Big 12 Softball Tournament roundup

Published: May 11, 2008

During the six-week regular season, Nebraska won four games against Big 12 Conference opponents. In the last two days, the Cornhuskers won three.

Now they've got a chance to win the Big 12 Tournament title despite coming in as the conference's last-place team.

Nebraska defeated No. 2 seed Oklahoma 6-5 in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon, then knocked off sixth-seeded Texas Tech in the evening to earn its spot in the title game today at noon at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

"It feels great,” Nebraska coach Rhonda Revelle said of her team's postseason run. "I'm just so proud of this group for everything they've fought through and for the passion they're playing with. This is why you play the game.”

Nebraska pitcher Molly Hill has gone the distance in all three tournament games and will face top-seeded Texas A&M, the No. 6 team in the USA Softball top 25, today in the championship game.

Hill, who had preseason knee surgery, credited her defense for the weekend's success.

"It was exhilarating, especially the plays behind me,” Hill said. "We had some double plays that were incredible. It's so exciting to play with defense like that behind you.”

•Top-seeded Texas A&M advances: With national player of the year candidate Megan Gibson sharp in the circle, top-seeded Texas A&M only needed a total of four runs in two games to advance to today's title game.

The Aggies edged ninth-seeded Iowa State 1-0 in the quarterfinals, then knocked off fourth-seeded Texas 3-1 in the semifinals Saturday evening.

For the day, Gibson allowed one run on seven hits, striking out 20 in 14 innings.

By Scott Wright

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