Husker Rally Falls Short vs. No. 12 Minnesota

Nebraska  7 8 minnesota
Box Score

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Minnesota	1	2	1	0	0	2	1		8	6	1
Nebraska	0	0	1	1	2	2	1		7	9	1

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Groenewegen (18-2)	5.0	5	4	4	4	4
L - E. Lockman (9-8)	6.0	6	8	7	3	3
S - Anderson (2)	2.0	0	0	0	0	0

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	HR
MJ Knighten	4	1	2	3	1	1
Dawna Tyson	2	2	2	2	1	1

Game Notes
Nebraska saw its eight-game Big Ten winning streak snapped...the Huskers also had their 14-game home winning streak snapped and their 13-game home conference winning streak snapped...MJ Knighten extended her hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI double in the bottom of the third...Emily Lockman had her personal 11-game conference win streak snapped.

Lincoln - The Nebraska softball team consistently fought back against one of the nation's best teams on Friday, but the Huskers' rally ultimately fell short in an 8-7 loss to No. 12 Minnesota.

Nebraska trailed 5-0 before scoring four straight runs to pull within one. The Huskers then answered a Minnesota two-run homer in the sixth inning and a Golden Gopher solo home run in the seventh but Nebraska could never pull even.

Despite the valiant comeback, the Huskers saw several win streaks snapped while falling to 17-13 on the season and 5-1 in Big Ten play. Nebraska saw its conference winning streak snapped at eight, its home winning streak snapped at 14 and its home conference winning streak snapped at 13.

Minnesota won its sixth straight conference game and 14th consecutive game overall to improve to 28-4 on the season and 4-0 in Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers also moved to 13-0 on the road.

Junior right-hander Emily Lockman (9-8) took the loss, as her personal 11-game conference win streak was snapped. Lockman allowed eight runs (seven earned) in 6.0 innings. Sophomore right-hander Cassie McClure tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

Sara Groenewegen (18-2), the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, earned the win, allowing a season-high four earned runs in 5.0 innings. Nikki Anderson earned her second save despite allowing three runs in 2.0 innings.

Minnesota jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first despite not recording a hit. The first two hitters reached on a hit batter and a walk, before back-to-back ground balls plated the game's first run.

In the bottom of the frame, the Huskers hit into some bad luck. Junior Kiki Stokes drew a leadoff walk before Knighten lined a pitch back up the middle. Unfortunately for Nebraska, Knighten's line drive deflected off the pitcher's glove and directly to the second baseman, who made the catch and threw to first for a double play. Junior Alicia Armstrong then walked before a strikeout ended the inning.

The Golden Gophers then scored a pair of two-out runs in the top of the second to take a 3-0 lead. The first two batters were retired before Lockman was unable to cleanly field a hard-hit ball back to the circle. Paige Palkovich then hit a grounder to third and Nebraska attempted to get the runner at second but a close call went in favor of Minnesota and extended the inning. Tyler Walker then made the Huskers pay for the extra out when she laced a two-run double to the gap in left center. An error on a pickoff attempt then pushed the lead to 4-0.

Hannah Granger gave Minnesota a 5-0 lead with a solo home run in the top of the third.

Nebraska answered with its first run in the bottom of the third. Junior Dawna Tyson drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by freshman pinch runner Gina Metzler. Metzler then scored on a two-out double from Knighten, who extended her hitting streak to 11 games with her sixth double of the year.

The Huskers trimmed the lead to 5-2 with another run in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Cassie McClure began the inning with a single before the next two hitters struck out. Sophomore Kat Woolman then reached on a single over the third baseman's head. On the very next pitch, Woolman took off for second and although she was thrown out, she got in a rundown long enough for freshman pinch runner Taylor Otte to score from third.

Nebraska scored twice more in the fifth to pull within one at 5-4. Tyson began the inning with a double and scored on a two-out, two-run home run from Knighten.

Just as Nebraska was closing the gap, Paige Palkovich stretched the lead to 7-4 on a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the sixth.

The Huskers answered with a two-run homer of their own in the bottom of the frame. Woolman singled with two outs before Tyson homered to center to pull Nebraska back within one.

The back-and-forth affair continued to the top of the seventh when Sam Macken - one pitch after a controversial foul ball call when Macken had bunted and been thrown out at first - hit a solo home run to left.

That home run proved huge when Armstrong belted a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the frame. McClure then reached on a one-out error before a double play ended the threat.

Offensively, Knighten finished 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs. Tyson also doubled and homered while driving in a pair. Armstrong added Nebraska's third home run to go along with a pair of walks.

Nebraska and Minnesota resume their series on Saturday at 1 p.m. As part of the Pepsi Pack the House promotion, general admission tickets are available for just $1 and select Pepsi products can be purchased for only $1.

Box Score

 

2015 Nebraska Softball #12 Minnesota at Nebraska Mar 27, 2015 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bowlin Stadium)

Minnesota 8 (28-4,4-0 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Tyler Walker ss.......... 3 2 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 .343 Sam Macken 3b............ 2 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 .323 Kaitlyn Richardson 1b.... 4 0 0 0 0 1 10 0 1 .390 Sara Groenewegen p....... 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 .330 Hannah Granger dp........ 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 .418 Danielle Parlich 2b...... 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 .356 Taylor LeMay c........... 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 0 .247 Sydney Dwyer ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .133 Erica Meyer cf........... 2 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .410 Paige Palkovich lf....... 3 2 2 2 0 0 3 0 0 .378 Kayla Wenner rf.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091 Nikki Anderson p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 28 8 6 7 3 4 21 12 3

Nebraska 7 (17-13,5-1 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Stokes, Kiki cf.......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 .409 Knighten, MJ 3b.......... 4 1 2 3 0 0 1 4 0 .438 Armstrong, Alicia ss..... 2 1 1 1 2 0 2 2 1 .384 McClure, Cassie dp....... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 .398 Otte, Taylor pr......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Pasquale, Steph c........ 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 .354 Muir, Kylee rf........... 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 .303 Woolman, Kat lf.......... 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .333 Tyson, Dawna 1b.......... 2 2 2 2 1 0 10 0 0 .400 Metzler, Gina pr........ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240 Barrow, Laura 2b......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 .286 Jablonski, Kaylan ph.... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296 Lockman, Emily p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 28 7 9 6 4 4 21 11 4

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Minnesota........... 131 002 1 - 8 6 1 Nebraska............ 001 122 1 - 7 9 1 -----------------------------------------

E - Anderson(3); Armstrong(7). DP - Gophers 2. LOB - Gophers 3; Huskers 4. 2B - Walker(9); Palkovich(4); Knighten(6); Tyson(3). HR - Macken(3); Granger(8); Palkovich(3); Knighten(4); Armstrong(6); Tyson(3). HBP - Walker. SB - Walker(9); Otte(3); Woolman(5). CS - Woolman(1).

Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Sara Groenewegen.... 5.0 5 4 4 4 4 18 22 87 1.42 Nikki Anderson...... 2.0 4 3 3 0 0 10 10 26 5.13

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Lockman, Emily...... 6.0 6 8 7 3 3 25 29 90 5.85 McClure, Cassie..... 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 11 4.16

Win - Groenewegen (18-2). Loss - Lockman (9-8). Save - Anderson (2). HBP - by Lockman (Walker). PB - Pasquale(5). Pitches/strikes: Groenewegen 87/54; Anderson 26/17; Lockman 90/49; McClure 11/9. Umpires - HP: Leah Bowen 1B: Larry Nagel 3B: Naomi Erdahl Start: 5:33 pm Time: 2:05 Attendance: 388 Game: livegame