Huskers Host South Dakota on Tuesday

LINCOLN –The Nebraska softball team (23-10) welcomes South Dakota (13-20) on Tuesday for a mid-week game beginning at 5 p.m. CT. The game will be available on Huskers.com (radio) and BTNPlus/FloSoftball (subscription required). 

Last Time Out
The Huskers opened Big Ten play with a three-game home series against Michigan State last weekend. The Huskers went 2-1 against the Spartans and are currently tied for third in the conference. Kaylan Jablonski picked up both wins against MSU. On offense, Alyvia Simmons went 6-for-9 over the weekend, with two doubles and seven RBIs. Laura Barrow went 5-for-9, with four runs, two doubles and three RBIs. Tristen Edwards hit 4-for-8, with two runs and five RBIs. Barrow and Edwards each had one homer for the Huskers as well over the weekend.

Scouting South Dakota
South Dakota comes to Lincoln with a 13-20 overall record, which includes a 3-0 record in the Summit League. Additionally, the Coyotes have won five of their last six matchups.

Most recently, South Dakota swept UNO in a three-game series March 22-23, with a doubleheader on March 22. The Coyotes outscored the Mavericks 33-16 in the three-game series.

Taylor Steinfeldt leads the Coyotes at the plate. She’s batting .352 and slugging .692. She has 32 hits, nine doubles, two triples, six home runs and 18 RBIs.

Jessica Rodgers is also helping out at the plate, batting .349 and slugging .686. She has a team high eight home runs and a team best 28 RBIs.

In the circle, South Dakota has mostly rotated between Dustie Durham and Sarah Lisko. Durham has a 8-7 record and has pitched 81.0 innings. She’s made 20 appearances, including 15 starts. She’s pitched six complete games, and has two solo shutouts and two saves. She also has a team-high 53 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.06.

Lisko has a 5-6 record and has made 11 starts. She’s pitched 66.1 innings, including three complete games. She also has earned one save and has an ERA of 5.38.

Simmons at Leadoff

Alyvia Simmons moved to leadoff at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic to fill in for Taylor Otte, who was injured at the time, and she seems to have found her spot in the batting order. Simmons’ stats have significanly improved since her move. Additionally, Simmons is coming off of an impressive weekend against Michigan State. Simmons led the team over the weekend with a .667 batting average. She had six runs, six hits, two doubles and a team-high seven RBIs. On March 24, she had four hits and a career-best five RBIs against the Spartans. Her four hits also are tied for fourth in school history. Also, on March 14, in game two of the South Dakota State doubleheader, Simmons earned her 100th-career hit.

Pitchers Saving the Day

The pitching staff wrote its way into the record books last weekend when Sydney McLeod picked up the seventh save of the season against Michigan State on March 23. Addtionally, the seven saves lead the Big Ten. Individually, Kaylan Jablonski has recorded four saves, while Olivia Ferrell has two. Jablonski currently is tied for ninth in school history and is tied for third in the senior record book. She also leads the conference and ranks fifth in the country. Ferrell needs one more save to tie for the freshman record and two more to break the record. Ferrell ranks third in the conference.

Jablonski's a Double Threat

Senior Kaylan Jablonski has been a huge factor for the team both on defense and on offense, starting every game this season for the Huskers. Senior Kaylan Jablonski has been a huge factor for the team both on defense and on offense, starting every game this season for the Huskers.  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 19 of the Huskers’ 23 wins this season. Additionally, her four saves lead the Big Ten. She has 16 wins this season, which included  11 straight. Her 16 wins are a new season best. Her first two seasons she recorded eight wins and last season she had 11. Her six losses also are tied for lowest in the Big Ten. At the plate, Jablonski ranks second one the team with a batting average of .349 and ranks second on the team with a slugging percentage of .606. She also is tied for first on the team with one triple and seven home runs. She ranks third in doubles (five) and second in RBIs (18).  Her 38 hits rank fifth in the Big Ten and her seven homers are ranked fourth.  Additionally, on March 17, Jablonski hit three home runs against Cal State Fullerton to tie a Nebraska single-game record, as well as a Big Ten record. Jablonski also pitched a complete seven-inning game against Fullerton, becoming the first player in NCAA history to hit three home runs and pick up the win in the circle in the same game. Jablonski’s 16 wins are tied for first in the country. The four other pitcher’s she’s tied with haven’t even recorded a hit this season. Additionally, her four saves are tied for fifth in the country. She is the only pitcher in the country to rank in the top five in wins and saves. Jablonski also has seven homers, also a career best, and ranks in the top 50 nationally in that category as well.