Huskers Lose Heartbreaker to Arizona State

Tempe, Ariz. - The Nebraska softball team had a golden opportunity to snap 10th-ranked Arizona State's 16-game win streak on Saturday night, but the Huskers couldn't come up with the clutch hit they needed in a 1-0 loss to the Sun Devils at Farrington Stadium.

Nebraska out-hit Arizona State, 7-3, and four of the Huskers' six hits came with runners on base. But NU left the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first and after the Sun Devils had taken a 1-0 lead, the Huskers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth before coming up empty once again.

The lack of a clutch hit spoiled a terrific outing for junior right-hander Robin Mackin against a Sun Devil offense that was averaging 9.5 runs per game entering the contest. Mackin (6-5) fired a three-hitter and allowed only one hit, as Arizona State got two of its hits in the same inning. Mackin added seven strikeouts and was able to work around six walks.

Hillary Bach (10-0) earned the win for Arizona State (23-2). Bach scattered seven hits in a complete-game effort, while adding four strikeouts. Bach did not walk a batter and in fact did not have a three-ball count on any Husker hitter.

The win was the 17th straight for Arizona State, while Nebraska fell to 0-6 in one-run games this season.

It looked like the Huskers would score early on, as Nebraska mounted a two-out scoring threat in the bottom of the first. After the first two batters were retired, sophomore Ashley Guile reached on an error before junior Julie Brechtel and freshman Brooke Thomason followed with back-to-back singles. But a called strike three to freshman Kirby Wright left the bases loaded and the game scoreless.

The Huskers nearly cracked the scoreboard again in the bottom of the third. Junior Heidi Foland led off with a single and moved up to second on a sacrifice from sophomore Nikki Haget. Following a strikeout, Brechtel flew out to the wall in center for the final out of the inning.

Arizona State didn't pick up its first hit until a one-out single from Sam Parlich with one out in the top of the fifth inning. Parlich came around to score when Caylyn Carlson hit a sharp grounder just inside the third base foul line that scooted past freshman Gabby Banda at third and rolled into the left field corner for an RBI double.

The Sun Devils nearly added to their lead in the top of the sixth. Mackin found herself fighting a shrinking strike zone as she walked the first two batters of the inning. A sacrifice moved the runners up to second and third before Mackin issued her third walk of the inning on what the Husker dugout thought was strike three. With the bases loaded and one out, Mackin fought back to strike out the next batter before an infield pop out ended the threat.

In the bottom of the frame, Haget led off with a single up the middle and Guile and Brechtel followed with singles to load the bases with no outs. The Sun Devils then got a pair of ground balls and threw home for the force out both times before a strikeout ended the threat.

Nebraska made a final charge in the bottom of the seventh, when Foland ripped a two-out single down the left field line. Haget then slapped a ball to short and was thrown out by half a step to end the game.

Foland finished 2-for-4, while Brechtel joined her with two hits in a 2-for-3 effort, although she saw her RBI streak end at five straight games, despite recording two hits with runners on base and one hit with a runner in scoring position.

The Huskers (13-12) wrap up play at the Diamond Devil Invitational on Sunday with a rematch against Arizona State. First pitch for that contest will be thrown at 3 p.m. (Central), instead of the originally listed time of 2 p.m. (Central) because the state of Arizona does not adjust its clocks for daylight savings time.

Box Score 2010 Nebraska Softball #10 Arizona State at Nebraska Mar 13, 2010 at Tempe, Ariz. (Farrington Stadium)

Arizona State 1 (23-2)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rogers, Lesley cf........ 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 2 Boyd, Katelyn ss......... 1 0 0 0 3 1 3 5 0 Castillo, Kaylyn c....... 2 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 2 Donnenwirth, Krista 3b... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Lockwood, Annie rf....... 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 Crabb, Katie 1b.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 Parlich, Sam 2b.......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 Afusia, Nikole dp........ 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Carlson, Caylyn lf....... 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 Bach, Hillary p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 22 1 3 1 6 7 21 9 8

Nebraska 0 (13-12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Foland, Heidi 1b......... 4 0 2 0 0 0 8 1 0 Haget, Nikki cf.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 Guile, Ashley c.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 7 0 0 Drake, Madison pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 3 0 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 Thomason, Brooke rf...... 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Wright, Kirby dp......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 Scott, Keela ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mackin, Robin p.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 3 Banda, Gabby 3b.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Barrett, Whitney ss...... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 Tyson, Tori lf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals................... 28 0 7 0 0 4 21 9 8

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Arizona State....... 000 010 0 - 1 3 1 Nebraska............ 000 000 0 - 0 7 0 -----------------------------------------

E - Crabb. LOB - Sun Devils 8; Huskers 8. 2B - Carlson. 3B - Rogers. SH - Castillo; Donnenwirth; Haget. SB - Boyd.

Arizona State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Bach, Hillary....... 7.0 7 0 0 0 4 28 29 91

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Mackin, Robin....... 7.0 3 1 1 6 7 22 30 116

Win - Bach (10-0). Loss - Mackin (6-5). Save - None. Pitches/strikes: Bach 91/71; Mackin 116/60. Umpires - HP: Dale Wilson 1B: Geri Magwire 3B: Tracy Hart Start: 6:57 pm Time: 1:54 Attendance: Game: NU25