Huskers Hand Houston 4-1 Defeat

Houston - A four-run third inning was enough to hold up for the eighth-ranked Nebraska softball team on Friday, as the Huskers defeated Houston 4-1 at Cougar Stadium.

Although NU's offense scored in only one inning, it gave senior right-hander Tatum Edwards all the support she would need with the big third inning.

After stranding runners at second and third in both the first and second innings, the Huskers scored two quick runs in the third inning after beginning the frame with four consecutive singles. Tatum and Taylor Edwards singled on back-to-back pitches, before sophomore Hailey Decker delivered and RBI single and junior Kylee Muir followed with another RBI single. Leading 2-0, a sacrifice bunt from freshman Austen Urness moved both Decker and Muir into scoring position. A walk to junior Mattie Fowler then loaded the bases before Houston recorded a force out at home for the second out. Freshman MJ Knighten then lined a two-out, two-run single to left field to cap the four-run inning.

That would prove to be the lone runs the Husker would score, as Nebraska recorded just one hit after the third inning. Houston cut into the lead with a two-out rally in the top of the sixth. A leadoff hit batter came around to score when Kendra Cullum produced the Cougars' second hit of the game, an RBI single up the middle. Tatum Edwards then stranded a pair of runners in scoring position when she coaxed an inning-ending ground out.

After working out of a jam in the sixth, Edwards found herself in a bit of trouble again in the top of the seventh. Houston had the tying run at the plate with runners on second and third with two outs, before Edwards posted her seventh strikeout to wrap up the victory. Edwards improved to 3-0 on the season by firing a three-hitter and working around four walks and a pair of hit batters.

Offensively, Knighten produced the first two RBIs of her career as part of a 1-for-3 effort. Decker produced Nebraska's lone multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

With the win, the Huskers improved to 3-1 on the season, while Houston fell to 1-1. Julana Shrum (0-1) took the loss for the Cougars, allowing four runs on eight hits in a complete-game effort.

Nebraska wraps up Friday play at the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic against Army.

Box Score

 

2014 Nebraska Softball Houston at #8 Nebraska Feb 14, 2014 at Houston, Texas (Cougar Stadium)

Houston 1 (1-1)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ ST. PIERRE, Katie cf..... 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 - HERNANDEZ, Selena ss..... 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 - HOLLAND, Kayla 2b........ 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 2 - OUTON, Haley c........... 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 - EDWARDS,Jaime 1b......... 2 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 - DUNN, Alexis pr......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - CULLUM, Kendra lf........ 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 - GERBRACHT, Sydney rf..... 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 - DAVILA, Kris 3b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 - MCKNIGHT, Tiffany ph.... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - OUTON,Diedre dp.......... 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 - SHRUM, Julana p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - Totals................... 24 1 3 1 4 7 18 10 8

Nebraska 4 (4-1)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Stokes, Kiki cf.......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .389 Edwards, Tatum p......... 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 .200 Edwards, Taylor c........ 3 1 1 0 0 0 7 1 0 .500 Decker, Hailey 2b........ 3 0 2 1 0 0 3 3 0 .471 Muir, Kylee lf........... 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 .250 Urness, Austen rf........ 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .250 Fowler, Mattie 1b........ 1 1 0 0 2 0 8 0 0 .231 Armstrong, Alicia ss..... 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 .111 Arthur, Rachel ss....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000 Knighten, MJ 3b.......... 3 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 .385 Lockman, Emily dp........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 23 4 8 4 5 1 21 9 7

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Houston............. 000 001 0 - 1 3 0 Nebraska............ 004 000 X - 4 8 0 -----------------------------------------

DP - Cougars 1. LOB - Cougars 8; Huskers 7. HBP - Hernandez; Outon. SH - Urness(1). SB - St. Pierre; Hernandez.

Houston IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- SHRUM, Julana....... 6.0 8 4 4 5 1 23 29 101 -

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Edwards, Tatum...... 7.0 3 1 1 4 7 24 30 127 1.47

Win - Edwards, Tat (3-0). Loss - Shrum (0-1). Save - None. WP - Shrum; Edwards, Tat(1). HBP - by Edwards, Tat (Outon); by Edwards, Tat (Hernandez). PB - Edwards, Tay(1). Pitches/strikes: Shrum 101/54; Edwards, Tat 127/72. Umpires - Start: 4:34 pm Time: 1:59 Attendance: Game: livegame