Huskers Cruise to 7-1 Win

Houston - Taylor Edwards hit a pair of home runs and Emily Lockman pitched another gem in the circle, as the eighth-ranked Nebraska softball team defeated Sam Houston State 7-1 on Sunday.

Edwards posted the second multi-homer game of her career, slugging two-run homers in the fourth and sixth innings. She finished 2-for-3 with a season-high four RBIs, while extending her hitting streak to a career-best 12 games.

With Edwards providing the offense, Lockman capped a stellar weekend with her third straight victory. Lockman (4-1) tossed 6.0 innings against the Bearkats and picked up the victory, allowing one run on just two hits. On the weekend, Lockman went 3-0 with a 0.30 ERA in 23.0 innings. She posted shutouts in two of her three starts and opponents hit just .103 against her. Sophomore Danica Bishop made her season debut in relief, pitching a scoreless seventh inning while working around a two-out walk.

Behind a strong pitching effort, Nebraska finished 4-1 at the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic to improve to 7-2 on the season. The Huskers dropped one game in Houston despite outscoring their opponents 20-3 on the weekend.

After both teams stranded a pair of runners in the first inning, Nebraska scored twice in the top of the second. A one-out error and a two-out walk to freshman MJ Knighten put Huskers on first and second. Sophomore Kiki Stokes then singled to load the bases for freshman Kat Woolman. In her second career at bat, Woolman hit a shallow fly ball that fell out of the glove of the Bearkat shortstop for a two-run error, as junior Mattie Fowler and Knighten both scored on the play.

The Huskers made it 3-0 with one more run in the top of the third. Sophomore Hailey Decker began the inning with a single, and she stole second. Decker then came home when freshman Austen Urness lined an 0-2 pitch into the right-center field gap for an RBI double.

Sam Houston State answered in the bottom of the third with a leadoff triple and a one-out, RBI double.

Nebraska came right back with two more runs in the top of the fourth, scoring for the third consecutive inning. Stokes led off with her third single of the game before moving to second on a sacrifice from Woolman. Taylor Edwards then hit a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homer that put the Huskers on top 5-1.

Two innings later, Edwards slugged another two-run homer to give NU a 7-1 advantage. Woolman recorded a two-out single - her first career hit - before Edwards' blast to center field closed out the scoring.

In addition to Edwards' big game, Stokes finished 3-for-4 to tie her career high in hits, while Urness was 2-for-4 with a double. The Huskers produced a season-high 12 hits in the win.

Sam Houston State fell to 1-4 with the loss. Shelby Lancaster (0-2) took the loss, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in 5.2 innings.

Nebraska returns to action next weekend with a tough schedule at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif. The Huskers' first four games next weekend all come against teams ranked in the top 25 this week, including No. 1 Tennessee, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 12 UCLA and No. 22 Arizona.

Box Score

 

2014 Nebraska Softball #8 Nebraska vs Sam Houston State Feb 16, 2014 at Houston, Texas (Cougar Stadium)

Nebraska 7 (7-2)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Stokes, Kiki cf.......... 4 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 Edwards, Tatum dp........ 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Woolman, Kat dp......... 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Edwards, Taylor c........ 3 2 2 4 0 0 6 0 2 Decker, Hailey 2b........ 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 Muir, Kylee lf........... 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Arthur, Rachel pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Urness, Austen rf........ 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 Fowler, Mattie 1b........ 4 1 1 0 0 0 7 1 0 Sjulin, Lotte pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Armstrong, Alicia ss..... 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 Knighten, MJ 3b.......... 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 4 Lockman, Emily p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Bishop, Danica p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 33 7 12 5 1 2 21 8 8

Sam Houston State 1 (1-5)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Slater, Jessica lf....... 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Gray, Tayler cf.......... 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 Adams, Hillary dp........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Castillo, Tiffany c...... 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 Allison, Sarah ss........ 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 3 Pelton, Amy rf........... 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 Gonzales, Angelica 1b.... 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 Marino, Hannah 3b........ 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 Kieval, Jennie pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coggins, Alyssa 2b....... 3 1 1 0 0 0 4 1 1 Lancaster, Shelby p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Atkinson, Tayler p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 24 1 2 1 3 5 21 5 5

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 021 202 0 - 7 12 2 Sam Houston State... 001 000 0 - 1 2 2 -----------------------------------------

E - Armstrong(3); Knighten(3); Allison, S.; Gonzales, A.. DP - Huskers 1. LOB - Huskers 8; Bearkats 5. 2B - Urness(3); Gray, T.. 3B - Coggins, A.. HR - Edwards, Tay 2(3). HBP - Edwards, Tay. SH - Woolman(1). SB - Decker(3).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Lockman, Emily...... 6.0 2 1 1 2 5 21 23 82 Bishop, Danica...... 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 3 4 15

Sam Houston State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Lancaster, Shelby... 5.2 9 7 5 1 2 27 30 115 Atkinson, Tayler.... 1.1 3 0 0 0 0 6 6 17

Win - Lockman (4-1). Loss - Lancaster, S (0-2). Save - None. HBP - by Lancaster, S (Edwards, Tay). Pitches/strikes: Lockman 82/53; Bishop 15/10; Lancaster, S 115/76; Atkinson, T. 17/9. Umpires - HP: Chris Nabor 1B: Marty Abeztian 3B: Walter Hill Start: 8:57 am Time: 2:04 Attendance: Game: NEB9