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The Nebraska softball team (17-7) travels west this weekend to Fullerton, Calif., for the Easton Invitational. The Huskers will play five games from Friday to Sunday. The action starts on Friday as the Huskers face Grand Canyon and CSUN at 2:30 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. CT, respectively. On Saturday, Nebraska plays two more games against No. 5 Oklahoma (12:30 CT) and Cal State Fullerton (5:30 CT). The final tournament game will be on Sunday against DePaul (noon). All of the games will be available on FloSoftball/BTNPlus for a subscription fee. A live radio stream will also be available for all games on Huskers.com, courtesy of the IMG Husker Sports Network.
Scouting Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon University enters the Easton Invitational with a record of 16-14. Most recently, GCU went 2-4 at the GCU Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz. The Lopes split two games with Georgetown, went 1-2 against Iowa and also lost to Minnesota. At the plate, Grand Canyon is led by the Sierra and Shea Smith. Both Sierra and Shea have started all 30 games for the Lopes and are batting .423 and .398, respectively. Sierra leads the team with 27 RBIs as well, while Shea ranks third with 21. Sierra also leads the team in slugging percentage, with .649 and hits with 41. Niki Gonzalez is helping the team at the plate. She is batting .321 and has a team-high six homeruns. Taylor Kaye as played every game as well for the Lopes and is batting .343. In the circle, Brianna Aguilar has seen the most action, as she’s pitched 92.2 innings of the team’s 197.0 innings this season. She has a record of 8-8 on the year and an ERA of 3.63. She’s pitched 10 complete games, including three solo shutouts. She also has recorded 47 strikeouts this season. Alexa Coons has also seen significant action, pitching 59.0 innings. Coons has a 7-2 record and a 3.32 ERA. She also has 38 strikeouts. and has pitched five complete games. Yesenia Morrison leads the pitching staff with a 2.33 ERA. She has pitched 24.0 innings and has a 1-2 record. She’s also recorded 15 strikeouts.
Scouting CSUN
Cal State Northridge comes into the weekend with a 10-19 record., which includes a six-game losing streak. Most recently, the Matadors dropped a pair of home games against North Dakota State and No. 16/17 Ohio State on Wednesday afternoon. CSUN’s last victory came on March 6 against Providence. At the plate, CSUN is led by Savannah Horvath who is batting .410 and slugging 1.000. Horvath has started all 29 games for the Matadors and leads the team in every offensive category. Horvath has 33 runs, 32 hits, 10 doubles, three triples, 10 homers and 22 RBIs. She is getting help from Megan Stevens who has also played in all 29 games. Stevens is batting .333 and slugging .583, which ranks second on the team. She has 28 hits, 16 runs, four doubles, one triple, five homers and 24 RBIs. In the circle, Jillian James has a record of 5-9 and has pitched 95.2 innings, which is more than the other three pitchers combined. James has made 13 starts and appeared in 22 of the games. She’s pitched six complete games, including one solo shutout. She has a team-low 3.88 ERA. Taylor Troost has also seen significant action in the circle. She’s pitched 58.0 innings and has an ERA of 4.47, with a 3-7 record. She’s pitched three complete games, including one solo shutout. She also has one save.
Scouting Oklahoma
Oklahoma enters the Easton Invitational with a 19-2 record and a No. 5 ranking in the both the NFCA Poll and the ESPN.com Poll. Most recently, the Sooners went 5-0 at the OG&E Tournament in Norman, Okla., last weekend. The Sooners defeated their opponents by a combined score of 35-6 over the weekend, which included two shutouts and two games that didn’t last seven innings. Oklahoma’s only two losses have come to Boston University (4-3) and then-ranked No. 12/13 Arizona (2-0). At the plate, the Sooners are led by All-Big 12 pick Sydney Romero, who is batting .508 and slugging .721. She started all 21 games and has 31 hits, with four doubles, three homers and 22 RBIs. She’s getting help from freshman Jocelyn Alo, who also has 21 starts on the season and is batting .483 and slugging 1.000. Alo has 29 hits, a team-high 21 runs, four doubles, nine homers and 23 RBIs. Two-time All-American Shay Knighten, and sister of former Husker All-American MJ Knighten, is also assisting the Sooners offensively. She’s batting .356 with 12 runs, one double, one triple, one homer and six RBIs. OU has dominated in the circle this season. The pitching staff has given up just 20 runs in 21 games and has an ERA of 0.78. The team is led by All-American Paige Parker who has pitched 54.1 innings and has a 10-1 record, with a 0.52 ERA. She’s given up four earned runs in 12 appearances and has 71 strikeouts. She has also pitched three complete games, including two solo shutouts. She’s getting help from All-Big 12 honoree Paige Lowary, who has a team-low 0.26 ERA and a record of 2-1. Lowary has pitched 27.0 innings, has given up one earned run and has recorded 25 strikeouts.
Scouting Cal State Fullerton
Host team Cal State Fullerton has a record of 11-13, after most recently dropping a pair of games to Fairfield and Columbia on Tuesday. On offense, the Titans are led by Deshea Hill who is batting .403 and slugging .542. Hill has made 24 starts and has 29 hits, with four doubles, two homers and 14 RBIs. Emily Randall and Brook Clemetson are also batting above .300. Randall has an average of .364, with eight hits, four runs, one double, one homer and seven RBIs. Clemetson has also made 24 starts and is batting .362. She has 25 hits, 20 runs, one double and three RBIs for the Titans so far this season. In the circle, Taylor Dockins has done most of the damage for the Titans, pitching 30.0 innings. Dockins has 12 appearances, with 10 starts and five complete games. She has a record of 5-4 and has also pitched one shutout. She has an ERA of 3.27 and has 21 strikeouts. Sophie Frost has also seen significant action in the circle for Cal State Fullerton. Frost has pitched 44.0 innings and has a 4-2 record, with a 2.07 ERA. She’s pitched five complete games, including two shutouts. She also has recorded a team-high 28 strikeouts.
Scouting DePaul
DePaul comes into the weekend with a 16-7 overall record. Last weekend, at the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., the Blue Demons split four games. DePaul defeated New Mexico State and Portland State, but fell to UNLV and top-ranked Washington. The Blue Demons are led by junior Morgan Greenwood on offense. Greenwood has started all 23 games for the Blue Demons and has 23 hits, with eight doubles, one homer and 15 RBIs. Maranda Gutierrez, Megan Leyva and Haydn Christensen are also all batting above .300. Gutierrez is averaging .318, with 21 hits, two doubles, two homers and five RBIs. Christensen is hitting .317 with 20 hits, three doubles and five RBIs, while Leyva is batting .311, with 19 hits, five doubles, a team-high four homers and a team-best 18 RBIs. In the circle, All-Big East honoree Missy Zoch has pitched 78.1 innings and has a team-low 1.61 ERA and a 9-3 record. She has started nine games and has pitched seven complete games, including two solo shutouts. She’s given up 18 earned runs and has recorded 71 strikeouts. Pat Moore has also seen a lot of time in the circle, pitching 55.2 innings, appearing 13 times, which includes eight starts. She has a 6-2 record and an ERA of 1.76. She’s pitched one complete game and it was a shutout. She’s given up 14 earned runs and has a team-high 75 strikeouts.
Revelle Coaches 1,500th Game
Head coach Rhonda Revelle will coach her 1,500th career game on Friday against Grand Canyon. This includes 26 seasons at Nebraska and one season (1987) at Nebraska Wesleyan.
A First Time for Everything
The Nebraska and Grand Canyon softball programs will meet for the first time this weekend. This is the second time this season Nebraska has faced a team for the first time ever, after taking on Seattle in the opening weekend. The Huskers beat Seattle, 3-2. Overall, Nebraska is 161-51 (.759) in first-time meetings.
Minimizing Errors
The Huskers’ fielding percentage is at an all-time high so far this season at .979. If Nebraska continues this pace, it would set the school record for fielding percentage, as the current record is .973. Despite having almost a completely different infield from last year, that at times includes five first-years at respective positions, the Huskers have just 14 errors through 24 games. Last season, NU had 33 errors through 24 games and was fielding .947. Addtionally, the Huskers rank second in the conference in fielding percentage, and 15th nationally.
Livin' in the Hall of Fame
Three Hall of Fame Coaches will be leading their teams this weekend, including Rhonda Revelle (Nebraska), Patty Gasso (Oklahoma) and Eugene Lenti. All three rank in the top 12 for most wins among active D1 coaches at their current school. The group has more than 84 years of head coaching experience and more than 3,400 wins.
Huskers vs. Ranked Teams
Nebraska will face its seventh ranked team of the season, when it faces No. 5 Oklahoma on Saturday. The Huskers are 3-3 this season against ranked foes and for some Huskers, the toughest competition brings out the best in them. Nebraska will face its seventh ranked team of the season, when it faces No. 5 Oklahoma on Saturday. The Huskers are 3-3 this season against ranked foes and for some Huskers, the toughest competition brings out the best in them. Freshman pitcher Olivia Ferrell has started three games against ranked teams so far this season. She has an ERA of 1.31 against ranked foes, compared to her overall ERA of 2.58. She’s given up three earned runs through 16.0 innings and 13 of her 28 strikeouts this season have come against ranked opponents. On offense, Kaylan Jablonski and Alyvia Simmons are both batting better against ranked teams. Jablonski is average .474 against ranked foes, compared to her overall average of .351. Simmons is batting .389 against ranked teams, bettering her .324 overall average.
Jablonski - A Double Threat
Senior Kaylan Jablonski has been a huge factor for the team both on defense and on offense. She entered the 2018 season as the only Husker pitcher to have significant experience in the circle and was expected to be a leader for the pitching staff. The Omaha, Neb., native has embraced the role. Jablonski has the save or win in 13 of the Huskers’ 17 wins this season. Additionally, her four saves are more than the rest of the Big Ten teams have combined.Senior Kaylan Jablonski has been a huge factor for the team both on defense and on offense. She entered the 2018 season as the only Husker pitcher to have significant experience in the circle and was expected to be a leader for the pitching staff. The Omaha, Neb., native has embraced the role. Jablonski has the save or win in 13 of the Huskers’ 17 wins this season. Additionally, her four saves are more than the rest of the Big Ten teams have combined. At the plate, Jablonski ranks in the top three with a batting average of .351 and a slugging percentage of .597. She also is tied for first on the team with one triple. She ranks second in homers (four), doubles (five) and RBIs (12). She is also currently on a seven-game hitting streak.
Hot Hitting Edwards
Sophomore infielder Tristen Edwards has been a terror at the plate for opposing teams this season. She leads the starters with a .372 batting average and a .654 slugging percentage. She also leads the team in home runs (seven), doubles (seven) and RBIs (20). She’s had at least one hit in all but six games this season and she’s had 10 multi-hit games this season. She also ranks third in the conference in multi-base hits.
Ally Riley Making Noise on Offense
Nebraska and Cal State Northridge will meet for the second time this season. The teams met on Feb. 11 at the Kajikawa Classic. Nebraska won, 9-1 in five innings. Regan Mergele picked up her first D1 win against the Matadors. At the plate, ever starter got at least one hit. Tristen Edwards led the way with three hits, one run and one RBI. Bri Cassidy hit a three-run homer as well, while Alyvia Simmons and Lexey Kneib each had two hits as well.
Round Two
Nebraska and Cal State Northridge will meet for the second time this season. The teams met on Feb. 11 at the Kajikawa Classic. Nebraska won, 9-1 in five innings. Regan Mergele picked up her first D1 win against the Matadors. At the plate, ever starter got at least one hit. Tristen Edwards led the way with three hits, one run and one RBI. Bri Cassidy hit a three-run homer as well, while Alyvia Simmons and Lexey Kneib each had two hits as well.