Huskers Top No. 20 Oklahoma State, 3-1

Lincoln - The 16th-ranked Nebraska softball team wrapped up the regular season with a 3-1 win over No. 20 Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon at Bowlin Stadium.

The Huskers ended the regular season on a four-game win streak and improved to 39-12 on the season, while finishing their final season in the Big 12 Conference with a 9-9 league record. With the regular season now complete, the Huskers will gather to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show tonight at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

Junior right-hander Ashley Hagemann did not allow an earned run in the win, while improving to 29-11 on the season. Hagemann tossed a four-hitter, allowing one unearned run and striking out six without allowing a walk.

Offensively, junior Nikki Haget finished 1-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, while senior Julie Brechtel was 1-for-3 with a solo home run.

Simone Freeman (9-8) took the loss for Oklahoma State, which fell to 37-17 overall and 8-10 in league play. Freeman allowed three runs on two hits in only 1.1 innings. Sarah Odom pitched well in relief, tossing 4.2 innings of one-hit, shutout relief.

Nebraska opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning on Brechtel's fifth home run of the season, a one-out blast to right center on the first pitch of her at bat.

The Huskers then loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the second on a walk and a pair of hit batters. Haget came to the plate and grounded the first pitch she saw over the pitcher's head and up the middle for a two-run single that scored junior Ashley Guile and sophomore Gabby Banda.

Trailing 3-0, Odom relieved Freeman with runners on first and second and one out and prevented any further damage by recording a pair of strikeouts.

Oklahoma State cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth thanks to a Husker error. A leadoff double and a sacrifice bunt put Alysia Hamilton at third with only one out before Hagemann recorded a strikeout. She then coaxed a ground ball to short, but Banda's throw to first was high, allowing Hamilton to score and trim the lead to 3-1.

Nebraska nearly added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Brooke Thomason began the inning with a single to extend her season-long hitting streak to seven straight games. She moved to second with two outs on a sacrifice bunt Guile. Senior Heidi Foland then hit a deep fly ball to the gap in right center, but OSU right fielder Tamara Brown reached up and made a nice running grab two steps before running into the fence.

Hagemann would not need any further run support, however, as she allowed only one base runner of the final three innings.

Box Score 2011 Nebraska Softball #20 Oklahoma State at #16 Nebraska May 15, 2011 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bowlin Stadium)

Oklahoma State 1 (37-17,8-10 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Gearhart, Mariah 3b...... 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Morrison, Ari dp......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Hamilton, Alysia 2b...... 3 1 2 0 0 0 3 1 0 Ward, Julie 1b........... 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 1 Garcia, Chelsea ss....... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 Brown, Tamara rf......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Boyd, Ashley c........... 3 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 1 Graham, Amy lf........... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Anchors, Kelsey cf....... 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 Freeman, Simone p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Odom, Sarah p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 25 1 4 0 0 6 18 7 4

Nebraska 3 (39-12,9-9 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Haget, Nikki cf.......... 4 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 Brechtel, Julie 2b....... 3 1 1 1 0 2 2 1 0 Edwards, Taylor c........ 2 0 0 0 1 1 8 0 1 Thomason, Brooke rf...... 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 3 Edwards, Tatum dp........ 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 Guile, Ashley 1b......... 1 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 Foland, Heidi 3b......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 Banda, Gabby ss.......... 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Drake, Madison lf........ 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 Hagemann, Ashley p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 Totals................... 19 3 3 3 5 8 21 7 7

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Oklahoma State...... 000 100 0 - 1 4 0 Nebraska............ 120 000 X - 3 3 2 -----------------------------------------

E - Thomason(2); Banda(13). LOB - Cowgirls 4; Huskers 7. 2B - Hamilton, A.(15); Ward, J.(12). HR - Brechtel(5). HBP - Banda; Drake. SH - Ward, J.(6); Guile(1); Foland(2).

Oklahoma State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Freeman, Simone..... 1.1 2 3 3 2 3 5 10 34 Odom, Sarah......... 4.2 1 0 0 3 5 14 18 69

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hagemann, Ashley.... 7.0 4 1 0 0 6 25 26 101

Win - Hagemann (29-11). Loss - Freeman, S. (9-8). Save - None. HBP - by Freeman, S. (Banda); by Freeman, S. (Drake). Pitches/strikes: Freeman, S. 34/21; Odom, S. 69/38; Hagemann 101/71. Umpires - HP: Kevin Killingsworth 2B: Louis Alvarez 3B: Renee Williams Start: 12:02 pm Time: 1:44 Attendance: 377 Game: NU51