Homers Rally Nebraska Past Northwestern

NEBRASKA  4 3 northwestern
Box Score

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

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - McClure (15-6)	7.0	5	3	3	3	5
L - Letourneau (7-8)	6.1	4	4	4	5	2
S - None	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
Alicia Armstrong	3	1	1	1	1	1
Kiki Stokes	3	1	1	2	1	1

Game Notes

Nebraska trailed after six innings but rallied to win for the third time this seaon...the Huskers were 0-17 last year when trailing after six innings of play...three of Nebraska's four hits were home runs...MJ Knighten went 0-for-1 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch to see her season average drop to .397, marking the first time in 72 games she did not end a game with a season batting average at or above .400...Nebraska held Northwestern's Sabrina Rabin to an 0-for-4 day after Rabin went 8-for-10 in the three-game series with the Huskers last season, reaching base in nine of her 11 trips to the plate.

Evanston, Ill. - A pair of seventh-inning home runs helped the Nebraska softball team rally from a two-run deficit to post a 4-3 series-opening victory at Northwestern on Friday night.

Nebraska led 1-0 after five innings of play thanks to a solo home run from senior Alicia Armstrong to lead off the fourth inning. Leading by one, the Huskers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the sixth but were unable to score. Northwestern then faced the same situation in the bottom of the frame, and the Wildcats used a pair of timely singles to plate three runs and take a 3-1 lead.

But the Huskers did not quit. Freshman Alyvia Simmons led off the top of the seventh with a solo home run. Sophomore Austen Urness then drew a one-out walk before senior Kiki Stokes hit a two-run homer to right to give Nebraska the 4-3 win.

Nebraska was held to just four hits in the game, but three of those hits were home runs. The long ball helped make a winner of junior right-hander Cassie McClure, who was outstanding in the circle against a powerful Northwestern lineup. McClure (15-6) allowed three runs on five hits in a complete-game effort, adding five strikeouts.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 26-14 on the season and moved to 7-5 in Big Ten Conference play. Northwestern saw its six-game winning streak snapped, as the Wildcats fell to 16-21 overall and 7-5 in league play.

Amy Letourneau (7-8) took the loss, allowing four runs in 6.1 innings.

Nebraska aims for a series victory on Saturday, when Nebraska and Northwestern meet at 1 p.m.

 

Box Score

 

2016 Nebraska Softball Nebraska at Northwestern Apr 15, 2016 at Evanston, Ill. (Drysdale Field)

Nebraska 4 (26-14,7-5 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Stokes, Kiki cf.......... 3 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 Knighten, MJ 3b.......... 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 0 Armstrong, Alicia ss..... 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 Jablonski, Kaylan dp..... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Fowler, Mattie 1b........ 4 0 0 0 0 1 7 3 2 McClure, Cassie p........ 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 Simmons, Alyvia rf....... 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Otte, Taylor rf......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Urness, Austen lf........ 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 Metzler, Gina pr........ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Barrow, Laura 2b......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 Cassidy, Bri c........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 Totals................... 25 4 4 4 5 2 21 8 7

Northwestern 3 (16-21,7-5 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rabin, Sabrina cf........ 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Nelson, Morgan 3b........ 2 1 0 0 1 2 5 2 0 Filler, Andrea ss........ 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 Letourneau, Amy p........ 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 Nettling, Sammy dp....... 3 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 Panko, Marissa pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bush, Alcy 1b............ 3 0 2 1 0 0 7 1 0 Boyd, Abbey pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marquez, Brooke 2b....... 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 Strub, Fran rf........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 Williams, Krista lf...... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Petersen, Anna ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Arnold, Caylor c......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Ellis, Kenzie p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 24 3 5 3 3 5 21 8 4

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 000 100 3 - 4 4 0 Northwestern........ 000 003 0 - 3 5 1 -----------------------------------------

E - Nelson, M.(12). DP - Huskers 1. LOB - Huskers 7; Wildcats 4. HR - Stokes(4); Armstrong(7); Simmons(4). HBP - Knighten; McClure. SH - Marquez, B.(7).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- McClure, Cassie..... 7.0 5 3 3 3 5 24 28 99

Northwestern IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Letourneau, Amy..... 6.1 4 4 4 5 2 23 30 125 Ellis, Kenzie....... 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 9

Win - McClure (15-6). Loss - Letourneau (7-8). Save - None. HBP - by Letourneau (McClure); by Letourneau (Knighten). Pitches/strikes: McClure 99/64; Letourneau 125/74; Ellis, K. 9/6. Umpires - HP: Bubba Ewald 1B: Tyler Barfuss 3B: Bob Selz Start: 4:04 pm Time: 2:18 Attendance: 261 Game: livegame