Huskers Fall to No. 14 Arizona

Cathedral City, Calif. - A near-perfect pitching performance from Nancy Bowling lifted the 14th-ranked Arizona Wildcats to a 7-0 victory over the No. 11 Nebraska softball team late Friday night in Cathedral City, Calif.

Bowling was perfect through the first six innings - retiring 18 straight batters - as Nebraska's first base runner didn't come until the top of the seventh inning, when sophomore Kiki Stokes beat out an infield single. Senior Taylor Edwards then had a single to left to extend her hitting streak to 14 games. But the two-hit seventh inning didn't plate a run, as the Huskers were shut out for the second time this season.

Bowling (4-0) earned her second shutout in four starts, as 19 of the 21 outs she recorded were either fly outs or strikeouts. In a two-hit shutout, Bowling struck out seven to lead Arizona (12-1) to its 12th victory of the year.

Sophomore right-hander Emily Lockman (4-2) took the loss, despite a season-high eight strikeouts. Four of the six runs Lockman allowed were earned, as she surrendered eight hits and had to work around five walks in 6.0 innings. Classmate Danica Bishop worked the seventh inning and allowed one run on no hits, while walking four.

Arizona (12-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. A leadoff walk and a one-out single put runners on first and second. An infield single then turned into a run courtesy of a Husker error.

Another NU error contributed to a three-run Arizona fourth inning. A leadoff double and a walk both came around to score on a Mo Mercado single that got past junior Kylee Muir in right field. Mercado ended up at third base on the error and she then came home on a ground out to make it 4-0.

Back-to-back leadoff singles and a walk loaded the bases with Wildcats in the top of the sixth. A two-run single then stretched the lead to 6-0 before Lockman prevented any further damage.

Bishop came on to pitch the seventh and quickly recorded an out before walking four straight batters to force in a run. But Bishop battled back and retired the next two hitters, as Arizona left the bases loaded.

Nebraska (8-3) returns to action on Saturday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a 7 p.m. (Central) contest with No. 2 Tennessee.

Box Score

 

2014 Nebraska Softball #14 Arizona vs #11 Nebraska Feb 21, 2014 at Cathedral City, CA (Big League Dreams)

Arizona 7 (12-1)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Wilson, Hallie 1b........ 4 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 1 Suitos, Chelsea lf....... 5 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 3 Fox, Kellie ss........... 2 0 1 0 2 0 5 1 0 Watson, Eva pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Goodacre, Chelsea c...... 4 0 2 0 0 0 7 0 3 Kornfeind, Payton pr.... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rodriguez, Kelsey dp..... 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 Young, Lauren 3b......... 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 Pelayo, Cynthia pr...... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mercado, Mo 2b........... 3 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 Mauga, Katiyana rf....... 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 Rodriguez, Courtney pr.. 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Lavine, Alex cf.......... 3 0 2 3 1 1 2 0 0 Bowling, Nancy p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 29 7 8 5 9 8 21 2 10

Nebraska 0 (8-3)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Stokes, Kiki cf.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Edwards, Taylor c........ 3 0 1 0 0 2 9 0 0 Sjulin, Lotte pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Decker, Hailey 2b........ 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Urness, Austen lf........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Edwards, Tatum dp........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Muir, Kylee rf........... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Fowler, Mattie 1b........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Tyson, Dawna 1b......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 Armstrong, Alicia ss..... 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Knighten, MJ 3b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 Lockman, Emily p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Bishop, Danica p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 23 0 2 0 0 7 21 5 2

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Arizona............. 100 302 1 - 7 8 0 Nebraska............ 000 000 0 - 0 2 2 -----------------------------------------

E - Decker(3); Urness(1). LOB - Wildcats 10; Huskers 2. 2B - Goodacre(2).

Arizona IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Bowling, Nancy...... 7.0 2 0 0 0 7 23 23 87

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Lockman, Emily...... 6.0 8 6 4 5 8 26 31 118 Bishop, Danica...... 1.0 0 1 1 4 0 3 7 32

Win - Bowling (4-0). Loss - Lockman (4-2). Save - None. Pitches/strikes: Bowling 87/61; Lockman 118/65; Bishop 32/12. Umpires - HP: Chris Drumm 1B: Brandon Bluhm 3B: Katrina Kershaw Start: 10:04 pm Time: 2:10 Attendance: Game: livegame