Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Nebraska (FSU Invitational)
Indiana Upsets No. 15 Nebraska, 2-1
3/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 11, 2006
Box Score
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A triple by Mariangee Bogado and a pair of singles by Jennilee Huddleston and Julia Hamilton scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to give Indiana an upset victory, 2-1, over No. 15 Nebraska on March 12. The Hoosiers held one of the nation's best teams to only two hits in the game and moved to 4-0 at the Florida State Invitational.
With the win, Indiana improved to 9-8-1 on the year and moved above .500 for the first time this season, while Nebraska fell to 14-4. The feat also marked the first time the Hoosiers defeated a ranked opponent since 1998.
Indiana out-hit Nebraska 7-2, while senior pitcher Bogado struck out eight in the winning performance, The Mariana, Venezuela native fell just short of a no-hitter after registering six clean innings.
The Hoosiers started out slow from the plate through three inning of action, but got things rolling in the bottom of the fourth. In their half of the frame, IU loaded the bases off a pair of hits and a walk. The early batting surge fell short of scoring, but gave Indiana a confidence which carried over into the rest of the game.
"I thought we started off shaky, but once we started connecting at the plate and reaching base we started gaining confidence," left fielder Hamilton said. "We just needed to make adjustments and execute. We knew we could do it from the beginning."
In the top of the seventh, the Huskers scored to take a 1-0 lead. The run came off a pair of hits which were Nebraska's first of the game. The Huskers grounded out to third to end their half of the seventh.
Looking at a deficit, the bottom of IU's lineup stepped up to the plate. Two quick putouts by the Huskers brought around the top of the Hoosiers' batting order.
Battling to the end, left fielder Hamilton reached first on an error by the third baseman. The Lincolnshire, Ill., native then went on to steal second to notch her sixth stolen base of the year. At the plate, Bogado did not waste any time and quickly brought Hamilton in. The pitcher smashed a triple to center field to score the tying run and give Indiana another runner in scoring position.
The Hoosiers capitalized as sophomore third baseman Huddleston capped off the excitement by firing a single into right field that scored Bogado and led Indiana to the upset victory.
"Our play with two outs in the seventh just showed how much heart that we have and how much we wanted to win," Huddleston said. "We definitely wanted this game more. When I stepped up to bat, I was thinking we played so well the whole game that we deserved to win. I felt confident and felt it was my time to step up."
The Hoosiers move into the championship semifinals of the gold bracket with the win, and will face Connecticut at 9:30 a.m. on March 12 at JoAnne Graf Field on the campus of Florida State.
The game can be followed live on Gametracker found at the following link.Indiana vs. UCONN
