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 2011 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.  

The Loudest Rohrs: From the Texas Tech game Saturday, Heidi Foland's second-inning home run put the Huskers on the board, and Madison Drake's two-run home r in the sixth, her second of the day, capped the scoring in NU's 7-0 win over the Red Raiders.

Stat of the Week: The Huskers' five home runs Saturday against Texas Tech were the most by NU in a game since at least 2001, and was just one shy of the school record set against Creighton in 1996.

The Final Quest
I have been prone to crazy metaphors in this space before, whether it's comparing a tournament in February to the Miracle on Ice, or a season to a punch in the gut, but with a tasty finish. Admittedly, they were both stretches. But on this Finals Week on the UNL campus, it's not too far of a jump to compare the Huskers' last six games to final exams.

This season in the Big 12 has been full of tough assignments and hard lessons. The Huskers have pulled good marks at times, and others gotten a paper back full of red ink. Every time this team has stepped on to the field in league play, it has been challenged.

The toughest thing has been facing the pitching. Between Blaire Luna, Keliani Ricketts and Chelsea Thomas, just to name a few, Nebraska has faced some of the toughest pitching in the country through 12 conference games. The Big 12 could not be more stacked in terms of pitching. Including Nebraska's opponent this weekend, Whitney Canion, at least four of the country's top 10 pitchers are in the Big 12. In the circle, Ashley Hagemann has faced her share of challenges, too. Consider the worst offense in the league statistically, Iowa State (who the Huskers haven't faced yet) is hitting .284 as a team while scoring nearly five runs a game.

But, like most classes, the toughest challenges lay at the end of the year. In the space of nine days, Nebraska will play a Baylor team featuring Whitney Canion, who looks tough after taking a year off with an injury in Waco, then fly back to Nebraska, play Iowa State in Lincoln, hop on a bus, head to Ames and again face a Cyclone team that has been able to do damage against the Huskers the last couple years, then bus back to Lincoln to arrive Thursday night, practice Friday, then play against a tough Oklahoma State that continues to surprise with its consistency and solid play.

It's a daunting challenge. But the good news is that a tough class usually leaves more ready for the final at the end. We'll see how ready the Huskers are starting Saturday in Waco.

Breaking Out of Slumps
It's amazing what one hit can do for a batter. We saw evidence from both Heidi Foland and Madison Drake of that characteristic the past week.

Foland had been in a 2-for-24 slump through her first two at-bats against Missouri. But in the seventh, Foland chopped a single through the middle to score a run and start her climb. The senior from Grand Island was a big part of the Huskers' 9-1 win over South Dakota State in the next game, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Foland's biggest hit came against Texas Tech in the Saturday game, when she laced a home run over the fence in right-center to get the Nebraska on the board in an eventual 7-0 win.

Drake's surge has been even more stark. Drake was 0-for-April, 12 straight at-bats without a hit counting the March 27th game against Oklahoma. But she singled in the second game against SDSU, moving Morgan McCann into scoring position to tally the lone run of the game. Then Drake torched Texas Tech. Madison was four-for-five with two home runs, a double and three RBI.

One of the most damaging things for a hitter to do is to become tense at the plate. If a hitter goes into a slump, they put more pressure themselves to get a hit to break out of that slump, making the hitter more tense and making it tougher to get a hit. Sometimes, one hit is all it takes to get a hitter going again, and that seems to be the case with Foland and Drake.

Bracketology
We're down to the last two weeks of the season in the Big 12, but for most of the conferences in the country, this weekend concludes regular-season play as next week will see conference tournaments in almost every other league (the Big 12 joins the Big Ten and Pac-10 in not having a tournament this year).

One thing to keep an eye on: The tightly packed Pac-10. How the last two weeks of the league go will have a huge effect on how regional sites are distributed, and perhaps more directly relevant for Nebraska, which teams are shipped out as No. 1 seeds. Coming into this weekend, Arizona State leads the conference with an 11-3 record, two games ahead of second-place Cal. But from there, it's utter chaos: Entering this weekend, there is a five-way tie for third at 7-7. Oregon State rounds out the conference at 1-13.

Odds are good that at least three of the seven Pac-10 qualifiers will host a regional, but remember, Cal's facility isn't good enough to host, so they will be shipped out as a No. 1 seed. Arizona State will almost certainly host a regional, making Arizona's chance of hosting one fairly slim. UCLA has the weakest overall record of those five teams in the tie for third, but will almost certainly host. The quality of the smaller-conference schools in Southern California forces the committee to put a regional in Westwood most years, including this year. The odds are good that Stanford will be hosting as a No. 1 seed in Palo Alto, with more California teams needing regional destinations. Washington and Oregon both could host a regional, but both are vulnerable to being sent out, as there aren't a lot of teams that could bus to either site.

One team that could help that bid is 2011 NU opponent Portland State. Coached by former Husker Tobin Echo-Hawk, the Vikings lead their division in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference, with San Diego leading the other division. If the Vikings were to win the conference (the PCSC uses a series between the division winners to crown a champion), that would leave a team that could bus to either Seattle or Eugene and bolster either bid tremendously. But if the Vikings don't make it, both the Ducks and Huskies could hit the road.

Right now, figure on Cal, Arizona and either Washington or Oregon but perhaps both hitting the road as No. 1 seeds out of the Pac-10. The Huskers have seen both Cal and Washington at Bowlin Stadium as No. 1 seeds in regionals in recent years, and may again see one of those two teams at a regional.

Weekend Warmup: Baylor
Nebraska's final road conference series of the year begins Saturday at Getterman Stadium, as the Huskers take on No. 20 Baylor . The Lady Bears are 37-12 overall and 8-7 in the Big 12, good for fifth place, a half-game ahead of Oklahoma. Coming into the year, much of the buzz around Baylor centered around the return of 2009 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Whitney Canion, who missed almost all of 2010 with an injury. She's not disappointed in her return, pitching to a 21-9 record with a 1.35 ERA in 27 starts. She's been almost as good in conference play, with a 1.88 ERA in 13 starts. The Bears have been solid offensively, hitting .309 in Big 12 play, good for second, while scoring 4.4 runs a game in league play. Dani Leal paces the Baylor offense with a .365 average with 14 home runs and 37 RBI. As usual, Baylor has been aggressive on the basepaths, averaging two stolen bases a game. Kathy Shelton leads the stolen-base attack with 30 steals this year, 10 of which coming in Big 12 play. The Bears split with Iowa State last weekend, winning 10-1 on Sunday after dropping the first game, 6-4.

That's all for now...we'll talk to you Saturday from Waco!

Husker Power!

Nate