Huskers Travel to Kansas for Jayhawk Invitational

The Nebraska softball team (11-7) will hit the road again this weekend, traveling to Lawrence, Kan., for the Jayhawk Invitational March 9-11. The Huskers are scheduled for five games, playing two on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.

NU begins the weekend with back-to-back games against Green Bay and Northern Iowa on Friday morning, beginning at 9 a.m. On Saturday, the Big Red will play Tulsa at 11:30 a.m. and Kansas at 2 p.m. The Huskers end the weekend with a game against UMKC on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

Last Time Out
Nebraska played its home-opening series against Wichita State March 3-4 and finished 1-2 against the Shockers. In NU’s lone 3-1 win - game two of Saturday’s double header – freshman Olivia Ferrell pitched a complete game for the Huskers, giving up one run on seven hits. She also had two strikeouts. She, along with Alyvia Simmons, also led the offensive efforts, getting two hits.

Scouting Green Bay
Green Bay enters the weekend with a 1-9 record. The Phoenix are coming off a bye week, last competing Feb. 23-25 in Bowling Green, Ky. Green Bay went 0-5 that weekend, falling to Indiana State, Western Kentucky (twice) and Toledo (twice). Green Bay’s lone win came in a 7-6 victory over UMKC on Feb. 10.

The Green Bay roster is a young one, with over half of it consisting of underclassman, which includes six freshman. Sophomore Chyanne Onstad leads of offensive efforts for Green Bay, batting .400 and slugging .533. She has 12 hits, including one double and one home run. She also has six RBIs. Senior Allie Hislope adds some offense as well, batting .333, with seven hits and two RBIs.

In the circle, freshman Kayla Schwebke has wasted no time making an impact on the team this season. She is leading the pitching staff with a 5.14 ERA and her 31.1 innings pitched is more than the three other pitchers combined. She has appeared in seven games and owns a 1-4 record, earning the team’s only win of the season. Junior Alexis Kinnaird has pitched 17.0 innings and has an ERA of 8.65. She has a 0-2 record this season. Elizabeth Pautz has pitched 11.1 innings this season and is 0-3 on the year.

Scouting Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa owns a 13-7 record this season. The Panthers finished 4-1 at the Bruin Classic last weekend in Nashville, Tenn. UNI topped North Carolina A&T and Butler twice and fell only to Belmont by a score of 8-6.

Last season, UNI was named the regular-season MVC champion. UNI will look to repeat as conference champions for the first time in program history. UNI has captured MVC regular season titles in 2000, 2012 and 2017.

This season, UNI’s 16-person roster consists of just six upperclassmen, which includes a pair of seniors in Brittney Roby and Kennedy Bailey. Roby is leading the team at the plate this season, batting .492 and slugging .554. The outfielder has 32 hits, with four doubles and eight RBIs. She is also 5-for-6 on stolen base attempts.

With the loss of four seniors from last season and limited experience on the team entering the season, the Panthers needed some underclassmen to step up. With the sophomores filling up half of the roster, it’s not surprising that the team has depended on that class to make big contributions. After Roby, the next five highest batting averages are all coming from the sophomore class. Sammy Bunch has started all 20 games this season and ranks second on the team in batting average with .394. She has 26 hits, five doubles and three homeruns. Her homers are more than the rest of the team combined. Classmates Jenny Kohl and Olivia Brooks are both batting .333.

The situation in the circle is similar for UNI. Sophomore Jaclyn Spencer leads the team with an ERA of 2.25. Spencer has pitched 56.0 innings and owns a 6-3 record. She has given up 18 earned runs in 10 appearances and has recorded 45 of the pitching staff’s 92 strikeouts.

Scouting Tulsa
Tulsa owns a 12-7 record, but could have 13 wins entering the Jayhawk Invitational as the team is set to play Drake on Thursday. The Golden Hurricane completed a weekend sweep at the North Texas Invitational last weekend, winning five games. Tulsa beat Nicholls State (twice), UT Arlington (twice) and North Texas. Tulsa has won nine of its last 10 games, including seven straight.

On offense, the Golden Hurricane is led by Shelby Estocado who is batting .415 and slugging .708. She has started all 19 games and has 27 hits, four doubles, five home runs and 16 RBIs. She also is 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts. Additionally, her five home runs are more than the rest of the team combined.

Estocado is getting help at the plate by Julia Hollingsworth and Morgan Neal who are both averaging over .325. Hollingsworth is batting .393 and slugging .607. She has 22 hits, three doubles and all of the team’s triples this season, with three. She also has one home run and nine RBIs.

Emily Watson leads the pitching staff with a 1.88 ERA and a 7-2 record. She has started nine games, which includes six complete games and two solo shutouts. She’s pitched 56.0 innings and allowed just 15 earned runs. She also has recorded 66 strikeouts. Samantha Pochop has a 4-3 record this season. She’s made six starts and pitched a total of 33.1 innings. She also has pitched one complete game. She has recorded 27 strikeouts and given up 22 earned runs.

Scouting Kansas
Kansas enters the Jayhawk Invitational with a 16-3 record, which includes a five-game winning streak.

Most recently, the Jayhawks completed a weekend sweep March 2-4 at the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C. KU defeated Elon (twice), Harvard and North Carolina.

Harli Ridling and Jessie Roane lead the offensive efforts for Kansas. They are both batting above .400 and are slugging at least .750. Ridling leads the way with .452 and a .758 slugging percentage, while Roane is averaging .417 and is slugging .750. The pair has started all 19 games and both have four home runs this year. Roane has 21 RBIs, while Ridling has 17.

The duo is getting help from Brittany Jackson and Sam Dellinger. Jackson is batting .323 and has started all 19 games as well. Dellinger has started 18 games and is batting .321, with 18 hits, six doubles, one homerun and 12 RBIs.

In the circle, Tarin Travieso has the best ERA with 1.40. She has a 2-0 record and has pitched 15.0 innings. Andie Formby holds a 6-1 record, pitching 61.2 innings. She has pitched five complete games and has earned two saves. Formby has appeared in 13 games and has a 3.06 ERA. \

Scouting UMKC
UMKC enters the invitational with a 4-11 record. Most recently, the Kangaroos went 1-4 at the Blues City Classic in Memphis, Tenn., March 2-4.

Olivia Fluehr and Ashlin O’Brien are heading the charge offensively for UMKC. They both have started all 15 games so far this season and are batting .342 and .333, respectively.

Fluehr has 13 hits, with two doubles and 16 RBIs. She’s also slugging .711. Her four home runs are half of the team’s total in that category. 

O’Brien has 14 hits, with two doubles and four RBIs. She is also slugging .381.

Maegan Rollow is adding assistance as the plate as well, batting .308, with 12 hits and a team-high three doubles. She’s also slugging .385, with four RBIs.

In the circle, the ‘Roos are led by Lynsey Conner who has a record of 3-4 and an ERA of 4.50. Conner has pitched a team-high 32.2 innings. She has appeared nine times, which includes seven starts, three complete games and one solo shutout. She also has six strikeouts.

Joining her in the circle is Fluehr who has pitched 30.0 innings and has an 0-2 record. Fluehr has appeared 11 times and has one start. She also has a team-best 10 strikeouts.

All Hands on Deck

Nebraska’s 20-person roster has been utilized to the fullest extent so far this season. Through 10 games, every healthy player has seen the field. Nebraska has used several different lineups and batting orders in all of its games. Additionally, seven different positions have seen a player make her first-career start.  Nebraska’s 20-person roster has been utilized to the fullest extent so far this season. Through 10 games, every healthy player has seen the field. Nebraska has used several different lineups and batting orders in all of its games. Additionally, seven different positions have seen a player make her first-career start.  Also, Sarah Yocom got her first-career at bat against Wichita State on March 4, which means that every healthy Husker hitter has made at least one plate appearance this season. Yocom also played on defense for the first time in her career, coming in the game to play second base. She had appeared previously, but only as a pinch runner.

Ferrell Finding Her Way

Freshman pitcher Olivia Ferrell is quickly finding her role on team. The Omaha, Neb., native has a record of 5-1 and leads the regular pitchers with an ERA of 2.72. Additionally, she has 32 strikeouts, including 19 looking, which leads the conference. Freshman pitcher Olivia Ferrell is quickly finding her role on team. The Omaha, Neb., native has a record of 5-1 and leads the regular pitchers with an ERA of 2.72. Additionally, she has 32 strikeouts, including 19 looking, which leads the conference. Ferrell also could be making a case for herself at the plate. She is 3-for-8 at the plate, with one double. In the Wichita State series, Ferrell went 2-for-4, with one double. 

Ally Riley Making Noise on Offense

Freshman Ally Riley started the season as the backup catcher behind Bri Cassidy, but when the Husker bats went quiet, Riley moved into the batting order. After her latest performances, it’s possible she could find a spot in the regular lineup. Freshman Ally Riley started the season as the backup catcher behind Bri Cassidy, but when the Husker bats went quiet, Riley moved into the batting order. After her latest performances, it’s possible she could find a spot in the regular lineup.  Riley has played in six games and is batting .286 with four hits, including one double, and three RBIs. Against Wichita State last weekend, Riley, along with fellow freshman, Olivia Ferrell, led the offensive efforts on the team. Riley went  3-for-8 with three RBIs. Together, her and Ferrell, went 5-for-12 (.417) over the weekend, while the rest of the team was 10-for-58 (.172).

Pitching Staff Saving 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 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. Ferrell needs one more save to tie for the freshman record and two more to break the record.

Revelle Looks for Win 950 at NU

Nebraska’s 11 wins this season give Husker Head Coach Rhonda Revelle 948 wins at Nebraska, which is the most of any coach - male or female - in NU history. She looks to reach another milestone this weekend. The Huskers just need two wins for Revelle to get her 950th win at NU.