NU Travels to Maryland for Three-Game Series

The Nebraska softball team travels to College Park, Md., this weekend for a three-game Big Ten Conference series with the Maryland Terrapins.

The Huskers are making their first trip to Maryland and are facing the Terrapins for the first time as conference foes. Nebraska enters the series with a 20-11 overall record, and the Huskers sit in a tie for eighth place in the league standings with a 1-2 record in conference play. Maryland, which has lost eight straight, is 7-23 overall and the Terrapins are tied for 11th in the Big Ten standings with an 0-3 record in conference play.

Fans can listen to all three games for free on Huskers.com, with Nate Rohr calling all of the action for the Husker Sports Network. BTN Plus subscribers can also watch the games on Friday and Sunday.
Nebraska is looking to bounce back from a disappointing beginning to its Big Ten season. The Huskers run-ruled Illinois, 10-2, last Friday in their Big Ten opener before being swept in a doubleheader the next day to lose their first three-game conference road series since 2012.

NU enters a Big Ten series with a losing conference record for only the second time in its five seasons in the league. The good new for the Huskers is the only other time they entered a conference series with a losing record was in 2014, which is also the same year Nebraska shared the Big Ten regular-season title with Michigan. That year, Nebraska was also 1-2 after one weekend of conference play.

The Huskers are hoping for another strong April, after posting a 12-3 record in the month last year.

This Week's Top 10

1. Friday’s game will mark Nebraska’s first game in the state of Maryland in the 41-year history of Husker softball.

2. The Huskers came in at No. 24 in the second NCAA RPI ranking of the season, released on Monday.

3. Nebraska has faced the nation’s 11th-toughest schedule according to the RPI, including the 10th-toughest non-conference schedule.

4. The Huskers have used 31 different starting lineups (P, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, DP) this season and 31 different batting orders, never duplicating a starting lineup or batting order.

5. Nebraska has hit 40 home runs this season faster than any other year in school history (31 games).

6. Eleven different Huskers have homered this season, the most players to hit a home run in a single season in school history.

7. Rhonda Revelle enters play this weekend with 898 wins at Nebraska. She needs two wins to become the 12th active Division I coach to win 900 games at his or her current school.

8. MJ Knighten ranks third nationally with 15 home runs, the sixth-highest total in school history.

9. MJ Knighten (4th) and Kiki Stokes (5th) both rank in the top five in the Big Ten in batting average.

10. Cassie McClure leads the Big Ten in saves (4) and ranks third in wins (12).

 

Leading Off...

• Since joining the Big Ten in 2012, Nebraska has lost only five conference series, and the Huskers have bounced back to win the next conference series all five times.
• Nebraska is 19-2 this season when holding the opponent to five runs or less.
• The opponent has scored first in 20 of Nebraska’s 31 games this season. Nebraska is 12-8 when the opponent scores first and 9-3 when the Huskers score first.
• Laura Barrow has four multi-hit efforts in her last nine games after having two multi-hit games through the first 18 games of the season.
• Senior Mattie Fowler owns a career-long 10-game hitting streak, the longest by a Husker in 2016.
• Fowler has produced at least one RBI in five straight games and seven of her last eight 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 18 times in the past 12 games, including at least one walk in 11 of her last 12 games. Knighten had drawn only three walks in her first 19 games.
• Knighten is hitting .413 and has had a season batting average above .400 at the end of 64 consecutive games dating back to March 21, 2015.
• Knighten has started 151 consecutive games. She is the only Husker with more than 15 straight starts.
• Knighten has totaled 63 hits and 50 RBIs in only 49 career Big Ten Conference games.
• 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.
• Lockman is 22-8 in her Big Ten career, and she has won 17 of her last 22 decisions. Lockman’s 22 conference victories are the most of any active Big Ten pitcher.
• Cassie McClure has factored into 16 of Nebraska’s 20 victories, posting 12 wins and four saves.
• McClure has allowed one earned run or less in 17 of her 25 appearances, including seven scoreless outings.
• Taylor Otte has tallied three hits in her current career-long 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 of her last four games and seven of her last 12 games.
• Dawna Tyson owns an RBI in each her last five games.

Big Red Among Big Ten’s Best
Nebraska is in its fifth season as a member of the Big Ten Conference, playing its first league season in 2012. The Huskers are 66-28 in Big Ten games.

• Nebraska is 33-9 in its last 42 Big Ten games.
• The Huskers own a 30-17 record on the road in Big Ten play, including a 26-9 record since the start of the 2013 season and 18-5 since the start of the 2014 season.
• Nebraska has won 10 of its last 11 road Big Ten series (three-game series only; doubleheaders excluded).
• The Huskers are 1-2 on the road in Big Ten play this season, after going 8-1 in 2014 and 9-2 in 2015.
• NU has finished first (2014), second (2013) and third (2012, 2015) in its first four Big Ten seasons.

McClure Saving Best for Last
Junior Cassie McClure has been at her best in a relief role for the Huskers, picking up four saves this season.

• McClure leads the Big Ten and ranks in a tie for third nationally with four saves.
• Her four saves are one shy of her career high (5 in 2015) and rank eighth in Husker history.
• McClure owns nine saves in two seasons at Nebraska, which is tied for the fifth-highest total in school history.
• McClure owns 10 career saves including her freshman season at Texas Tech. Her 10 career saves rank in a tie for eighth among all active Division I pitchers.
• She is 6-2 as a reliever with four saves and a 1.73 ERA.
• As a starter, McClure is 6-3 with a 4.23 ERA.

Season Record Watch
With the regular season more than half complete, Nebraska is on pace to challenge a few season records. NU would be on pace to challenge more records were it not for fewer games played than previous Husker teams.

• The Huskers’ .512 slugging percentage is currently on pace to break last year’s record mark (.505).
• Individually, junior MJ Knighten is currently on pace to break Nebraska’s single-season home run record, and she could also challenge NU’s runs and walks records.

Scouting Maryland (7-23, 0-3 Big Ten)
Maryland owns a 7-23 overall record and an 0-3 record in Big Ten Conference play after being swept in a three-game series at Ohio State last weekend. The Terrapins have lost eight straight and 14 of their last 16.

Maryland and Nebraska share five common opponents in Georgetown, Ohio State, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 4 Oregon and Saint Louis. The Huskers are 3-1 against that group, while the Terps are 1-8.

Terrapin Offense
Maryland is hitting .282 as a team while averaging 3.6 runs per game. The Terrapins hit .292 in their Big Ten-opening series at Ohio State last weekend, but scored only nine runs in three games.

Skylynne Ellazar leads the Terps with a .385 average that includes seven doubles, two homers and 13 RBIs. Hannah Dewey is hitting .345 with a team-high 16 walks and 23 RBIs, while Kristina Dillard (.313) and Sarah Calta (.311) are also hitting 300. Calta was 6-for-9 against Ohio State last weekend with a pair of triples and three RBIs.

Terrapin Defense
In the circle, Maryland owns a 6.79 ERA while allowing an average of 7.0 runs per game. The Terrapins have also committed 37 errors in 30 games, leading to 26 unearned runs. Maryland, which gives up an average of 1.0 home run per game, has allowed the opponent to score in the first inning in 17 of its 30 games this season. The Terrapins have allowed 10-or-more runs nine times.

The Terps primarily rely on the three-pitcher rotation of Brenna Nation, Dewey and Madison Martin. Nation leads Maryland with 22 appearances, 16 starts and 62.2 innings pitched. She has compiled a 2-13 record with a 7.82 ERA, as opponents are hitting .362 against her. Dewey is 3-7 with an 8.76 ERA over 58.1 innings that includes 10 starts and 11 relief appearances. Martin owns a 1-3 record with a team-best 2.96 ERA. Opponents are hitting only .241 against her and have struck out 42 times in 52.0 innings, but Martin has been primarily used as a reliever, making three starts and 15 relief appearances.

Sami Main (1-0, 7.60 ERA in 15.2 IP) and Ari Jarvis (0-0, 21.00 ERA in 1.0 IP) round out the Maryland staff.

Terrapin Coaching Staff
Maryland is led by first-year head coach Julie Wright. Wright came to Maryland after compiling a 126-129 record in five seasons at Idaho State, where she led the Bengals to three consecutive Big Sky Conference titles. Wright also spent two seasons at Akron from 2004 to 2006, helping the Zips to a 53-52 record. She owns a 186-204 career record in her eighth season as a collegiate coach.

Wright is joined on the Maryland staff by first-year assistants Lisa Carey and Lisa Norris.

Series History
Nebraska and Maryland have met only three times, all as non-conference opponents. The Huskers have won all three meetings, winning 3-1 in 1999, 6-4 in 2011 and 8-1 in 2013. Nebraska and Maryland are meeting as conference foes for the first time this weekend.