NU Falls to Undefeated No. 15 Tennessee

Nebraska  0 5 Tennessee
Box Score

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

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Moss (7-0)	7.0	2	0	0	1	7
L - Jablonski (0-4)	6.0	7	5	3	3	3
S - None	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	HR
Gina Metzler	3	0	1	0	0	0
Laura Barrow	3	0	1	0	0	0

Game Notes
No. 15 Tennessee marked the eighth consecutive ranked opponent Nebraska has faced, a school record...the 12-0 Vols also marked the Huskers' fifth straight game vs. an undefeated opponent...Gina Metzler went 1-for-3 and she has now hit safely in five of her seven starts this season, all vs. top-25 opponents.

Cathedral City, Calif. - Playing its school-record eighth consecutive game against a ranked opponent, the Nebraska softball team battled hard against Tennessee on Friday but fell to the undefeated Volunteers, 5-0, at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. 

Tennessee (13-0) plated three runs in the first inning, but Husker pitching held the Volunteers without an earned run the rest of the game, as UT's two-run fifth inning was aided by a pair of Nebraska errors. While Tennessee remained undefeated with the win, Nebraska is still looking for its first victory after opening the season 0-9. All nine games have come against opponents currently ranked in the top 25.

Junior right-hander Kaylan Jablonski (0-4) pitched well in a losing effort. Jablonski settled in after the three-run first inning and finished the game allowing only three earned runs. Freshman left-hander Sydney McLeod relieved Jablonski and pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Matty Moss (7-0) earned the win for Tennessee by firing a two-hit shutout.

Offensively, juniors Laura Barrow and Gina Metzler produced Nebraska's lone two hits, as the Huskers were out-hit, 7-2.

Nebraska stranded a runner at second in the top of the first before Tennessee used a leadoff triple and an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead two batters into the bottom of the first. A stolen base, a wild pitch and a one-out RBI ground out made it 2-0 Volunteers before Tennessee capped the three-run first with a two-out RBI single from Chelsea Seggern.

Jablonski bounced back to hold the Vols scoreless over the next three innings, allowing the Husker offense a chance to cut into the lead. Nebraska was brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the fifth. Barrow began the frame with an infield single before freshman Tristen Edwards was hit by a two-out pitch. With runners at first and second with two outs, senior All-American MJ Knighten stepped to the plate for just her second at bat with a runner in scoring position this season, but Knighten went down swinging.

In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back Husker errors gave Tennessee runners on first and second with one out. Jablonski then coaxed a ground out for the first out, but the errors came back to bite the Big Red when Abby Lockman grounded a two-run single up the middle to push the lead to 5-0.

That was plenty of support for Moss, who retired the final seven Huskers.

Nebraska continues play at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday, with a pair of games against California and Missouri. The Huskers face the Bears - who received the most votes of any non-ranked team in this week's coaches' poll - at 5 p.m. (Central), followed immediately by a matchup with the 20th-ranked Tigers.

Box Score 2017 Nebraska Softball Nebraska vs #15 Tennessee Feb 24, 2017 at Cathedral City, CA (Big League Dreams)

Nebraska 0 (0-9)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Tristen Edwards rf....... 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 MJ Knighten 3b........... 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 3 Alexis Perry 1b.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 10 1 0 Austen Urness lf......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Taylor Otte cf.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cassie McClure dp........ 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Sydney McLeod p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Kaylan Jablonski p....... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Laura Barrow 2b.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 3 3 0 Gina Metzler cf.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rindy Bryant ss.......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 Alyvia Simmons ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bri Cassidy c............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 Totals................... 24 0 2 0 1 7 18 11 5

Tennessee 5 (13-0)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Aubrey Leach 2b.......... 2 1 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 Brooke Vines lf.......... 4 1 2 1 0 0 3 0 1 Meghan Gregg ss.......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 Tianna Batts pr......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Megan Geer rf............ 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 Taylor Rowland 1b........ 2 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 Abby Lockman c........... 2 0 1 2 1 1 5 0 0 Scarlet McSwain c....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Chelsea Seggern 3b....... 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 1 Haley Bearden dp......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 CJ McClain cf............ 3 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 Matty Moss p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 27 5 8 5 4 3 21 4 8

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 000 000 0 - 0 2 2 Tennessee........... 300 020 X - 5 8 1 -----------------------------------------

E - Jablonski(1); Bryant(5); A. Leach. LOB - Huskers 5; Vols 8. 2B - T. Rowland. 3B - A. Leach. HBP - Edwards. SB - Knighten(2); B. Vines; CJ McClain. CS - CJ McClain.

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Kaylan Jablonski.... 5.0 7 5 3 3 3 23 26 101 Sydney McLeod....... 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 4 5 21

Tennessee IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Matty Moss.......... 7.0 2 0 0 1 7 24 26 98

Win - M. Moss (7-0). Loss - Jablonski (0-4). Save - None. WP - Jablonski 2(3). HBP - by M. Moss (Edwards). Pitches/strikes: Jablonski 101/53; McLeod 21/14; M. Moss 98/68. Umpires - HP: Sue Sawyer 1B: Rick Boyer 3B: Paul Edds Start: 5:28 pm Time: 2:06 Attendance: 615 Game: livegame