Huskers Host Wichita State in Home Opener

The Nebraska softball team (10-5) will host Wichita State (7-7) this weekend in its first home series of the 2018 season. The Shockers and the Huskers will play a double header on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. The teams will play the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Huskers are coming off a 2-3 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Feb. 22-24, which included an upset over No. 6 Texas A&M. Nebraska also beat St. John’s, but fell to No. 1 Washington, No. 3 UCLA and Mississippi State.

Scouting Wichita State
Wichita State enters the weekend with a 7-7 record. Six of those losses have come to ranked teams, while the final loss came against a team receiving votes. Most recently, the Shockers went 2-3 at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas, Feb. 23-25. Wichita State went 1-1 on Friday, losing to No. 21 Ohio State, 3-4, and beating Texas, 7-5. On Saturday, the Shockers got shut out by No. 20 Michigan and No. 21 Ohio State. On Sunday, WSU grabbed a 5-2 win over Virginia Tech. 

The Shockers return 2017 first-team all-conference selection Mackenzie Wright along with second-team all-conference honorees Laurie Derrico and Madison Perrigan. Wright was second on the team last season in a number of categories including batting average [.360], runs scored [36], hits [58] and doubles [12]. Derrico led the team in slugging [.619] and runs batted in [47] while Perrigan was second on the team in putouts [233]. This season, Derrico is batting .205 with three doubles. Perrigan is batting .182, with two doubles and a triple.

Underclassmen Ryleigh Buck and Caitlin Bingham are leading the Shockers at the plate. Buck, a sophomore, is batting .351 with three doubles and one home run. Bingham, a freshman, is hitting .292 with one home run and five RBIs. Paige Leullen leads the team in slugging average with a .571.

In the circle, newcomers Hailey Martinez and Bailey Lange are leading the way for the Shockers. Freshman Martinez has a 1-0 record and a 1.20 ERA. She’s appeared in five games, pitching 11.2 innings and recording two strikeouts. Lange, a transfer from the University of Northern Iowa, has pitched 39.1 innings and has recorded 44 strikeouts. She has a 3-4 record and a 4.09 ERA. Lange has made eight starts, appeared in 11 games and has earned two saves.

For the Fans
The first 600 fans on Saturday and Sunday will receive a pair of Nebraska gloves, while the first 300 fans on Saturday will receive a free Nebraska softball schedule magnet.

Follow the Huskers
Both games will be available on Huskers.com (radio) and BTNPlus/FloSoftball (subscription).

Simmons Moved to Leadoff

Alyvia Simmons moved to leadoff last weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic to fill in for Taylor Otte, who was injured at the time, and she might have found a new spot in the batting order. Simmons almost doubled her batting average in the leadoff spot, batting .500, with three runs and one RBI last weekend, leading the Huskers at Mary Nutter. The previous 10 games, Simmons batted .267, with four runs and one RBI. Her slugging average also improved to .500, compared to .400 from the first two weekends.

Revelle Looks For Win 950 at NU

Nebraska’s 10 wins this season gives Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle 947 wins at Nebraska, which is the most of any coach - male or female - in NU history. She looks to reach another milestone this weekend. If the Huskers sweep, Revelle would win her 950th game at Nebraska.

Pitching Staff Saves the Day

The Husker pitchers have a combined six saves this season, which is twice as many all other Big Ten teams combined. The pitching staff needs one more save this weekend to tie for fifth in the team season records.

Individually, Kaylan Jablonski has recorded four, while Olivia Ferrell has two. Jablonski currently is tied for ninth in school history and is tied for third in the senior record book. Ferrell needs one more save to tie for the freshman record and two more to break the record.

Jablonski Leads in the Circle

Kaylan Jablonski comes back in 2018 as the Huskers’ top returning pitcher and she’s already proving why. Jablonski has had the win or the save in nine of Nebraska’s 10 wins so far this season. Additionally, her four saves are more than the rest of the Big Ten teams have combined.

Metzler Finding Her Grove

Senior outfielder Gina Metzler has found her grove offensively. Metzler has had six hits in the last five games, compared to seven in the first 10 games. She ranked second on the team over the weekend, batting .462 at the Mary Nutter Classic, which included going 3-for-3 against No. 6 Texas A&M. Through the first two weekends, Metzler batted .280.