LINCOLN, Neb. – It’s a warm, muggy afternoon here and Memorial Stadium is quiet except for a few birds chirping and the occasional crack of a starter’s gun as the University of Nebraska track team practices in a nearby facility.

The stadium is wide open for anybody to walk in, and if the ground wasn’t still wet from a morning rain shower you could stroll across the artificial turf field and sit down on the 50-yard line.

Saturday afternoons in the fall, however, things are a lot different. Thousands of people back up the highways around Lincoln, pack the streets around town, and flock to the 78,000-seat stadium to watch their beloved Cornhuskers play football. On game days Memorial Stadium becomes the third-largest populated area in Nebraska, after Omaha and Lincoln.

It’s insanity, according to almost everyone who is asked about the crowds. Visitors to Lincoln see the school’s scarlet colors everywhere, from red cars to the red on the Nebraska license plates to the Fairbury hot dogs, which are dyed red so as to be the official hot dog of Cornhusker football.

Some of the Maine softball players and staffers in town for the Black Bears’ NCAA tournament regional game against Cal took a tour of the stadium Wednesday morning.

Senior second baseman Sara Asadoorian had a chance to show off her skills as a former soccer player. With the help of a young boy (not from the Maine group, but also on the tour) acting as her holder, she kicked a field goal through one of the uprights at the stadium.

“It was a dream come true,” she joked after practice at the University of Nebraska softball team’s Bowlin Stadium. “There were two little boys playing with the ball, so I just kicked it and hey, field goal.”

For the record, Asadoorian estimated it was a 15-yarder.

The Black Bears were blown away by the stadium and especially the strength and conditioning facility. Nebraska football has more strength and conditioning coaches than Maine has softball coaches.

“Their weight room was incredible,” Asadoorian said. “Everywhere was state-of-the-art. It’s crazy. I think they have more weight rooms than we have softball players.”

Bennis to get the start

The Black Bears will start sophomore Sarah Bennis of Pownal in the circle, but UMaine coach Deb Smith won’t hestitate to bring in Jenna Merchant, the America East Pitcher of the Year, or Candace Jaegge.

“Sarah threw well in the tournament and we’re going to go back to her,” Smith said. “If they start getting on Sarah we’ll make a change.”

Smith said the Black Bear pitchers need to keep their walks down and let Maine stellar defense do its work with ground balls and fly balls.

“The big thing is what I’m looking for is … for us to be around the plate,” Smith said. “We can’t be giving up free bases. They’ve got to beat our defense. We’ve got to be able to make the ball move and in the same sense we’ve got to force them to put the ball into play.”

Big Bowlin

The Black Bears got their first look at Bowlin Stadium late Wednesday afternoon when they had their NCAA-designated hour practice time.

The 3-year-old stadium seats around 2,500 fans with 750 chairback seats and berm seating behind both dugouts and in the outfield. The outfield is 200 feet down the lines and 220 feet in center field.