Rohr of the Crowd - Feb. 15, 2012

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 2012 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.  

Stat of the Week: The Huskers scored 10 runs in three straight games (Arizona, Idaho State and Cal St-Northridge). That was the first time the Huskers scored 10 or more in three straight games since the first three games of the 2009 season at the UNI Dome Tournament, when NU posted 10 runs against Dayton, and 11 each against North Dakota and South Dakota State.

The Loudest Roars: Easy choice for the two highlights we'll share with you from the last week. They're both from the Arizona game. First, Gabby Banda's grand slam to pull the Huskers within one in the bottom of the fourth. Then, Courtney Breault's single through the right side to drive in the winning run in the Huskers' 11-10 triumph over No. 8 Arizona.

The Most Exciting Game I've Ever Seen
In the top of the fourth inning Friday night against No. 8 Arizona, the last thing on my mind was most exciting Husker softball games I've ever seen. After a hit-by-pitch of Jessica Spigner with the bases loaded pushed the Wildcats' lead to 6-0, we began to worry about a potential run-rule loss for the Huskers. Worse, Lini Koria strode to the plate, already 2-for-2 with two home runs.

But then Ashley Hagemann struck out Koria to end the inning and at least force Arizona to score two in the fifth to get the needed eight-run margin on Nebraska, and the Huskers would have an opportunity to chip into the deficit in the bottom of the fourth. All of a sudden, All-American pitcher Kenzie Fowler lost her control. She hit Taylor Edwards with the first pitch of the inning, walked Ashley Guile, then gave up a single to Tatum Edwards to load the bases. Fowler fell behind Brooke Thomason 3-0, notched a strike, but then walked her to drive in a run. Still, a comeback seemed out of reach down five with the bottom of the order coming up. It seemed even farther away when Fowler rebounded to strike out Courtney Breault looking. But then Gabby Banda stepped in. It's notable that, while struggling in the field this weekend, Banda hit about as well as she's hit at Nebraska over a weekend, going 6-for-18 while drawing four walks in the final game of the weekend against Georgia Tech. But as she stepped to the plate in the fourth with the bases loaded and one out, she was still looking for her first hit of the year. As usual, she turned in a tough at-bat and worked the count full. Then, after fouling off the first 3-2 pitch, she blasted a line drive over the centerfield fence for a grand slam, and the Huskers were back in the game.

Momentum immediately belonged to Nebraska. In the top of the fifth, Hagemann overcame a leadoff walk and retired the next three batters. The first three hitters for NU in the bottom of the inning reached base, and Taylor Edwards scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at six. Hagemann retired the Cats in order in the sixth to send the NU lineup back out on the field. After Nikki Haget reached on an error and was bunted to second by Mattie Fowler, a double for Taylor Edwards moved Haget to third. Ashley Guile singled through the right side to give the Huskers the lead for the first time, and NU tacked on another run when Breault singled home Guile to make it 9-6.

At this point, the win would have been nice, an important and notable win in Husker history and fairly exciting. But then the seventh inning happened. With one out, Koria blasted her third homer of the game. After a walk, a fielder's choice, an error and an infield single, the bases were loaded for freshman Hallie Wilson. She lashed a double to left, just in front of a diving Tatum Edwards, and Arizona surged ahead 10-9. Chelsea Suitos flied out to center, but the damage was done, and with Shelby Babcock just into the game and making her first turn through the order, chances of another comeback seemed slim.

The Huskers got a leadoff walk from Nikki Haget, but when she was thrown out at second on a Mattie Fowler bunt on a questionable (at best) call at second base, the odds of a comeback dipped more. But then the Huskers got back-to-back infield singles from Taylor Edwards and Ashley Guile, two players not known for their speed. Tatum Edwards atoned (as much as she needed to, which wasn't much) for not getting to the Wilson ball earlier in the inning by hitting a single through the left side to tie the game at 10. Two batters later, Courtney Breault stepped to the plate and immediately fell down in the count 0-2. She took a ball. Then, Breault looped a single through the right side to give the Huskers an 11-10 victory that I flat-out hadn't seen coming, and had given up on with the score 6-0 in the fourth.

It's one that goes into the personal highlight reel immediately, and may be the most exciting Nebraska softball game I've seen. The walk-off victory against Texas A&M to clinch the conference championship in 2004 may have been more important, the win last year over No. 1 Florida may have been a better-played game by both sides, but in terms of sheer excitement and mood swings, this one wins for me. What's more, there are several encouraging signs from the game. Hagemann didn't pitch her best, but getting Koria in the fourth and keeping Arizona at six runs speaks to her ability to put in the past earlier struggles and fight. Against an All-American pitcher, Nebraska racked up nine runs, and against one of the flagship programs of college softball, they tallied 11. The Huskers got contributions from virtually everyone in the order, as eight of the nine hitters for NU reached base, and the ninth, Mattie Fowler, was asked to bunt three of her five plate appearances. In the crucial moment that vaulted Nebraska back into the game, the No. 8 hitter, Banda, came through, another sign of this lineup's depth. And, most importantly, whether they were down six runs in the fourth or had fallen back behind again after a furious comeback, the Huskers never stopped fighting.

It's a bright spot in a mixed bag of a weekend. But at the very least, it's a exciting highlight, against one of the historic softball programs in college softball, to boot.

Patience, patience, patience
With eight starters back, including an ace pitcher, an All-American No. 3 hitter and catcher and a school-record six players with all-conference honors on their resumes, it was easy to get caught up in the hype and expect a fast start from the 2012 Huskers. I'm guilty as charged.

But after a weekend that saw both huge highs and Grand Canyon-level lows for Nebraska, I have to remind myself that patience is usually in order when it comes to early-season results. Look back on the last few "banner" years for Nebraska (either conference championship or WCWS). In 2004, the Huskers played to a 2-3 record in Las Vegas, including a 1-0 loss to Oregon State and a run-rule loss to UCLA. In fact, after a 3-0 loss to Kansas at a tournament in Lawrence, Nebraska held a 9-8 record. But from there, NU won its next seven games, nine of its next 10, 21 of its next 24, and 27 of its next 31 en route to locking up the Big 12 championship.

In 2002, Nebraska sat 6-5 after a loss to Illinois-Chicago in its first game at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The Huskers won their next 23 games and went on to play in the WCWS. The year before, the Huskers sputtered even worse at the beginning, stumbling to a 6-7 start after an extra-inning loss to Oklahoma at a tournament. After a loss to Washington, the Huskers were 10-9. But then, NU went on an 18-game winning streak and won 35 of its next 36 games on its way to the Big 12 championship.

You get the idea. This isn't college football. You can't torpedo your chances for a national championship or a top-10 finish in the first weekend of the season. Were there troubling signs? Of course. Ashley Hagemann struggled mightly. The Husker defense was shoddy. No team can overcome nine errors in two games.

But there's time to work through all these issues. There's added urgency to work through them this weekend, because the next two weekends look so daunting, but there is time to fix all that plagued Nebraska in three losses at the Kajikawa.

Kajikawa Craziness
It's early in the season, so teams aren't settled into roles yet, few teams are totally sure of their No. 2 pitcher, and teams are still trying to settle on starting infields. Still, it was notable that of the 75 games, 17 were upsets, ranging from the minor "only by ranking" upsets (see the Georgia Tech win over Nebraska), to the moderate (Nebraska over Arizona), to the absolutely shocking (McNeese State over No. 1 Arizona State, 3-1).

For whatever reason, the games were surprisingly back and forth. I just think of the last three games on Nebraska's field Friday night. Immediately before Nebraska's two games there, No. 9 Stanford and No. 17 Texas A&M seesawed back-and-forth, and the Aggies captured the 10-9 win. Then, Nebraska followed with a come-from-behind 11-10 win over No. 8 Arizona. But even after that, the Huskers sputtered at the start, falling down 4-0 to Idaho State before eventually surging to a 12-4 run-rule victory.

The bottom line is this: There were three undefeated teams in the tournament. Most fans wouldn't be surprised that No. 3 Cal and No. 12 Washington made it through the weekend unbeaten. But New Mexico going undefeated, with the Lobos knocking off No. 11 Oregon, was a huge surprise. Just another reminder that this time of year, things can get weird.

Weekend Warmup: Troy Cox Classic, Las Cruces, N.M.
The Huskers head back to a place where they've been quite a bit lately: Las Cruces, N.M., as they take on four teams at the Troy Cox Classic. It starts Friday afternoon with a game against Colorado State. The Rams finished 2-3 last weekend at the Texas Classic in Austin, with two shutout losses to Texas and a 13-10 loss to Cal St Fullerton. CSU averaged just under six runs a game and hit .308 as a team. Ashlie Ortega, a transfer from Missouri, led the team by hitting 8-for-18 with three RBI and four extra-base hits. But, as was the case last year, pitching remained an issue. The Rams used five different pitchers (and four different starters), but still pitched a team ERA of 8.19, after a 2011 season in which Colorado State's team ERA FOR THE SEASON (capital letters intended) was an astonishing 9.97.

The Huskers will match up with host New Mexico State twice in Las Cruces. The Aggies have darted to a 5-0 start, and not surprisingly, their offense has been the driving factor in their hot start. NMSU run-ruled rival UTEP 13-3 on Tuesday night, with Tiare Jennings closing the game with a grand slam. Jennings, filling the sizable shoes of the departed Hoku Nohara, is 9-for-16 to start the year with three homers and 15 RBI. As a team, New Mexico State is hitting a blistering .405. The pitching hasn't been as strong, with Alex Newman getting the bulk of the innings (4-0, 4.14 ERA).

Nebraska takes on Weber State Saturday. The Wildcats captured their first two games of the season, but then dropped their last three, including a 12-2 run-rule loss to Nebraska's old conference rival, No. 5 Oklahoma, and an 8-0 loss to Nebraska's new conference foe, Minnesota. Offense was the issue in Las Vegas, as WSU averaged under four runs a game in the first weekend of the year. The big reason for Weber State's struggles on offense: strikeouts. The Wildcats struck out 35 times against six walks. A lack of strikeouts was the issue for Weber State pitching, as Cats' pitchers struck out just 19 against 21 walks. The defense didn't sparkle in Vegas either, as the Wildcats committed 16 errrors.

The Huskers also face Stephen F. Austin Saturday. The Ladyjacks opened their season 1-4 entering Wednesday's home opener against Houston Baptist, but took Florida State to extra innings. On the other hand, Stephen F. Austin was run-ruled twice by Ole Miss. The Ladyjacks offense struggled in the first weekend in Tallahassee, scoring just 10 runs in five games while hitting .207. Meanwhile, the Ladyjacks surrendered 30 runs in five games.

That's all for now...we'll talk to you Friday afternoon in Las Cruces!

Go Big Red!

Nate