11
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ekes [
sweep |
■ Lizama saves N u in
game one; Voss shuts down
Bulldogs in game two.
BySeanCaBahan
Staff writer
Wins don’t always look pretty.
That was the feeling the Nebraska
softball team had after sweeping
Missouri Valley Conference opponent
Drake 5-4 and 2-0.
The Comhuskers (39-18) came into
the doubleheader against the Bulldogs
(21-27) a little sluggish after sweeping
conference foe Texas A&M on
Saturday.
With the sweep over the UD, the
Huskers have won 25 of their last 28
games and to move their home win
streak to 20 games.
NU Coach Rhonda Revelle said
despite the close situations Drake put
Nebraska in, she still was pleased her
team found a way to win both contests.
“It’s nice to still come out with vic
tories when you’re not on top of your
game,” Revelle said. “We had more mis
cues on defense than I’d like to, and I
thought we were a little sloppy on the
bases at times, but anytime you can get a
win, you’ll take it.”
Part of the reason the Huskers may
have been so sluggish is this is the first
time they have been on the field playing
since Saturday.
“It’s good to have the day behind us,”
Revelle said. “Sometimes after a pretty
intense weekend, you kind of wonder
how you’re going to be midweek, espe
cially when you’re starting at two
o’clock and you’re coming from class.”
In game one of the series, Nebraska
started with junior Penny Cope on the
mound. Sophomore Leigh Aim Walker
(16-5) replaced Cope (8-5) midway
through with two runners on and only
one out.
Drake responded when Brook
*• It’s nice to still
come out with
victory when
you ’re not on top
of your game.”
Rhonda ReveUe
NU softball coach
Buchanan hit a double off Walker that
scored two runs.
Finding themselves in a hole, NU
dug its way out of it by scoring (me run
in the sixth and another when senior All
American Jennifer Lizama blasted a
solo shot in the seventh that tied the
game 4-4.
With her father in attendance on
Tuesday, Lizama hit her third home run
in the last three games.
“I think I’m swinging die bat pretty
much the same as I was. It’s just happen
ing for me a little more,” Lizama said.
“I’ve been hitting die ball hard, but I’ve
been hitting it to people.”
NU went on to score the winning
run in the eighth off sophomore Leigh
Suhr’s RBI single. Suhr also had a home
run in the game. In game two, Nebraska
sat behind the arm of the other All
American - Jenny Voss.
With the shut out performance, Voss
(15-8) gave up only three hits and struck
out six. After being named Big 12 Player
of the Week yesterday, Voss backed it up
by extending her streak of shut out
innings to 23.
“I felt really good mentally and
physically,” Voss said. “The key was I
got a lot of outs within one or two pitch
es of die count
“That makes the defense stay on
their toes ready to play and just keeps
the game moving real quick, and every
body likes that”
Mike Wairen/DN
LEIGH SUHR b lifted In the air by taaaanata Leigh Abb Walker after hitting tee game whining RBI In the first
game of the doable header at the Nebraska softball comptex. Nil won bote games, defeating Brake In extra
innings 5-4 and 2-0 b the second game.
NWU defeats tired Huskers team early in the game
ByDaneStickney
Senior editor
Adter 15 games, it’s over.
The University of Wisconsin-Mihvaukee downed die
Nebraska baseball team 9-7 Tuesday, ending the
Comhuskers’ 15-game winning streak.
The Panthers jumped to an early lead by scoring two
runs in the first, five in the third and two in the fourth.
NU pitcher Brian Rodaway gave up six runs in 22/3
innings of work.
Three of the first four UWM hitters reached base in the
first, but the serious damage came in the third inning.
After getting one out, Rodaway gave up a single to
Panther right fielder Matt Houk followed by a double from
left fielder Eric Goerdt After an intentional walk to load the
bases, UWM shortstop Scott Gillitzer hit a sacrifice fly to
center field, making the score 3-0.
Steve Tylke, UWM third baseman, singled and drove in
another, knocking Rodaway out of the game.
NU reliever Dave Schneider entered the game and
promptly gave up a three-run home run to Panther first
baseman Todd Ludwig before getting the final out of the
inning a batter later with the score 7-0. Schneider gave up
two more runs on three hits, while recording only two outs
in the foiirth inning. Trevor Bullock, the third Nebraska
reliever, came on in relief and walked the first batter he
faced but proceeded to retire the next 16 Panther batters.
“We didn’t intend to pitch Trevor that long,” NU Coach
DaveHorn said. “But he gave us a chance to come back
by shutting the door on them.”
Nebraska didn’t give up after trailhig by nine runs. The
Huskers scoredfiveruns on fourhitsinihe fifth inning with
the hefc of four UWM walks and one wild pitch. NU short
stop WUl Bolt notched a two-run single, and center fielder
Adam Stan and catcher Justin Cowan added RBIs.
But Husker third baseman Josh Hesse left the bases
loaded after he hit a fly ball to center field to end the inning.
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NU also left die bases loaded at the end of the seventh
after Hesse had singled home a run, making the score 9-6.
“We got close,” Van Horn said. “A few hits here or there,
and we could have maybe won the game.”
Nebraska added an unearned run in the bottom of the
ninth after Bolt singled, advanced to second cm an error,
third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch.
Stem ended the game by grounding into his second
double play of die game.
“We showed some pride and character by battling bade,
but we couldn’t quite catch them,” Van Horn said
Bolt, who was 3-4 in the game, said the team could
sense UWM’s enthusiasm before the game.
“They have alot of seniors,sod they were set on beating
us today” he said.
Wifo six games in five days, Bolt said foe team was tired.
“We weren’t theje mentally or physically, and we .
showedit in the first two innings,” Boh said. ‘We’ve just got
to shakethis off and start another streak.”
Neumann genuinely
loved sport, his team
1 \i_1_i_il *_1_■*
David Diehl
Each of the countless times I
- walked mto Tim Neumann’s wrestling
room at the Devaney Center, I’d sit
along a wall and wait for practice to
wrap up. After the team ran its sprints
and did its cool down, Neumann would
walk in my direction, look me right in
the eye and extend his hand.
“Whatis up, coach?? I’d always ask,
shaking his hand as if we were being
introduced for the first time.
And the 15-year dean of Big 12
coaches-who hada 125-pounder with
academic problems, a heavyweight
with a tom ACL, no suitable replace
ment for that heavyweight, a 157
pounder and a 197-pounder in dog
fights for national titles, countless nui
sanee injuries, plusa family to care for
and kids to pick up. from school -
would always have the same answer.
“Just you.”
Those two words capture the entire
essence of Tim Neumann to a tee.
Nebraska’s winningest coach,
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one around the sport of wrestling.
That’s why it was so heartbreaking to
see him resign last Tuesday, leaving
everyone in the wrestling community
with only questions and speculation
about the resignation.
The tn^paddening part about the
whole situaf||i was this was the most
Nebraska hap ever seen of Neumann.
People whonad never heard of him
now know oli^eumann quite well.
That’s not to say they know him
well.
They sa^ headlines of an ugly res
ignation because of “mistakes.” They
saw headlines of alleged illegal bene
fits to wrestlers. They only saw the
ugliness.
What wasn’t shown was the beauty
af the past 15 years.
The IS years were years devoted to
i sport and to people he loved And he
loved each one of those wrestlers out
an the mat Four individual national
champions,.a Big Eight title and a
National Coach of the Year award in
1990, not to mention countless
amounts of respect from others in the
wrestling community, were die things
people didn’t know.
What didn’t make die headlines is
dow Neumann was crushed, absolutely
devastated, when his project, his star,
Bryan Snyder, fell in the first round at
Please see NEUMANN on 15
