Husker Winning Streak Snapped at 11

Madison, Wis. - After having its winning streak snapped in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader, Wisconsin turned the tables on the 19th-ranked Nebraska softball team in game two, snapping the Huskers' 11-game win streak with a 6-4 victory.

Nebraska (37-14) also lost its 12-game conference win streak, but the Huskers remained in second place in the Big Ten standings with a 15-5 league record. Wisconsin won for the 14th time in 15 games, improving to 31-6 overall and 13-6 in conference action.

Senior right-hander Tatum Edwards (19-10) took the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits in a complete-game effort. Edwards added eight strikeouts, while her personal five-game win streak and three-game shutout streak were both snapped.

The Badgers grabbed a 1-0 lead with a two-out, RBI double in the bottom of the first inning, snapping Nebraska's scoreless streak at 41.1 innings.

The Huskers answered in the top of the second. Freshman MJ Knighten led off the frame with a game-tying solo home run, before junior Kylee Muir and sophomore Kiki Stokes drew back-to-back walks. Freshman Kat Woolman then produced an RBI single to give Nebraska a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Dawna Tyson followed with a single to load the bases with no outs for the top of the order. But the top three Husker hitters, who combined for three home runs and 12 RBIs in game one, were retired without scoring Stokes from third.

The Badgers then loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the second. Mary Massei put Wisconsin back on top with a two-run double before Nebraska recorded the second out. An intentional walk then re-loaded the bases before another walk forced in a run to give Wisconsin a 4-2 lead.

Nebraska came back to tie the game in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Hailey Decker began the inning with a single before Tatum Edwards crushed a game-tying two-run homer to left. The Huskers had a chance to take the lead with runners at second and third with two outs, before a pop out ended the frame.

The missed opportunity to tack on more runs cost the Huskers once again in the bottom of the frame when an error and a two-run homer gave Wisconsin a 6-4 lead.

Nebraska stranded a pair of one-out runners in the top of the sixth, as the Huskers left 10 runners on base in the game. NU was just 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position in the game, although Wisconsin was only 1-for-6 in similar situations.

The Huskers finished with 10 hits in the game, including hits from eight different players. Decker finished 2-for-4, as did Stokes. Tatum Edwards hit her 13th home run of the season, while Knighten slugged her fifth homer.

Following a 4-1 road trip, Nebraska returns home this weekend to close out the regular season with a three-game series against the Indiana Hoosiers Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Bowlin Stadium.

Box Score

 

2014 Nebraska Softball #19 Nebraska at Wisconsin (Game 2) Apr 30, 2014 at Madison, Wis. (Goodman Diamond)

Nebraska 4 (37-14,15-5 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Edwards, Taylor c........ 4 0 1 0 0 0 8 1 1 Decker, Hailey 2b........ 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 Edwards, Tatum p......... 3 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 Urness, Austen dp........ 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 Knighten, MJ 3b.......... 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 Muir, Kylee rf........... 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Stokes, Kiki cf.......... 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 Woolman, Kat lf.......... 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Tyson, Dawna 1b.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 Sjulin, Lotte pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Armstrong, Alicia ss..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 Totals................... 30 4 10 4 4 3 18 7 10

Wisconsin 6 (31-16,13-6 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Massei,Mary lf........... 4 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 Mersch,Marissa dp........ 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Mueller,Michelle 3b...... 3 1 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 Gonzalez, Marisa pr..... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Miller, Chloe c.......... 3 1 2 4 1 1 6 0 3 Peace,Stephanie 1b....... 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 4 Van Zeeland, Ashley ss... 3 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 Christner, Katie rf...... 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Novak, Sara 2b........... 3 0 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 Warren, Caitlyn pr...... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Van Abel,Maria cf........ 2 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 Stewart, Taylor-Paig p... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals................... 27 6 9 6 3 8 21 3 7

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 020 020 0 - 4 10 2 Wisconsin........... 130 020 X - 6 9 1 -----------------------------------------

E - Knighten(14); Armstrong(11); Van Zeeland(6). DP - Badgers 1. LOB - Huskers 10; Badgers 7. 2B - Massei(15); Miller, C(9). HR - Edwards, Tat(13); Knighten(5); Miller, C(9). HBP - Mersch. SH - Woolman(7). SB - Knighten(4); Muir(2); Warren(2). CS - Van Abel(2).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Edwards, Tatum...... 6.0 9 6 5 3 8 27 31 138

Wisconsin IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Stewart, Taylor-Paig 7.0 10 4 4 4 3 30 35 136

Win - Stewart (13-5). Loss - Edwards, Tat (19-10). Save - None. WP - Stewart(4). HBP - by Edwards, Tat (Mersch). Pitches/strikes: Edwards, Tat 138/81; Stewart 136/78. Umpires - HP: Eric Mandley 1B: Bob Selz 3B: Naomi Erdahl Start: 3:20 pm Time: 2:32 Attendance: Game: livegame