Rohr of the Crowd - April 5, 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. 

The Loudest Roars: From Sunday's win at Minnesota, Mattie Fowler's single in the top of the eighth to give NU the lead, and Ashley Hagemann closes the series with a strikeout of Bree Blanchette, her 11th strikeout of the game.

Stat of the Week: Nebraska has scored at least five runs in each of its last seven games.

Welcome to the Big Ten
One of the challenges for Nebraska in its move to the Big Ten is understanding that conference play in any conference will always be very, very tough, and any team can beat another in the conference.

It's easy to take Big Ten softball lightly. Only three teams made it to regionals from the conference last year, and only one league team is ranked (though three others are receiving votes in the two national polls this week). But Saturday in Minneapolis, the Huskers were reminded rather sternly that they have to bring it every day in Big Ten play. Nebraska committed six errors in two games, walked 15 Gopher batters against 15 strikeouts, and allowed a pesky Minnesota team more than its share of opportunities. The Golden Gophers took advantage, winning both games.

As disappointing as Saturday was, it was encouraging to see the Huskers return on Sunday, play error free ball, strikeout nearly twice as many batters as they walked (though six walks are still too many). Trailing 3-2 through four innings, Nebraska fought back, overcame Minnesota tying the game on a homer in the sixth, and eventually earned a 5-4 victory in the final game of the three-game series.

The challenge now is to bring that fight, that drive, to every single conference game. Time is running out for this team to match the lofty expectations that were in place at the beginning of the year. But with a strong finish, this team can still reach regionals, perhaps even host as a No. 2. Last year, three top-16 national seeds fell in regionals. Job one at this point for the Huskers is just to make it to regionals, and then ride fate from there. If there is to be a postseason in 2012 for Husker Softball, Sunday's effort will a big first step toward getting them there.

Cowles Stadium: Not Bad
Last weekend was the Huskers' first game at a Big Ten site since the 2006 regionals and the first regular-season game for Nebraska at a Big Ten site in over 20 years. This year's schedule means we'll be hitting three new ballparks this season, with Iowa's facility being the only one we've visited recently.

I was pleasantly surprised with our first Big Ten site, Cowles Stadium in Minneapolis. There were chair-back seats from dugout to dugout, and a decent amount of bleachers behind the dugouts. The press box would rank in the top half of the Big 12, and the perspective reminded me of our perch at Getterman Stadium in Waco. On the negative side, the all-wood walls in the outfield are a safety hazard and the driveway into the park is a very worn dirt road.

But all in all, I was happy with Cowles Stadium. It would definitely fall into the top half of the Big 12 for me. We'll see how the rest of the facilities stack up.

Weekly Warmup: Illinois and Creighton
The Huskers square off with Illinois in a three-game series starting with a doubleheader Friday at Bowlin Stadium. The Fighting Illini fell to 16-15 on the season after a 1-0 loss to Illinois State Wednesday. Illinois' offense has really struggled in the last four games, scoring a combined three runs. Absent from all of those games has been Kelley Wudel, who is nursing a hand injury. Before going down because of injury, Wudel had built a six-game hitting streak, hitting 10-for-22 in those six games. Another huge absence this year for the Illini: All-American second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz, who hit .425 with 21 stolen bases in her senior season last year. As a result of those absences, Illinois is scoring fewer than three runs a game while hitting .239 as a team. Meredith Hackett, a senior first baseman who earned All-America honors two years ago, leads the Illini offense by hitting .309 with seven of Illinois' 10 home runs this season. Sophomore outfielder Alex Booker is having a breakout season, leading the Illini by hitting .314. But four Illinois regulars are hitting lower than .220, suggesting a thin Illini lineup. The Orange and Blue has pitched fairly well, with a team ERA of 2.58. Pepper Gay is the ace, making 18 starts while going 11-7 with a 1.74 ERA. She's allowed more than two earned runs in only four of 18 starts. Jackie Guy has been the No. 2 option in the circle, pitching to a 5-8 record with a 3.73 ERA. The Illini defense has been shaky all season, allowing 41 unearned runs in 31 games.

Nebraska's two-game series with Creighton starts Wednesday at Bowlin Stadium. The Bluejays are 17-15-1 after a 6-3 loss to Iowa State in the midweek. The Jays are 0-2-1 in their last three games after a six-game winning streak. Creighton plays three games at Wichita State this weekend. The Bluejays' offense has been solid, averaging nearly six runs a game while hitting .302 as a team and hitting 27 home runs in 33 games. Six regulars are hitting .295 or better, led by freshman Allie Matthewson, who is hitting .369 with two homers, 16 RBI and five doubles. Amy Baker is right behind Matthewson, hitting .366 with six home runs and 39 RBI. Alexis Cantu has been a valuable addition to the roster after transferring from Texas-Arlington, hitting .301 while tying Baker for the team lead with six homers. In the circle, the Jays have tried five different pitchers, with Becca Changstrom getting the bulk of the work. Changstrom is 9-8 with a 2.98 ERA in 16 starts and 94 innings pitched. She's struck out 94 and walked 38. Cantu has drawn 10 starts in the circle, pitching to a 5-2 record with a 4.04 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched. CU's defense has been uncharacteristically shaky, as opponents have tallied 31 unearned runs in 33 games against Creighton.

That's all for now...talk to you Friday from Bowlin Stadium...

Go Big Red!

Nate