Huskers Lose Third Straight

College Station, Texas - A pair of errors and missed opportunities offensively cost the 24th-ranked Nebraska softball team in a 4-1 loss at No. 21 Texas A&M Saturday night at the Aggie Softball Complex.

Single errors in the first and second innings led to a pair of unearned runs that gave Texas A&M a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile offensively for NU, the Huskers left the bases loaded in the first inning and stranded seven on the game.

With the loss Nebraska fell to 10-10 on the season and dropped its third straight game, losing three in a row for the first time since May of 2010. Senior right-hander Ashley Hagemann suffered her third straight loss, falling to 6-8 on the year. In a solid complete-game effort, Hagemann allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits. She struck out only four but did not walk a batter after walking at least four batters in seven of her last eight starts.

After Nebraska stranded the bases loaded in the top of the first, a Husker error allowed Texas A&M to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. With two outs, All-American Meagan May hit a high pop up on the infield that fell out of the glove of junior second baseman Courtney Breault, and Brittany Walker scored from first on the error. 

Another Husker error opened the door for Texas A&M to extend its lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second. A one-out single was followed by a ground ball to junior Gabby Banda at third base. Banda fielded the ball cleanly but threw wildly to second base, giving Texas A&M runners at first and third. The run then came home on a sacrifice fly.

The Aggies then earned two more runs in the fourth on a two-run home run from Mel Dumezich that hit off the top of the wall before bouncing over the fence.

The Huskers got a run back in the top of the fifth. Senior Nikki Haget reached on a two-out walk that was followed by an RBI double to right center from Taylor Edwards.

But that was all the Huskers could manage against Dumezich, the 2011 All-American who threw a complete-game three-hitter against the Huskers. After Nebraska plated its lone run in the top of the fifth, Dumezich wrapped up the victory by retiring the final seven Huskers.

Nebraska wraps up play at the Texas A&M Invitational on Sunday at 10 a.m. against Texas State.

Box Score 2012 Nebraska Softball #24 Nebraska at #21 Texas A&M Mar 03, 2012 at College Station, TX (Aggie Softball Cmpx)

Nebraska 1 (10-10)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Edwards, Tatum dp/1b..... 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 1 Haget, Nikki cf.......... 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Edwards, Taylor c........ 3 0 1 1 0 1 4 1 0 Guile, Ashley 1b/dp...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Workman, Haley pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Southworth, Megan dp.... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fowler, Mattie ss........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 2 Banda, Gabby 3b.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 Drake, Madison lf........ 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 Thomason, Brooke rf...... 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 Breault, Courtney 2b..... 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 Bettiol, Jordan ph...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hagemann, Ashley p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Totals................... 23 1 3 1 3 6 18 7 7

Texas A&M 4 (13-7)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Albus, Emily lf.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 Walker, Brittany ss...... 3 1 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 Villarreal, Natalie 2b... 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 May, Meagan c............ 3 0 1 0 0 1 5 1 3 Rayburn, Kaydee pr...... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shannon, Sydney rf....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tysarczyk, Cassie rf.... 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Dumezich, Mel p.......... 3 2 2 2 0 1 1 2 0 Morgan, Nicole 1b........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 Garza, Amber 3b.......... 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 Tyler, Taran ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Orsak, Kelsea cf......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Sisk, Lindsey dp......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 24 4 7 3 0 4 21 9 4

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 000 010 0 - 1 3 3 Texas A&M........... 110 200 X - 4 7 0 -----------------------------------------

E - Banda(7); Breault 2(3). LOB - Huskers 7; Aggies 4. 2B - Edwards, Tay(7); Banda(3). HR - Dumezich. HBP - Guile; Southworth. SH - Breault(2); Shannon. SF - Garza. SB - Haget(3). CS - Walker.

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Hagemann, Ashley.... 6.0 7 4 2 0 4 24 26 106

Texas A&M IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Dumezich, Mel....... 7.0 3 1 1 3 6 23 29 113

Win - Dumezich (8-4). Loss - Hagemann (6-8). Save - None. HBP - by Dumezich (Guile); by Dumezich (Southworth). Pitches/strikes: Hagemann 106/73; Dumezich 113/67. Umpires - HP: Lenny Fly 1B: Carroll Abbey 3B: Perry Owens Start: 5:24 pm Time: 1:50 Attendance: Game: NEB20