Huskers Open Doubleheader with 8-0 Win

Lincoln - Senior right-hander Molly Hill tossed a two-hit shutout and the Husker offense scored eight runs over the second, third and fourth innings as the Nebraska softball team opened Senior Day with an 8-0, five-inning victory over Texas Tech in game one of a Saturday doubleheader at a chilly Bowlin Stadium.

Hill allowed singles in both the first and second innings before retiring 11 of the final 13 batters she faced. Hill improved to 22-10 on the season by tossing her third two-hitter of the season and her third Big 12 shutout, including second straight. With Hill in control in the circle, Nebraska drew a Big 12 season-high seven walks to score eight runs on only five hits.

Six Huskers walked in the game, including a pair from senior Brittany Pascale. Senior Amanda Duran added two hits as part of a 2-for-2 day, while junior Whitney Barrett was 1-for-1 and tied her career high with two RBIs. Seniors Meghan Mullin and Crystal Carwile, along with sophomore Julie Brechtel added an RBI apiece for the Huskers. Nebraska was also helped out by four Texas Tech errors, which led to four unearned runs.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 32-14 on the season and moved to 8-7 in Big 12 play. Karli Merlich (0-4) took the loss for Texas Tech, which fell to 13-39 overall and 2-13 in conference action. Merlich tossed a complete game for the Red Raiders, allowing eight runs (four earned) on only five hits. She added four strikeouts but walked seven.

After both teams stranded a runner in scoring position in the first inning, Texas Tech got its first two runners on base in the top of the second but was unable to score a run. Nebraska then scored three times in the bottom of the frame while sending nine batters to the plate despite not recording a hit.

Pascale began the inning with a walk and freshman pinch-runner Nikki Haget moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Julie Brechtel. Following a strikeout, senior Haley Long was hit by a pitch and Barrett walked to load the bases. Senior Meghan Mullin then picked up the Huskers’ third walk of the inning to score Haget and give NU a 1-0 lead.

Senior Darcy Rutherford then hit a ground ball to second base, but the Texas Tech first baseman was unable to hold on to the throw, as Long and Barrett both came around to score on the error.

The Huskers scored two more runs in the bottom of the third. Pascale again got things started with a leadoff walk and an error, a walk to Long and a stolen base gave NU runners at second and third with two outs. Barrett then lined a two-run single to the gap in left center to score junior pinch-runner Alex Hupp and Brechtel and put the Huskers on top, 5-0.

Nebraska continued to tack on runs in the fourth. Rutherford led off with a walk and Duran followed with a single. Carwile then ripped the next pitch to the gap in right center for an RBI double to score Rutherford. Nebraska moved in front 7-0 two batters later on a sacrifice fly from Brechtel that scored freshman pinch-runner Madison Drake. Carwile then put the run-rule into effect when she scored on Texas Tech’s fourth error of the game.

Hill then worked around her own error in the top of the fifth to complete the shutout.

Nebraska will look for the doubleheader sweep this afternoon when the teams meet again at 2:05 p.m. on a game that will be televised live in the state of Nebraska on NET-1 and NET-HD. The game will also be streamed live for free on Huskers.com.

Box Score 2009 Nebraska Softball Texas Tech at Nebraska (Game 1) Apr 25, 2009 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bowlin Stadium)

Texas Tech 0 (13-39,2-13 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Legler, Leah 2b.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 Drewry, Stephanie lf..... 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Eimen, Elizabeth 1b...... 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 Watkins, Alex dp......... 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Bledsoe, Emily ss........ 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 Matthews, Danielle 3b.... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Gentsch, Holley c........ 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 0 Shupp, Megan cf.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Hamada,Ashley rf......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Merlich, Karli p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 16 0 2 0 2 3 12 7 6

Nebraska 8 (32-14,8-7 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Mullin, Meghan cf........ 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 Rutherford, Darcy lf..... 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Duran, Amanda c.......... 2 0 2 0 1 0 3 0 0 Drake, Madison pr....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Carwile, Crystal 1b...... 3 1 1 1 0 1 7 0 4 Pascale, Brittany dp..... 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Haget, Nikki pr......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hupp, Alex pr/dp........ 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 Gay, Jamie 3b............ 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 Long, Haley rf........... 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Barrett, Whitney ss...... 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 2 0 Hill, Molly p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Totals................... 16 8 5 5 7 4 15 8 6

Score by Innings R H E -------------------------------------- Texas Tech.......... 000 00 - 0 2 4 Nebraska............ 032 3X - 8 5 1 --------------------------------------

E - Legler 2(11); Eimen(7); Shupp(2); Hill(4). LOB - Red Raiders 6; Huskers 6. 2B - Carwile(9). HBP - Matthews; Long. SH - Eimen(15); Hamada(5); Brechtel(3). SF - Brechtel(2). SB - Haget(2); Long(7). CS - Rutherford(4).

Texas Tech IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Merlich, Karli...... 4.0 5 8 4 7 4 16 26 107

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hill, Molly......... 5.0 2 0 0 2 3 16 21 80

Win - Hill (22-10). Loss - Merlich (0-4). Save - None. WP - Merlich(4). HBP - by Hill (Matthews); by Merlich (Long). Pitches/strikes: Merlich 107/55; Hill 80/54. Umpires - HP: Robert Blatcher 1B: Steve McCrillis 3B: Matt Titkemeier Start: 11:03 am Time: 1:35 Attendance: Game: NU46