Rohr of the Crowd - May 4

Rohr of the Crowd is the official blog of Nate Rohr, the play-by-play announcer for Husker softball. Nate has called Nebraska softball games since 2004 and will call every game of the 2010 season. Nate is not employed by the University of Nebraska and the opinions and content of this blog are his own. Look for new blog entries weekly.

Big, Big Series to Close the Year

The Loudest Roars
From the Creighton game, Julie Brechtel's two-run double
gives the Huskers a 2-0 lead in the first and Brooke Thomason's
two-run double in the second builds the lead to 6-0.

Even with long odds for an at-large berth to the NCAA Softball regionals, Nebraska's series this weekend with No. 15 Missouri is still a very big one. At the very least, the Huskers need to have some success against the Tigers this weekend to build confidence heading into the Big 12 Tournament. The Huskers have been shut out in the last four Big 12 games and haven't scored a run in their last 25 innings of league competition. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The good news is that, despite being shut out Sunday in Stillwater, Nebraska was assembling better at-bats, showing more aggressiveness and making better contact. That should help the Huskers this weekend against Missouri. In Big 12 play, the Tigers' pitching staff averages just over two walks a game (third-fewest) and just over four strikeouts a game (third-fewest). Translation: Missouri's pitching staff is generally around the strike zone and allows hitters to put the ball in play.

 

Meanwhile, the Husker pitching staff needs to limit their walks. The Tigers are potent at the plate, as their .526 slugging percentage in Big 12 play is second-highest in the league, while Mizzou is second in the conference with 22 stolen bases in league play. The impact of any baserunner Missouri gets is amplfied by its ability to steal bases to get the runner into scoring position and by its ability to hit for power, allowing MU to score routinely on just two hits. Therefore, it's on the Husker pitchers to throw strikes, work from ahead and make the Tigers earn every baserunner, because Missouri has the ability to make every baserunner they get a dangerous one.

 

Both teams are fighting for postseason positioning. Missouri is trying to work themselves into a position to host a regional for the second straight year, and their No. 15 ranking would suggest that position isn't necessarily guaranteed right now. Meanwhile, Nebraska can still push into an at-large bid with a pair of wins this weekend. Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 2003, all five of the Big 12 teams with an 8-10 league record made it into the regional field. A sweep, and the Huskers get to eight wins. Anything less, and Nebraska will likely need to win the Big 12 Tournament to qualify for regionals.

 

With so much at stake for both teams, it should be an exciting series.

 

Drake to the Circle
It was a bit of deja vu for me when Madison Drake came on to pitch in the fourth inning for Nebraska against Oklahoma State Sunday in Stillwater. Drake, who pitched for Lincoln Southwest in high school, had worked exclusively in the outfield and as a pinch runner for Nebraska until recently. This week, she was warming up in the bullpen Wednesday against Creighton, but did not see action. Saturday, she grabbed a ball and warmed up but did not enter the game against the Cowgirls. It wasn't until Sunday in the fourth inning that she made her entrance to the circle.

 

It reminded me a lot of Kelli Linke's debut in the circle against Oklahoma State. Linke came on in game two of the NU/OSU series in late April, 2008, and pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up just one hit. Likewise, Drake came on with two runners on and one out in the fourth and hit one batter. One of the inherited runners scored on an NU error, but Drake did a good job in limiting the middle third of the Cowgirls order to just that, and limiting the damage to just that one additional run.

 

Weekly Warmup: Missouri
With finals week on the UNL campus, the Huskers will not play again until Saturday, when they square off with No. 15 Missouri in the regular season finale. Entering their doubleheader Wednesday at Western Illinois, the Tigers are 41-9, hitting the 40-win plateau for the fourth straight year. The Tigers are 10-6 in the Big 12 after sweeping Baylor this weekend in Columbia. Offensively, Missouri is paced by All-American outfielder Rhea Taylor, who leads the Big 12 with a .460 average on the year and is on currently on a 16-game hitting streak entering this week. Surprisingly, Taylor is second in the Big 12 in slugging percentage behind Texas A&M's Meagan May. Taylor has slugged .741 with eight doubles, five triples and seven home runs. Taylor also leads the conference with 33 stolen bases. Freshman Jenna Marston has made an immediate impact, hitting .390 with four home runs, 47 RBI (good for fourth in the Big 12), and 15 doubles. Missouri's pitching depth was hurt by the graduation of Stacey Delaney (16-3, 1.32 ERA in 2009) and the loss due to injury of Chelsea Thomas, who was 16-7 with 1.65 ERA last year. Still, the Tigers have a deep staff, and Kristin Nottlemann, who is 16-6 with a 2.15 ERA, has stepped into the ace role for Mizzou. Behind her, Jana Hainey and Lindsay Mueller have also picked up innings for Missouri.

 

That's all for now...we'll talk to you Saturday from Bowlin Stadium...

 

Husker Power!

Nate