World?s Largest Softball Tailgate ?Best Buy? in America

Nebraska Hosts Top-Ranked Michigan This Weekend

Randy York N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

We’ve all heard that the best things in life are free, including hugs, smiles, love and laughter. Saturday, in Lincoln, let’s add two more gems to an N-Sider special edition – 1) free lunch at Saturday’s World’s Largest Softball Tailgate, beginning at 10 a.m. at Bowlin Stadium; and 2) free admission to Saturday’s 1 p.m. Nebraska softball game against No. 1-ranked Michigan.

A drumroll would be appropriate for both freebies, especially when you learn that Friday’s B1G series softball opener matches two iconic brands that will deliver two more firsts – 1) hosting a No. 1 team for the first time in Nebraska history and 2) facing a top-ranked opponent in conference play for the first time.

What a daily combo for Big Red fans and what an easy marketing line for Nebraska Athletics: Hurry, hurry to the World’s Largest Softball Tailgate, followed by an historic Big Ten Conference showdown. The ultimate punch line: free tailgate + free admission = Saturday’s ‘Best Buy’ in America.

The surrounding scenery features fanfare and fastballs, along with the free food. Did we mention there also will be a Ferris Wheel, inflatables, face painting, a balloon artist and live music?

Admission to the game is free. A hot dog, bag of chips and a Pepsi product is free only to the first 2,000 fans who show up, so don’t lollygag. Get to the stadium on time and take in the scenery, look skyward to see the Ferris Wheel and hope the Huskers can continue to build on their 9-8 advantage in the overall softball series.

Mission No. 1 is win the series but the Huskers also are motivated to break their own World’s Largest Softball Tailgate record of 2,204 fans, set two years ago. The Big Ten Network will televise Friday’s 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s noon game.

Michigan Leads the Big Ten with 27 Wins; Nebraska Tied for Second with 24 

Following this week’s top-rated honor to host a No. 1 team for the first time are a few other important tidbits:

• ​Friday’s game with Michigan will mark Nebraska’s 100th Big Ten Conference game.
• Michigan leads the Big Ten with 27 wins; Nebraska is tied for second with 24 victories.
• The Wolverines own the Big Ten’s longest conference win streak with five straight league victories, outscoring their opponents 53-15 in those five wins.
• The Huskers rank second in the Big Ten with a four-game conference win streak, outscoring their opponents 49-12 in those four victories.
•  Michigan won the 2015 Big Ten Tournament with a 6-1 championship game victory over Nebraska.
• Carol Hutchins (1,436) and Rhonda Revelle (902) have combined for 2,338 wins at Michigan and Nebraska, respectively. The other 12 Big Ten coaches have combined for 2,322 wins at their respective Big Ten schools.
• Nebraska had used 34 different starting lineups and 34 different batting orders before using a repeat lineup and order in game one Wednesday.
• Nebraska owns five walk-off wins this season, including a 6-5 walk-off win over Iowa in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader.

In addition, here are Nebraska’s “Series Storylines” that dramatize the importance of the Nebraska-Michigan rivalry.

Hall of Fame Friends: Nebraska Coach Rhonda Revelle and Michigan Coach Carol Hutchins face each other this weekend in a battle of hall-of-fame coaches. Revelle and Hutchins, who are good friends, are two of 14 active Division I coaches enshrined in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame.

Coaching Milestones: Revelle and Hutchins both celebrated milestone victories last weekend. Hutchins notched her 1,458th career victory last Saturday to become the all-time wins leader in NCAA history, and Revelle earned her 900th victory at Nebraska last Sunday. Revelle and Hutchins are two of only 12 active coaches with 900 wins at their current school.

Nebraska the Nemesis: Nebraska leads the all-time series with Michigan, 9-8, including a 2-1 edge in Big Ten Conference play. Nebraska is the only Big Ten school with a winning record against Michigan and Husker Coach Rhonda Revelle is the only current Big Ten coach with a winning record vs. the Wolverines (8-5). Revelle is also the only current Big Ten coach with a winning record against Michigan Coach Carol Hutchins (8-5).

Big Ten’s Best: Since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference in 2012, Michigan (82) and Nebraska (70) rank first and second, respectively, in conference wins. In 2013, Nebraska handed Michigan its only conference series loss in a year where both teams made it to the Women’s College World Series. The next year, Nebraska won 15 of its final 16 league games to share the Big Ten regular-season title with the Wolverines. Last season, Nebraska and Michigan met in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament, with the Wolverines winning the title by a score of 6-1.

Nebraska, Michigan Rank in Top 10 Nationally with 97 Combined Home Runs

Home Run Derby: Both Nebraska and Michigan rank in the top 10 nationally in home runs. The Wolverines rank seventh nationally in home runs (50) and the Huskers rank eighth nationally in home runs (47). In home runs per game, Michigan ranks second and Nebraska is 10th.

All-America Table Setters: Nebraska’s Kiki Stokes and Michigan’s Sierra Lawrence are similar players at the top of their respective batting orders. Both center fielders earned third-team All-America accolades in 2015, and both excel at getting on base for the RBI producers behind them. Stokes ranks 18th in runs per game (1.2) and 23rd nationally in on-base percentage (.545), while Lawrence is third nationally in runs per game (1.4) and 12th in on-base percentage (.560).

Terrific Two-Hole Hitters: Behind Stokes and Lawrence are two of the top run producers in the country. MJ Knighten bats behind Stokes in the Husker lineup, and Knighten is tied for the national lead with 17 home runs, and she ranks ninth in RBIs (46) and 10th in slugging percentage (.903). Three-time All-American Sierra Romero hits behind Lawrence in the Wolverine lineup and ranks fourth nationally in slugging (1.023), second in RBIs (52) and 22nd in home runs (11), while leading the country in RBIs per game (1.7). Romero is also the nation’s active career leader in home runs (74) and RBIs (278). Romero and Knighten rank first and second, respectively, in the Big Ten in RBIs and slugging percentage, while Knighten leads the Big Ten in home runs and Romero is third.

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