Huskers Honor Seniors in Front of Record Crowd

Nebraska  4 11   Wisconsin
Box Score

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Wisconsin	4	0	0	2	0	4	1		11	10	1
Nebraska	3	1	0	0	0	1	0		4	5	0

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - H. Hestekin (14-6)	7.0	5	4	3	2	3
L - O. Ferrell (8-6)	4.0	4	6	6	4	2
S - None	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	HR
Madi Unzicker	2	1	1	0	1	0

Game Notes
Alyvia Simmons hit her first home run of the season to lead off the first inning for the Huskers. On Saturday, 1,601 fans attended the game, which is the ninth-largest crowd at Bowlin Stadium.

Lincoln, Neb. -The Nebraska softball team celebrated senior day on Saturday, following its game against Wisconsin, in front of a season-high 1,601 fans. The attendance ranked ninth overall in Bowlin Stadium history. NU honored Caitlin Bartsch, Laura Barrow, Gina Metzler, Kaylan Jablonski, Taylor Otte and Austen Urness for their contributions and dedication to the Husker softball program over the years. Despite a great effort, the Huskers (30-19, 8-10 Big Ten) fell to Wisconsin (24-19, 8-8 Big Ten) by a score of 11-4. 

Wisconsin's Haley Hestekin improved to 14-6, pitching 7.0 innings and giving up three earned runs on five hits. She also had three strikeouts. 

Olivia Ferrell dropped to 8-6 on the year, pitching 4.0 innings. She gave up six runs on four hits and also had two strikeouts. Regan Mergele pitched 1.0 inning of relief. She gave up five hits and four runs and also had one strikeout. Caitlin Bartsch pitched 2.0 innings of relief. She gave up one hit and one run. 

On offense, Nebraska recorded five hits, from Alyvia Simmons, Laura Barrow, Kaylan Jablonski, Taylor Otte and Madi Unzicker.

Wisconsin took a 4-0 lead in the first. A sac bunt with a runner on third scored one run and a three-run homer scored three more. The Huskers responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs. Simmons hit a leadoff homer to give NU one run. Edwards was hit by a pitch before Jablonski doubled to the left corner to put two runners in scoring position. Otte hit a deep sac fly that scored Edwards and cut the lead to 4-2. Madi Unzicker drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Bri Cassidy hit a ball in the infield but a throwing error allowed her to reach second, while Jablonski scored the third run of the inning for Nebraska. 

In the second, the Badgers drew a one-out walk, but Nebraska got two straight outs to leave one runner stranded. 

In the third, the Badgers went down one-two-three. In the bottom, Jablonski reached on a fielder's choice and Otte singled to put two runners on. Both Jablonski and Otte stole a base to get in scoring position, but they were stranded there, as Wisconsin got the next two batters out. 

In the fourth, UW scored two runs. A walk, a single and a sac bunt put two runners in scoring position. A single scored one run and a sac fly scored another, bringing the score to 6-3. 

Regan Mergele entered the circle for the Huskers in the fifth inning. She retired the Badgers in order, which included one strikeout. 

In the sixth, Wisconsin hit three singles and a double to extend its lead to 9-3. A walk and a single loaded the bases for Wisconsin. A sac fly scored one more run. In the bottom of the sixth, Nebraska scored one run. Madi Unzicker doubled and reached third on a groudout. She scored on another groundout.

In the seventh, the Badgers scored one more run to extend its lead to 11-4.

The series finale will be played tomorrow beginning at noon. The game will be available on Huskers.com (radio), as well as BTNPlus/FloSoftball (subscription required).

Box Score 2018 Nebraska Softball Wisconsin at Nebraska Apr 28, 2018 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bowlin Stadium)

Wisconsin 11 (24-19,8-8)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Kelsey Jenkins 2b........ 3 2 3 5 2 0 2 2 0 Brooke Wyderski ss....... 3 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 1 Taylor Johnson 3b........ 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 Melanie Cross c.......... 2 1 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 Lauren Foster 1b......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 6 1 0 Stephanie Lombardo dp.... 4 1 1 3 0 2 0 0 2 Heather Rudnicki rf..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Jordan Little rf/dp...... 1 3 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 Gabby Scherle lf......... 4 2 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 Kelly Welsh cf........... 2 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 Samantha Arents ph...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Haley Hestekin p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 28 11 10 11 6 3 21 7 6

Nebraska 4 (30-19,8-10)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Alyvia Simmons rf........ 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Laura Barrow 2b.......... 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 3 0 Bree Boruff pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tristen Edwards ss....... 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Kaylan Jablonski dp...... 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Taylor Otte cf........... 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 Madi Unzicker 1b......... 2 1 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 Bri Cassidy c............ 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 Austen Urness ph........ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lexey Kneib 3b........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Sarah Yocom 3b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Ally Riley ph........... 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Gina Metzler lf.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 Olivia Ferrell p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Regan Mergele p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Caitlin Bartsch p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 26 4 5 3 2 3 21 8 6

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Wisconsin........... 400 204 1 - 11 10 1 Nebraska............ 300 001 0 - 4 5 0 -----------------------------------------

E - JENKINS(9). LOB - Badgers 6; Huskers 6. 2B - JENKINS(16); Jablonski(7); M. Unzicker(7). HR - LOMBARDO(5); Simmons(1). HBP - Edwards 2. SH - CROSS(3); WELSH(11). SF - WYDERSKI(4); CROSS(3); Otte(2). SB - JENKINS(9); Jablonski(6); Otte(9).

Wisconsin IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Haley Hestekin...... 7.0 5 4 3 2 3 26 31 106

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Olivia Ferrell...... 4.0 4 6 6 4 2 14 21 84 Regan Mergele....... 1.0 5 4 4 1 1 8 9 31 Caitlin Bartsch..... 2.0 1 1 1 1 0 6 8 41

Win - HESTEKIN (14-6). Loss - Ferrell (8-6). Save - None. HBP - by HESTEKIN (Edwards); by HESTEKIN (Edwards). Pitches/strikes: HESTEKIN 106/72; Ferrell 84/45; Mergele 31/17; Bartsch 41/25. Umpires - HP: Rob Hough 1B: Trina Comerford 3B: Terry HOlt Start: 1:05 pm Time: 2:20 Attendance: 1601 Weather: sunny Mergele faced 6 batters in the 6th. Game: NEB49