Huskers Host South Dakota State Tuesday

The Nebraska softball team looks to return to its winning ways on Tuesday when the Huskers host South Dakota State at Bowlin Stadium.

First pitch between the Huskers and Jackrabbits is set for 6 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets online at Huskers.com, over the phone at 1-800-8-BIG-RED or in person on game day at the Bowlin Stadium ticket office. General admission tickets, which include one section of chairback seating, are available for $3 (youth/senior) and $5 (adults), while reserved tickets are available for $7.

The Nebraska baseball team hosts Creighton at 6:35 p.m. at Hawks Field and all baseball ticket holders receive free admission into the softball game by presenting their baseball ticket.

Fans unable to make it out to the stadium on Tuesday can listen to the game for free on Huskers.com.
Nebraska brings a 19-11 record into Tuesday’s contest, but the Huskers have lost five of their last seven games. Nebraska moved 10 games above .500 for the first time this season following a 12-8 home win over Omaha on March 16, the Huskers’ third straight win. But Nebraska faltered on its recently completed 10-game road trip, finishing with a 3-5 record on the trip.

The Huskers ended the road trip with a Big Ten Conference-opening series at Illinois over the weekend. Nebraska posted a 10-2 run-rule victory in the opener, only to be swept in a doubleheader the next day by a combined score of 18-5.

Nebraska has dealt with injuries during its rough stretch, as shortstop Alicia Armstrong has been out of the lineup in three of the Huskers’ last five losses.

 

This Week's Top 10

1. The Huskers came in at No. 24 in the second NCAA RPI ranking of the season, released on Monday.
2. Nebraska has faced the nation’s 11th-toughest schedule according to the RPI, including the 10th-toughest non-conference schedule.
3. The Huskers have used 30 different starting lineups (P, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, DP) this season and 30 different batting orders, never duplicating a starting lineup or batting order.
4. Nebraska is 15-0 all-time vs. South Dakota State, including 14-0 at Bowlin Stadium.
5. Eleven different Huskers have homered this season, the most players to hit a home run in a single season in school history.
6. Rhonda Revelle enters play this week with 897 wins at Nebraska. She needs three wins to become the 12th active Division I coach to win 900 games at his or her current school.
7. MJ Knighten ranks third nationally with 15 home runs, the sixth-highest total in school history. She has hit four home runs in Nebraska’s four home games this season.
8. Alicia Armstrong has totaled 10 RBIs in Nebraska’s four home games this season.
9. Kiki Stokes (4th) and MJ Knighten (5th) both rank in the top five in the Big Ten in batting average.
10. Cassie McClure ranks third nationally with five saves this season.

Team Talking Points

• Nebraska has played 26 of its 30 games this season away from home, and 10 of Nebraska’s next 16 games are on the road.
• NU is 3-1 at Bowlin Stadium this season, with all four games against non-conference opponents. The Huskers are 23-5 at home against non-conference opponents over the past five seasons.
• Nebraska has lost five of its last seven games after opening the year 17-6.
• The opponent has scored first in 20 of Nebraska’s 30 games this season. NU is 12-8 when the opponent scores first and 8-3 when the Huskers score first.
• Nebraska is 18-2 when holding the opponent to five runs or less.
• The Huskers are 3-7 when they do not hit a home run.
• Nebraska is 15-2 this season when out-hitting the opponent and 4-8 when being out-hit.
• Nebraska has averaged 969 fans per game through its first three home dates at Bowlin Stadium. The school record for average season attendance is 963 in 2014.
• The Huskers have drawn 63 walks in their last 11 games (5.7 per game). In the first 19 games, Nebraska totaled only 33 walks (1.7 per game).
• Nebraska ranks second in the Big Ten in home runs (39) and slugging percentage (.512).
• The Huskers are tied for the Big Ten lead with five saves.

Husker Quick Hitters

• Alicia Armstrong has missed four starts due to injury this season. In her first three seasons combined, Armstrong missed only two starts.
• Laura Barrow has four multi-hit efforts in her last eight games after having two multi-hit games through the first 18 games of the season.
• Senior Mattie Fowler owns a career-long nine-game hitting streak, the longest by a Husker in 2016.
• Fowler has produced at least one RBI in four straight games and six of her last seven games overall.
• MJ Knighten leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally with 15 home runs. She is already tied for sixth on Nebraska’s season home run chart, one shy of the most by a Husker junior.
• Knighten has walked 17 times in the past 11 games, including at least one walk in 10 of her last 11 games.
• Knighten is hitting .411 and has had a season batting average above .400 at the end of 63 consecutive games dating back to March 21, 2015.
• Knighten has started 150 consecutive games. She is the only Husker with more than 141 straight starts.
• Emily Lockman has allowed three earned runs or less in all but one of her 15 appearances this season. Overall, Lockman has allowed three earned runs or less in 16 of her last 17 appearances and 24 of her last 26.
• Cassie McClure has factored into 15 of Nebraska’s 19 victories, posting 11 wins and four saves.
• McClure has allowed one earned run or less in 17 of her 24 appearances, including seven scoreless outings.
• McClure is 6-2 as a reliever with four saves and a 1.73 ERA.
• Taylor Otte has tallied three hits in her current career-best three-game hitting streak. She had only three career hits before her current streak.
• Alyvia Simmons went 5-for-9 with a pair of two-hit games in the Illinois series. She has now produced multiple hits in three of her last five starts.
• Senior Kiki Stokes is one of only eight active players nationally who has totaled 150 career hits, 150 runs and 50 stolen bases.
• Stokes has tallied multiple hits in three straight games and seven of her last 11 games overall.
• Dawna Tyson has produced at least one RBI in each of her last five games.

Seniors Leading Way for Big Red
Nebraska’s senior class has been highly productive through the first half of the season, especially offensively.

• Three of Nebraska’s top four individual batting averages are held by a senior. Kiki Stokes leads NU with a .413 average, Mattie Fowler ranks third (.360), Dawna Tyson is fourth (.327) and Alicia Armstrong ranks fifth (.325).
• The senior class has accounted for only 36 percent of Nebraska’s total at bats this year, but the quartet has produced 42 percent of the team’s total hits.
• The seniors are hitting .362 as a group, while the rest of the Husker roster owns a collective .281 average.
• In the circle, Emily Lockman leads Nebraska with 11 starts and one shutout, while ranking second in wins (6), ERA (3.43), saves (1) and innings pitched (63.1).

NU Looks to Bounce Back in Big Ten Play
Nebraska has a losing record (1-2) after the opening weekend of Big Ten Conference play, marking only the second time in the Huskers’ five seasons in the Big Ten that NU has had a losing overall conference record following a conference series.

• The only other time Nebraska had a losing overall Big Ten record following a conference series was in 2014, when the Huskers were 1-2 after the opening weekend.
• In 2014, the Huskers twice fell two games below .500 and were sitting at 3-3 after two weeks of Big Ten play and 5-4 following three weeks of conference play.
• That same year, Nebraska finished with an 18-5 record and earned a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.

 

Knighten & Stokes Chasing .400
After both players hit .400 in 2015, senior Kiki Stokes and junior MJ Knighten are chasing the mark again this spring.

• Last season, Stokes and Knighten joined three-time All-American Ali Viola and two-time All-American Tobin Echo-Hawk as the only Huskers to hit .400 in a season.
• This year, Stokes and Knighten are looking to join Viola and Echo-Hawk as the only Huskers to post .400 averages in back-to-back seasons.
• Last year, Stokes and Knighten joined Viola and Echo-Hawk (1995) as the only Husker teammates to both hit .400 in the same season. If Stokes and Knighten can each hit .400 again this season, they would become the first pair of Husker teammates to each hit .400 in more than one season.
• Stokes currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten with a .413 average, while Knighten is fifth with a .411 average.

 

Scouting South Dakota State (11-19)
South Dakota State owns an 11-19 record after losing its opening Summit League series at Western Illinois, 2-1, over the weekend. The Jackrabbits have won five of their last eight games and eight of their last 13.

Nebraska and South Dakota State share five common opponents this season in Drake, Green Bay, Northern Iowa, Saint Louis and Western Illinois. The Huskers are 5-0 against those five opponents, while South Dakota State is 2-8 against that group. NU earned all five victories at the season-opening UNI-Dome Classic. SDSU was also at that tournament, although the Jacks did not play Nebraska. South Dakota State went 0-5 at the UNI-Dome Classic but has since avenged losses to Drake and Western Illinois.

Jackrabbit Offense
SDSU is hitting .267 as a team while averaging 4.6 runs per game. The Jacks have slugged 24 home runs and stolen 38 bases in 30 games.

Christian McKone leads the Jacks with a .366 average, 16 steals and 21 runs. Lauren Chirnside is batting .322 with a team-high 12 doubles and 25 RBIs. Ali Herdliska is the top power threat, leading South Dakota State with eight homers while adding 23 RBIs to complement a .317 average and team-high .732 slugging percentage.

Jackrabbit Defense
South Dakota State allows an average of 5.2 runs per game, posting a 4.55 ERA with an opponent batting average of .308. The Jackrabbits have also committed 46 errors in 30 games, allowing 36 unearned runs.

Ashlyn Bender and Bryana Clark are the Jacks’ primary pitchers, combining to start all but one game. Bender has compiled a 5-11 record over 19 appearances and 17 starts, posting a 3.96 ERA in 100.2 innings. Clark has made 16 appearances and 12 starts, compiling a 5-7 record and 5.27 ERA in 70.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .347 against Clark.

Julia Anderson (1-0, 5.48 ERA in 7.2 IP) and Katie Lang (0-1, 4.77 ERA in 7.1 IP) round out the Jackrabbit staff.

Jackrabbit Coaching Staff
South Dakota State is coached by Krista Wood, who owns a 34-48 record in her second season at SDSU and a 304-202 record in her 10th season as a collegiate head coach. Wood took over the Jackrabbit program in August of 2014, after former Husker Alex Hupp served as SDSU’s interim head coach for the 2014 season. Wood previously coached at Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb., guiding the Wildcats to a 270-154 record in eight seasons from 2007 to 2014. Wood played collegiate for Omaha, helping the Mavericks to the 2001 Division II national championship.

Wood is joined on the South Dakota State staff by second-year assistants John Newman and Shannon Pivovar.

Series History
Nebraska’s history with South Dakota State dates back to the Jackrabbits’ transition to the Division I level, which began in 2006. The Huskers have won all 15 meetings, with 14 of the 15 games being played at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln.

The Huskers have outscored the Jackrabbits 97-20 in the series, winning by an average of more than five runs per game. Nebraska has shut out South Dakota State in seven of the 15 all-time meetings, including two straight. Seven of Nebraska’s 15 wins in the series have been run-rule victories, while South Dakota State has lost four one-run games in the series (2007, twice in 2008 and 2011).