NU Posts Sixth Straight Win with 10-2 Victory

Lincoln -  The 21st-ranked Nebraska softball team scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to wrap up a 10-2, five-inning victory over Centenary on Saturday morning at the Sleep Inn Classic.

Freshman Taylor Edwards homered for the fourth straight game to power the offense. She finished the day 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs to pace Nebraska's season-high 13-hit attack. Senior Julie Brechtel was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while junior Ashley Guile was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. The trio, who bat second, third and fourth in the Husker order, finished 7-for-10 with seven RBIs.

Senior Heidi Foland added a pair of RBIs, while juniors Kirby Wright and Madison Drake both picked up their first hit of the season.

In the circle, freshman right-hander Tatum Edwards (1-0) earned her first victory when Nebraska wrapped up the victory in only five innings. Edwards allowed two runs on only one hit in 3.0 innings. Junior right-hander Haley Workman earned the save, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings while allowing only one hit. Workman entered the game with Nebraska leading 3-2 in the top of the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the first, Brechtel drew a one-out walk and scored when Taylor Edwards blasted a 3-2 pitch over the scoreboard in left center for a two-run homer three batters into the game.

One inning later, consecutive one-out singles from sophomore Gabby Banda, junior Nikki Haget and Brechtel loaded the bases with one out. Edwards then brought Banda home with an RBI ground out to increase the Husker lead to 3-0.

Centenary answered with two runs in the top of the third, with the help of two walks, a hitter batter and a run-scoring wild pitch. A walk, a hit batter and a bunt single loaded the bases with one out. Kalyn Harris then hit a fly ball to shallow right field that junior Saige Wright was unable to catch. That allowed the runner from third to score, but Brechtel alertly picked up the dropped ball and threw to second for a force out. Another walk and a wild pitch made the score 3-2.

Nebraska was shut out over the next two innings before exploding in the fifth. The first six batters reached base safely, including five who singled. Sophomore Brooke Thomason made it 4-2 with an RBI single, before Foland followed with a two-run single to increase the lead to 6-2. A walk to Wright and a single from Drake loaded the bases with no outs before the next two batters were retired without a run scoring.

Brechtel then delivered a two-run single up the middle to give Nebraska a six-run lead. Taylor Edwards then scored Haget with an RBI single before a bloop single from Guile scored Brechtel to close out the 10-2 victory.

Lauren Highsmith (0-2) took the loss for Centenary, which dropped to 0-3 on the season. In a complete-game effort, Highsmith allowed 10 runs on 13 hits.

After the win over Centenary, Nebraska (8-1) will look to match its best 10-game start in school history against Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon.

Box Score 2011 Nebraska Softball
Centenary vs #21 Nebraska
Feb 19, 2011 at Denton, Texas (Lovelace Stadium)

Centenary 2 (0-3)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Matak, Bonnie lf......... 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0
Warren, Nicole cf........ 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
Harris, Kalyn 1b......... 3 0 1 1 0 0 5 1 0
Regan, Kelsey c.......... 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 2
Hafer, Phyllis dp........ 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Salvatore, Regina 3b..... 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
King, Jenny rf........... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Boccaccio, Ashley 2b..... 1 1 0 0 1 1 2 3 0
Boggs, Bailey ss......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
Highsmith, Lauren p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals................... 15 2 2 1 4 5 14 6 5

Nebraska 10 (8-1)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Haget, Nikki cf.......... 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 3 2 2 2 1 0 2 2 0
Edwards, Taylor dp....... 4 2 3 4 0 0 0 0 0
Guile, Ashley 1b......... 3 1 2 1 1 0 7 0 2
Edwards, Tatum p......... 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0
Thomason, Brooke rf..... 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Foland, Heidi 3b......... 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 0
Wright, Kirby c.......... 2 1 1 0 1 0 5 1 2
McCann, Morgan pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Drake, Madison lf........ 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Banda, Gabby ss.......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0
Wright, Saige rf......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Workman, Haley p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 27 10 13 10 4 2 15 10 7

Score by Innings R H E
--------------------------------------
Centenary........... 002 00 - 2 2 0
Nebraska............ 210 07 - 10 13 0
--------------------------------------

Note: 2 outs, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.

LOB - Ladies 5; Huskers 7. 2B - Harris; Wright, K.(1). HR - Edwards, Tay(5).
HBP - Matak. SH - Warren; Boggs. SB - Thomason(1).

Centenary IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Highsmith, Lauren... 4.2 13 10 10 4 2 27 31 96

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Edwards, Tatum...... 3.0 1 2 2 3 2 8 14 46
Workman, Haley...... 2.0 1 0 0 1 3 7 8 40

Win - Edwards, Tat (1-0). Loss - Highsmith (0-3). Save - Workman (1).
WP - Highsmith 4; Edwards, Tat(2). HBP - by Edwards, Tat (Matak).
Pitches/strikes: Highsmith 96/59; Edwards, Tat 46/24; Workman 40/22.
Umpires -
Start: 10:00 am Time: 1:35 Attendance:
Game: NU9