Huskers Headed to Shocker Invitational

The Nebraska softball team hits the field for the first time in nearly two weeks this weekend, when the Huskers travel to Wichita, Kan., for the Shocker Invitational.

The Huskers will face South Dakota and host Wichita State, in that order, on both Saturday and Sunday. Nebraska plays at Noon and 5 p.m. on Saturday before playing back-to-back games beginning at Noon on Sunday.

Fans can follow the action online, as Nate Rohr will provide a free radio call for Huskers.com. Live video of Saturday’s Wichita State game will be available to HuskersNSide subscribers, courtesy of WSU.

Nebraska can move above .500 with four wins, as NU enters the Shocker Invitational with a 6-9 record.

The Huskers have won nine consecutive games against South Dakota, but the teams split a pair of one-run games during the fall exhibition season. NU has won 11 straight games against the Shockers - including eight in a row in Wichita - but the Huskers are 0-3 in true road games this season.

NU is coming off a difficult 10-game stretch where it faced five top-15 teams and played eight games against teams from the ACC, Pac-12 or SEC. The Huskers went 2-8 in that challenging stretch, but Nebraska did upset No. 10 Tennessee and lost two close road games at No. 6 Florida State.

The Huskers have eight more non-conference games before opening the Big Ten portion of their schedule by hosting their first home games of the season March 20, 21 and 22 against Michigan State.

This Week's Top 10

1. Nebraska’s 12-day gap between games is its longest since the Huskers went 14 days between games from March 6 to March 19, 1994.
2. Four Huskers have more than 10 RBIs through the season’s first 15 games. Over the first 15 games last season, no Husker had more than eight RBIs.
3. Nebraska looks for its first road win at Wichita State Saturday. NU is 0-3 on the road after posting a 35-13 road record the last two years.
4. Kiki Stokes has homered six times in 15 games this season after totaling six home runs in her first 122 career games.
5. Rhonda Revelle is one win shy of 850 victories at Nebraska.
6. Nebraska has scored five-or-more runs in an inning six times in 15 games this season.
7. NU has hit three triples in 2015, matching or exceeding its  total from four of the last six seasons.
8. The Huskers are 26-9 in the month of March since the 2013 season.
9. NU has won nine straight games vs. South Dakota and 11 consecutive games vs. Wichita State.
10. MJ Knighten had two triples at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, marking the second time in her career she tripled twice in one weekend. Before Knighten, the last Husker to record two triples in the same weekend was Kim Ogee in February of 2000.

Offensive Comparison: 2014 to 2015
Nebraska set school records for home runs, total bases, extra-base hits, RBIs and slugging percentage in 2014, while also ranking second all-time in runs and doubles, third in on-base percentage and fourth in batting average.

The Huskers lost their top three statistical hitters from the 2014 lineup, a group that included a pair of two-time All-Americans and Nebraska’s only three all-region hitters. Despite the losses, the Husker offense is enjoying a better start to the season than last year’s decorated group.

• Nebraska’s batting average is .074 higher this season than it was through 15 games last season.
• The Huskers have scored 32 more runs through 15 games this season than they did a year ago.
• The 2014 offense set a school record for RBIs. That offense produced 48 RBIs in its first 15 games, while this year’s lineup has totaled 86 RBIs in its 15 games.
• The 2014 offense set a school record for extra-base hits. Nebraska had 23 extra-base hits through the first 15 games last season, while NU has 33 extra-base hits through the first 15 games this season.

Pitching Positives
With three new pitchers, the Husker pitching staff has gotten off to a slow start this spring. But the group has been working hard to improve, and some of that improvement could be seen the last time the Huskers took the field at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic two weeks ago.

Nebraska faced five tough opponents at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, a group that entered the weekend with a combined 44-7 record entering the tournament and featured three top-15 teams. Despite the strong opponents, the Huskers’ weekend ERA was its lowest of the first month (5.37). NU’s ERA was 1.51 lower in five games than it was in the first 10 games of the season.

• NU allowed two runs or fewer twice at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic after holding only one of its first 10 opponents to two runs.
• The Huskers faced three top-15 teams at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, and NU held those opponents scoreless in 13 of 17 innings.
• Nebraska shut out San Diego State, marking the first time the Aztecs were shut out in 21 games.
• Nebraska recorded a season-high seven strikeouts vs. No. 10 Tennessee, while holding the Vols to two runs, their second-fewest runs in 18 games this season.
• The Huskers surrendered 15 walks in five games (3.0 per game) after allowing 45 walks in their first 10 games (4.5 per game).
• Nebraska allowed seven extra-base hits in five games (1.4 per game), after giving up 34 extra-base hits over the first 10 games (3.4 per game).
• NU held three of its five opponents to five or fewer hits.
• Emily Lockman posted Nebraska’s first shutout of the season against San Diego State, then earned a victory over No. 10 Tennessee the next day.
• Cassie McClure was outstanding in two relief outings against No. 14 LSU and No. 10 Tennessee on Feb. 21. McClure threw 4.1 perfect innings against the Tigers, then tossed 2.2 scoreless innings while earning the save in the Huskers’ upset of Tennessee. On the day, McClure tossed 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and one walk while facing one batter over the minimum.
• On the weekend, McClure posted a 1.40 ERA in 10.0 innings, registering six strikeouts and holding opposing hitters to a .143 average.

Huskers Beat First Ranked Team
Nebraska earned its first victory over a ranked opponent this season when the Huskers upset No. 10 Tennessee, 5-2, on Feb. 21. Junior Kiki Stokes homered twice and drove in three runs in the victory, with junior Emily Lockman earning the win and sophomore Cassie McClure picking up the save.

• Nebraska defeated a top-10 opponent in February for the third time in five seasons.
• Lockman earned her fourth career victory over a top-10 team and her sixth career win vs. a ranked opponent.
• NU is 1-4 vs. ranked teams and 1-2 vs. top-10 teams.

Knighten Posts Big Weekend
Sophomore MJ Knighten enjoyed a strong homecoming two weeks ago at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in her home state of California.

• Knighten batted .500 (7-for-14) at the tournament with a pair of triples and six RBIs.
• Knighten set a career high with four hits as part of a 4-for-4 effort against Oregon State on Feb. 22.
• Her four-hit game was the 50th four-hit game in the history of Nebraska softball.
• Knighten matched her career total with two triples in five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
• Knighten matched her career high of three RBIs against both San Diego State and Oregon State. She also tied her career high by scoring two runs vs. the Beavers.

Stokes Doing it All
Junior Kiki Stokes has collected hits, drawn walks, scored runs, hit homers, stolen bases and produced RBIs as Nebraska’s leadoff hitter for all 15 games this season.

• Stokes leads Nebraska in average (.511), hits (24), runs (18), home runs (6), stolen bases (4), RBIs (17), total bases (46), slugging percentage (.979) and on-base percentage (.596).
• Stokes ranks second on the team in walks (8), hit-by-pitches (2) and triples (1) and is third in doubles (2).
• Before Nebraska missed last weekend, Stokes led the Big Ten in hits, runs, home runs and total bases.
• Stokes leads the Big Ten in average, home runs and slugging percentage (.979), while ranking second in hits (24) and n-base percentage (.596).
• Stokes’ 18 runs are tied for the most in school history through a season’s first 15 games.
• Stokes’ six home runs are the second-highest total in school history through a season’s first 15 games.
• Stokes’ 24 hits are tied for the third-highest total in school history through a season’s first 15 games.

McClure a Dual-Threat
Sophomore Cassie McClure, a first-year transfer from Texas Tech, has been a force for Nebraska in the circle and at the plate this season.

• In the circle, McClure is 3-1 with a 3.29 ERA in 27.2 innings. She was 0-0 with a 3.41 ERA in 12.1 innings as a freshman at Texas Tech in 2014.
• McClure boasts Nebraska’s lowest ERA and opponent average (.222), while leading NU in wins and saves (1).
• McClure has allowed two earned runs or less 16 of her 18 career appearances.
• Offensively, McClure leads Nebraska with nine walks and ranks second with a .538 on-base percentage.
• McClure is hitting .379 with one double, one homer and eight RBIs.
• McClure homered in her first career at bat against Colorado State on Feb. 6. She is the fourth Husker to homer in her first Nebraska at bat since 2000.
• McClure also earned the win against Colorado State in her NU debut, marking her first career decision. She tossed her first career complete game against the Rams.
• The next day, she earned the win in only the second combined no-hitter in school history.

Pasquale Records 200th Hit
Senior Steph Pasquale, a first-year transfer from Temple, recorded her 200th career with a first-inning single against San Diego State on Feb. 20. Pasquale enters this weekend with 201 career hits.

Pasquale has produced 12 hits in 12 games at Nebraska after totaling 189 hits in 161 games at Temple. In her career, Pasquale averages 1.2 hits per game.

Huskers Scoring Runs at Record Rate
Nebraska has scored 91 runs in its first 15 games, as the Huskers are bidding to become the ninth team in school history to score 100 runs less than 20 games into a season.

• The Huskers are scoring runs at a near-record rate thanks in large part to a tremendous opening weekend.
• Nebraska scored 55 runs in five games the opening weekend, the most runs a Husker team has ever scored in the first five games of a season.
• The Huskers scored at least 10 runs in each of their final four games in the opening weekend, becoming the first team in school history to total double-digit runs in four consecutive games.