikeout. Junior right-hander Alex Hupp came on for Hill and threw 1.1 innings of hitless relief in her second appearance of the season.

Long's third-inning homer was her only hit of the game, as Nebraska turned just seven hits into nine runs. Fellow seniors Meghan Mullin and Darcy Rutherford created havoc at the top of the order, combining for five hits, five runs scored and two RBIs. Mullin was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in her first game batting leadoff, while Rutherford finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI batting out of the No. 2 spot.

In the top of the first, Mullin and Rutherford got things started with back-to-back singles. They moved up to second and third on a ground out before senior Amanda Duran brought Mullin home with a sacrifice fly. Rutherford then made it 2-0 Huskers when she scored on an illegal pitch.

Senior Crystal Carwile saved a run for NU in the bottom of the inning, as she made a terrific diving grab to take an extra-base hit away from Hannah-Rose Peters with a runner on second and two outs.

Nebraska made it 3-0 one batter into the second inning, as Long worked the count full before blasting a leadoff home run over the right-field fence.

The Fighting Sioux used small ball to get the run back in the bottom of the frame. A leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single cut the Huskers' lead to 3-1.

NU stretched the lead to 6-1 with a three-run fourth inning that was fueled by three North Dakota errors. The first two batters were retired before Fighting Sioux left fielder Maggie O'Neal dropped a fly ball off the bat of freshman Kirby Wright. Sophomore Julie Brechtel then walked before Mullin ripped an RBI single to center to score freshman pinch-runner Madison Drake. On the play, the ball was misplayed by the center fielder allowing Brechtel to score.

Rutherford then slapped a grounder to second that got past Kristi Alcorn and allowed Mullin to score.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Hupp came on and walked the bases loaded with two outs but escaped the jam with a strikeout of Erica Younan, North Dakota's No. 3 hitter.

After seeing six straight hitters retired, Nebraska put together a two-out rally in the top of the sixth. Freshman Jamie Gay got things with started with her first career hit, a two-out double. Mullin followed with an infield single and Gay scored on a throwing error on the play. After Mullin stole second, Rutherford singled up the middle to bring Mullin home with the Huskers' eighth run. On the play, Rutherford wound up at third following another UND throwing error. She then scored on an illegal pitch to give Nebraska a 9-1 lead.

With the Huskers three outs away from a run-rule victory, Hupp retired the first batter she faced in the sixth before issuing back-to-back walks. That brought Hill back into the game, and she coaxed a game-ending double play.

The win was Nebraska's fourth straight and improved the Huskers' record to 10-4 on the season. Peters (0-2) took the loss for North Dakota (1-7), tossing a season-high 6.0 innings and allowing nine runs (five earned).

Nebraska wraps up play at the Shocker Invitational at 4 p.m. against host Wichita State.

Box Score 2009 Nebraska Softball Nebraska vs North Dakota Mar 08, 2009 at Wichita, Kan. (Wilkins Stadium)

Nebraska 9 (10-4)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Mullin, Meghan cf........ 4 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rutherford, Darcy lf..... 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 Duran, Amanda dp......... 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Foland, Heidi 3b/ss...... 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 Long, Haley rf........... 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Barrett, Whitney ss/2b... 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 Wright, Kirby c.......... 2 0 0 0 1 0 7 2 0 Drake, Madison pr....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 Gay, Jamie 3b........... 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Hill, Molly p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hupp, Alex p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 26 9 7 4 3 3 18 7 3

North Dakota 1 (1-7)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rehberger, Abby ss....... 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 Delgado, Angie cf........ 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 Younan, Erica 1b......... 2 0 0 0 0 2 11 0 3 Peters, Hannah-Rose p.... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 Alcorn, Kristi 2b........ 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 5 0 Bennett, Kindra c........ 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 Puerling, Nicole 3b...... 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 O'Neal, Maggie lf........ 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Bushaw, Kim dp........... 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 Sesselman, Sarah rf...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals................... 16 1 2 1 7 7 18 10 6

Score by Innings R H E --------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 210 303 - 9 7 0 North Dakota........ 010 000 - 1 2 5 ---------------------------------------

E - Rehberger; Delgado 2; Alcorn; O'Neal. DP - Huskers 1. LOB - Huskers 3; Sioux 6. 2B - Gay(1). HR - Long(2). SH - Younan; Bennett. SF - Duran(1). SB - Mullin(6); Duran(1). CS - Rehberger.

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hill, Molly......... 4.2 2 1 1 2 5 12 16 62 Hupp, Alex.......... 1.1 0 0 0 5 2 4 9 52

North Dakota IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Peters, Hannah-Rose. 6.0 7 9 5 3 3 26 30 123

Win - Hill (6-2). Loss - Peters (0-2). Save - None. WP - Peters. BK - Peters 3. Pitches/strikes: Hill 62/36; Hupp 52/23; Peters 123/67. Umpires - HP: Jeff Sloan 1B: Terry Holt 3B: Rick Boyer Start: 10:59 am Time: 2:05 Attendance: Game: NU14