LINCOLN The Nebraska softball teams travels to Las Vegas this weekend to kick off a 10-day road trip with five games at the UNLV Rebel Round Robin on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Huskers will then take advantage of Spring Break by staying in Las Vegas to play two contests against Southern Utah before traveling to Texas to open Big 12 play with a two-game series beginning on Friday.
Nebraska will face stiff competition on the road, as the Huskers will play a total of six games against teams that have either earned a top-25 ranking this season or received votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll. Following the road trip - Nebraska's longest since 2004 the Huskers travel to Creighton on March 26 before returning home to play 16 of their final 21 games at Bowlin Stadium, where the Huskers have enjoyed a tremendous home-field advantage the past three seasons.
Nebraska got a taste of the home cooking last weekend, sweeping a four-game series from Northern Colorado by a combined score of 28-0. The Huskers posted three run-rule victories, with each win coming by a score of 8-0. NU posted back-to-back run-rule victories in Saturday's doubleheader, marking Nebraska's first consecutive run-rule victories since 2006.
The Huskers were led by their pitching, as the right-handed combination of junior Molly Hill and sophomore Alex Hupp combined to toss 24.0 scoreless innings in the series. Each pitcher threw two shutouts, as Nebraska tossed four consecutive shutouts, marking the Huskers' longest shutout streak since NU posted seven consecutive shutouts during the 2004 season.
Hupp was especially impressive, allowing just one hit in 11.0 innings of work, as Northern Colorado batters were just 1-for-33 against her (.030). She tossed her first career no-hitter with a six-inning masterpiece in her first start against UNC, surrendering just one walk while striking out a career-high 12. In her second start, Hupp allowed only an infield single while striking out seven and facing just one batter over the minimum in a five-inning complete game.
Hill meanwhile continued to round into form barely a month removed from knee surgery. She tossed a pair of two-hit shutouts and the reigning Big 12 ERA champion has not allowed an earned run in three of her first five starts this season.
Offensively, NU received contributions up and down the lineup, but it was the newcomers who were especially impressive while playing in front of the home fans for the first time.
Freshman Julie Brechtel began the weekend 5-for-5 as part of a larger stretch where she recorded a hit in seven straight at bats. Fellow freshman Heidi Foland posted her first career extra-base hit while producing five RBIs in a single game, an individual high for Nebraska this season. Junior Amanda Duran, a transfer from Pima (Ariz.) Community College, also excelled, finishing 6-for-9 with four RBIs.
Overall, NU's eight newcomers combined to post an impressive .368 average with six doubles, nine runs scored and 15 RBIs.
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