COLUMBUS, Ga. Behind a stellar pitching performance from sophomore Alex Hupp, the Nebraska softball team handed 16th-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette its first loss of the season with a 3-1 victory Friday night at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
In Nebraska's first game Friday, the Huskers pounded out 13 hits to ease the return of pitcher Molly Hill to rout Tennessee Tech 11-1. The win was the 600th career victory for Husker coach Rhonda Revelle.
In picking up her first victory of the season and the first of her career against a ranked team Hupp (1-3) pitched masterfully, allowing just one run in a complete-game effort. Hupp was in complete control from the beginning, striking out six while walking none and throwing 65 of her 87 pitches for strikes.
Behind Hupp, the junior outfield of Darcy Rutherford, Meghan Mullin and Haley Long paved the way offensively for Nebraska (3-6). Each player recorded a multi-hit game, with Rutherford and Mullin each scoring a run and Long adding an RBI.
Louisiana-Lafayette fell to 9-1 on the season with the loss, as Donna Bourgeois (3-1) also suffered her first setback. Bourgeois, who entered the game having not allowed an earned run in 14.0 innings this season, surrendered a run in the first and allowed three runs on six hits in four innings of work.
Revelle was pleased with her team's 2-0 performance on the day.
"The biggest difference in today was that we all battled through every at bat and every pitch," Revelle said. "It was really a mindset that we were trying to establish more than anything else, and I felt like we made some strides there. It was awesome to have Molly (Hill) back today and it was great to see Alex come out and execute the game plan. She did a very good job of executing the game plan against an excellent team."
Riding a two-game win streak, Nebraska opens day two of the Leadoff Classic at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against 23rd-ranked North Carolina. The Huskers then face Syracuse at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Behind Hill in the first game, Nebraska's offense erupted for a season-high 11 runs, while pounding out a season-high 13 hits. Five different Huskers produced multi-hit games to lead the attack. Freshmen Heidi Foland , a Grand Island Senior High graduate, and Julie Brechtel each recorded the first multi-hit game of their careers by going 2-for-2 while junior Meghan Mullin went 2-for-3 to mark her first multi-hit contest of the season.
Hill, the reigning Big 12 ERA champion, was outstanding in her first action just four weeks removed from knee surgery. In a complete-game effort, Hill (1-0) tossed a one-hitter and allowed just one unearned run while striking out seven.
Louisiana-Lafayette earlier recorded a 7-1 victory over No. 23 North Carolina.
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