NU Begins Key Conference Stretch at Texas Tech

The Nebraska softball team enters a key stretch in its schedule this weekend, when the Huskers travel to Lubbock, Texas, for a two-game series with the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday and Sunday at Rocky Johnson Field.

This weekend’s series begins a stretch of 10 consecutive conference games for the Huskers, who are looking to move up the Big 12 standings and put themselves in a position to be considered for a 15th NCAA Tournament bid in the past 16 seasons. Beginning with this weekend, the first four games of the 10-game stretch are all on the road, as Nebraska will play four road games in three cities in a span of only six days.

But the Huskers do get a bit of a reprieve, as none of the upcoming three opponents are ranked after NU opened conference play with four straight games against top-20 opponents. The Huskers can also take comfort that once the road trip is complete, Nebraska hosts eight of its final 10 Big 12 games at Bowlin Stadium.

Nebraska, which is currently tied for eighth in the Big 12 standings, has an opportunity to move up the standings during the road trip. The Huskers have already faced two of the top three teams in the league standings and even though Nebraska’s next four games are all on the road, the Huskers’ opponents are a combined 3-12 in conference play.

Up first is a surprising Red Raider squad that has defied preseason expectations. Tech was picked to finish last in the conference after finishing 15-42 in 2009 and last in the Big 12 with a 3-15 league mark. But first-year head coach Shanon Hays has produced immediate success.

Texas Tech won 25 of its first 27 games this season and has already doubled its win total from a season ago, as the Red Raiders are 30-7 in 2010 and are receiving one vote in the latest USA Softball/ESPN.com top 25 poll. Tech leads the league in runs per game and is allowing the fewest runs per game as well. The Red Raiders are just 2-3 in conference action and have lost three of their last four games. But each of Texas Tech’s last three conference games have come on the road at a top-25 opponent, including a one-run, nine-inning loss at No. 24 Baylor and a 4-0 loss at No. 16 Texas on Tuesday. The Red Raiders also defeated Baylor, 1-0 on Monday.

Nebraska sits just behind Texas Tech in the Big 12 standings with a 1-3 conference record. The Huskers are 22-17 overall, as they moved five games above .500 for the first time this season with a 4-3 win at Creighton on Wednesday. NU has won five of its last six games and picked up its first Big 12 victory in its last conference game by handing No. 18 Texas A&M an 8-3 loss that marked the Aggies’ second most lopsided loss of the year.

NU appears to be playing its best ball of the season over the last two weeks. During that time, the Huskers have gone 5-2, while batting .322 as a team, led by junior Julie Brechtel who is 13-for-25 (.520) with eight RBIs. In the circle, NU has limited opposing hitters to a .146 average while posting a 1.68 ERA. Sophomore right-hander Ashley Hagemann is 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA, two shutouts and one save over the last two weeks.

Scouting the Texas Tech Red Raiders (30-7 Overall, 2-3 Big 12)
Texas Tech, which was picked to finish last in the Big 12, is sixth in the conference standings at 2-3 and is receiving votes in the polls with a 30-7 overall record. Under the direction of first-year head coach Shanon Hays, TTU has already doubled its win total from last season (15) and is just one Big 12 win away from matching its conference victory total from 2009 (3). The Red Raiders are just 5-5 over their last 10 games, but that includes a 2-2 mark against ranked teams.

Texas Tech has been tough at home, posting a 19-2 record. The Huskers and Red Raiders share three common opponents in Auburn, Texas and Wisconsin. NU posted a 2-3 record against those teams, defeating Wisconsin twice and losing to Auburn and Texas (twice). TTU went 1-2, defeating Wisconsin and falling to both Auburn and Texas.

Offensively, the Red Raiders lead the league with a .326 team batting average and lead the Big 12 by averaging 6.4 runs per game. In conference play, Tech is batting just .207 and has scored only nine runs, but three of the Red Raiders’ five league games have come on the road at a top-25 opponent. Emily Bledsoe leads the team with a .407 average and 14 doubles, totals that ranks fourth and third, respectively, in the Big 12. Freshman Mikey Kenney is batting .380 and ranks second in the league with 12 home runs. Overall, six Red Raiders are hitting .325 or higher.

In the circle, Tech’s team ERA of 1.77 ranks second in the Big 12, while the Red Raiders are allowing the fewest runs per game of any Big 12 team and own the second-lowest opponent batting average (.190) in the league. Tech has lowered its ERA to 1.57 in conference-only games. Ashly Jacobs, who saw her streak of 22.2 innings without allowing an earned run snapped at No. 16 Texas on Tuesday, is 11-3 on the year with a 1.02 ERA in 95.2 innings. She is averaging nearly one strikeout per inning and opponents are hitting only .177 against her, while the senior ranks second in the Big 12 in ERA. Behind her, freshman Ashley Brokeshoulder is third in the league with a 1.42 ERA. In 59.1 innings, Brokeshoulder has compiled a 7-3 record. Karlie Merlich is second on the staff in appearances with 16 and is 8-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 56.0 innings, but opponents are hitting just .173 against her. Hillary Phillips (4-0, 3.68 ERA in 26.2 innings) rounds out the Red Raider staff.

Husker History vs. Texas Tech
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 28-6. The Huskers had won 14 straight games in the series until their last trip to Lubbock in 2008. That season, Texas Tech swept Nebraska for the only time in series history as the Red Raiders defeated the Huskers at home for the first time ever. NU owns a 10-2 advantage in Lubbock. Overall, Tech has won three of the last five meetings. In fact, the Red Raiders have won as many games against Nebraska in the past two seasons (3) as they did in the first 24 years of the series combined (3).

Despite NU’s 10-2 record in Lubbock, the games have generally been close. In the last contest at Rocky Johnson Field, Nebraska fell 2-1 in 10 innings after Texas Tech posted its most lopsided victory in series history a day earlier. In 2006, a top-20 Husker squad traveled to Lubbock and escaped with a one-run victory in game one, before needing 10 innings to win in game two. In both games, Nebraska trailed entering the seventh inning.

Nebraska and Texas Tech met in a doubleheader at Bowlin Stadium last season, with the Huskers run-ruling the Red Raiders 8-0 in five innings in game one, before Tech rebounded to win the nightcap, 4-3. In game one, Molly Hill tossed a two-hit shutout and Whitney Barrett drove in a pair of runs. In game two, the Red Raiders broke a 3-3 tie with a single run in the top of the sixth inning to salvage a split.

Quick Hitters
The information below provides a quick glimpse of a few statistics and brief notes of interest as the Huskers travel to Texas Tech this weekend for the first two games of a 10-game stretch against Big 12 opponents:

• The Huskers are 454-218 (.676) all-time in the month of April, including a 2-1 mark this April and an 8-8 record last April.
• NU has outscored its opponents 151-39 in its 22 wins, winning by an average of 5.1 runs per game.
• Nebraska is just 2-6 this season in one-run games, but has won its last two one-run decisions.
• Eight Huskers have homered this season, including three with at least four home runs.
• Nebraska tied the school record by turning three double plays at No. 10 Arizona State on March 14.
• The Nebraska outfield has gone 20 straight games without committing an error, after committing eight errors through the first 21 games of the season.
• Junior right-hander Robin Mackin struck out 10 Creighton Bluejays in only 6.0 innings on Wednesday to give her 901 career strikeouts, including her two seasons at Fresno State. Mackin has struck out at least nine batters in each of her last four starts, despite throwing only one complete game in that stretch.
• The Husker offense has produced at least 10 hits in four of the last six games. Overall, Nebraska has produced 12 double-digit hit totals this season.
• The Huskers are 16-3 this season when leading after six innings of play. In all three losses, Nebraska has led by two runs or more in the seventh inning. During the last decade (2000-09), Nebraska went 288-5 when leading after six innings of play. The Huskers lost only twice when leading by at least two runs in the seventh inning.
• Junior Heidi Foland has already homered 12 times this season, good for eighth place on the Husker season chart. With her next home run, Foland would become the first Husker to homer 13 times in a season since 2000.

Brechtel Catching Fire Offensively
Junior Julie Brechtel has produced at least two hits in five of her last six games, including her only two three-hit games of the season. She has also driven in at least one run in five of the last six games and produced eight total RBIs, while adding three doubles and one triple. During that surge, Brechtel has produced three multi-RBI efforts to push her team-leading total to nine multi-RBI games this season. She has also driven in the winning run in three of Nebraska’s last four victories.

Brechtel’s hot streak began with a 2-for-4 effort that included an RBI and a run scored in game two of a March 30 doubleheader with Drake. She then went 5-for-7 with her first career triple, a walk, four runs scored and three RBIs in a doubleheader with South Dakota State the next day. After going 0-for-3 against 18th-ranked Texas A&M in game one of an April 3 doubleheader, Brechtel went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBIs in a game-two victory over the Aggies. This week, Brechtel went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a career-high two doubles at Creighton on Wednesday.

While she has caught fire at the plate, Brechtel has also remained consistent defensively. She is perfect in 96 chances this season and has not committed an error in 32 straight games, tying her career-long streak of 32 games without an error last season.

Husker Power
Husker Power been on full display this season, as Nebraska has produced impressive extra-base hit totals despite losing six regulars from last year’s lineup. The Huskers lost three of their top five doubles totals and four of their top six home run totals from last season, but have already produced more triples than they did in 2009, while needing only six doubles and three home runs to equal last year’s totals in those categories.

In 39 games, Nebraska has produced a total of 83 extra-base hits this season, including 52 doubles, three triples and 28 home runs. The 83 extra-base hits are just eight shy of last year’s 54-game total and are already more than the 2007 and 2008 season totals. Overall, the Huskers are on pace to finish with 100 extra-base hits for only the second time since 2004, as the 83 extra-base hits are already the 12th-highest total in the 35-year history of the program.

NU is averaging 2.12 extra-base hits per game, a total that would rank third in school history. A Husker team has not averaged 2.00 extra-base hits per game in a full season since 1998 (2.15). Fueling the total has been Nebraska’s propensity for doubles this season.

The Huskers have hit 52 doubles in only 39 games this year, an average of 1.3 doubles per game. Not counting postseason play, NU is on pace to hit 75 doubles, a total that would rank third in school history. Nebraska has not hit 60 doubles in a season since 2003 and hasn’t recorded 70 doubles in a season since 2001.

Individually, junior Heidi Foland already is tied for eighth on the Husker season charts with 12 home runs this season, while sophomore Ashley Guile is tied for 10th with 12 doubles.

Tough at the Top
Nebraska’s primary No. 1-5 hitters in the lineup ? Heidi Foland, Nikki Haget, Ashley Guile, Julie Brechtel and Brooke Thomason ? are batting a combined .365 (201-for-550) with 36 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs, 115 RBIs and 117 runs scored. Collectively, the group boasts a .560 slugging percentage and a .447 on-base percentage. The group is averaging 5.2 hits per game, 2.9 RBIs per contest and 3.0 runs per game. Perhaps even more impressive is that the group consists of two juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.

Husker Hitters Fare Better in Second Weekend of Conference Play
As a team, Nebraska improved its conference-only batting average by .161 after batting .345 against No. 18 Texas A&M in a doubleheader last Saturday. The Huskers hit just .085 in a two-game series at No. 15 Texas in the opening weekend of Big 12 play.

The Huskers pounded out 20 hits in the doubleheader split with 18th-ranked Texas A&M, including 11 hits in game two. The 11 hits in game two marked Nebraska’s first double-digit hit total in a conference matchup in 22 straight games dating back to an 11-hit effort against Missouri on May 3, 2008.

Stat of the Week
Although Nebraska has only played four conference games this season, the Huskers are already halfway to their offensive totals from last season’s entire 18-game league schedule in doubles (8-of-16), home runs (3-of-6) and extra-base hits (11-of-22).

Eleven of Nebraska’s 23 hits in conference play have gone for extra bases. Despite averaging less than six hits per game , the Huskers are still averaging 2.75 extra-base hits per game in conference play. A Nebraska team has not averaged 2.00 extra-base hits per game during a conference season since the 2000 Huskers averaged 2.24 extra-base hits per game in 17 Big 12 games.

Banda Producing Doubles in Big 12 Play
Freshman Gabby Banda has produced three doubles in her first four career Big 12 games. The last time a Husker freshman had more than three doubles in an entire Big 12 season came in 2000, when Amber Burgess doubled six times and Amanda Buchholz produced four doubles. The only other freshmen to produce even three doubles since that season are Banda this year and Jamie Waldecker, who doubled three times in 2004.

Overall, only six Husker freshmen have hit more than three doubles during a conference season since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.

Husker Hurlers Piling up Strikeouts
Nebraska’s pitching staff has struck out 303 batters in only 255.0 innings this season. The Huskers’ 303 strikeouts and average of 8.3 strikeouts per seven innings both rank second in the Big 12 Conference. The 8.3 strikeouts per seven innings are on pace to rank as the second-highest total in school history (8.8 in 2006).

The Huskers have posted 14 double-digit strikeout games this season, including eight times in the last 13 games. During that stretch, Nebraska has struck out 120 batters.

Individually, sophomore right-hander Ashley Hagemann ranks fourth in the league in total strikeouts (149) and third in strikeouts per seven innings (9.0), while junior right-hander Robin Mackin ranks sixth in total strikeouts (129) and fifth in strikeouts per seven innings (8.0).

Hagemann Posts Impressive Week in the Circle
Sophomore right-hander Ashley Hagemann was outstanding in four appearances last week. She posted two shutouts in three starts, including a two-hitter and a one-hitter. In her four appearances, she allowed only 10 hits in 22.2 innings and walked only four. Hagemann added 29 strikeouts and limited opposing hitters to a .135 average.

Against Drake, Hagemann helped Nebraska salvage a split by tossing a two-hit shutout. She added seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter for only the second time in her career and for the first time this season.

Then against South Dakota State, Hagemann fired a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts. She then tossed 1.2 of scoreless relief against 18th-ranked Texas A&M before earning her first career Big 12 start in game two against the Aggies.

Hagemann stretched her career-best scoreless streak to 19.1 innings before allowing her first run of the week against the Aggies. In a winning effort, she tossed a five-hitter and allowed three runs, while striking out seven.

Two-Out Troubles
Nebraska has struggled to close out innings defensively over the last 11 games. During that stretch, 29 of the 36 runs the Huskers have allowed have scored with two outs (81 percent). NU has allowed an average of 3.3 runs per game over that stretch, but with a well-times third out, that average could be as low as 0.6 runs per game.

In a doubleheader with Wisconsin on March 24, all three runs the Badgers scored crossed the plate with two outs. Then, in a pair of losses at 15th-ranked Texas on March 27 and 28, the pitching staff allowed a total of 13 runs, but 11 of those scored with two outs. In game one of a doubleheader with Drake on March 30, the Bulldogs scored all four runs with two outs, including a pair of runs with two outs in the seventh inning to rally from a two-run deficit, and two more in the eighth inning to complete the comeback and post a 4-2 victory. This week, all three runs the Huskers allowed against Creighton scored on a two-out, three-run homer.