Huskers Close Regular Season with Win Over Illini

Nebraska  6 3 Illinois
Box Score

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Nebraska	0	0	4	0	0	0	2		6	8	0
Illinois	2	0	1	0	0	0	0		3	9	2

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - O. Ferrell	7.0	9	3	3	2	0
L - E. Oestreich (15-9)	6.1	8	6	2	2	1
S - None	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	HR
Taylor Otte	4	1	2	1	1	1
Tristen Edwards	2	1	1	1	0	0

Game Notes
Rylie Unzicker picked up the third hit of her career and her first since March 27.  Taylor Otte hit a homer in the second straight game, after hitting one yesterday and today against the Illini.  Taylor Otte tied her season high with three hits and tied her career bet with four RBIs. Gina Metzler tied her career best with two runs.

Urbana, Ill. - The Nebraska softball team (31-22, 9-13 Big Ten) snapped an eight-game losing streak on Sunday, beating Illinois (36-17, 13-8 Big Ten) by a score of 6-3. Nebraska scored four runs in the third and added two more insurance runs in the seventh to end the regular season with a win. Taylor Otte had an impressive day at the plate for Nebraska. Otte went 3-for-4, with a double, a homer, a run and a career-best four RBIs. Olivia Ferrell (9-7) pitched a complete 7.0 innings. She gave up three runs on nine hits. On offense, Ferrell went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run. 

Tristen Edwards, Rylie Unzicker, Laura Barrow and Gina Metzler each had hits for Nebraska. Metzler also tied her career best with two runs. 

Illinois' Emily Oestreich dropped to 15-9, pitching 6.1 innings. She gave up six runs and had one strikeout. 

Illinois jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run homer. 

In the third, the Huskers took a 4-2 lead. Nebraska got runners on the corners with no outs. Ferrell hit a leadoff single and Yocom reached on an error. The error allowed Ferrell to get to third. Metzler reached on an error to load the bases for Nebraska. Edwards hit a sac fly to score Ferrell. Then, Otte smashed a homer to score three more runs. In the bottom of the inning, Illinois hit a solo shot to center field to cut the lead to 4-3. 

In the fifth, Edwards drew a one-out walk and Taylor Otte doubled to put runners in scoring position, but the Huskers were unable to score as Otte got out in a rundown and another batter flew out to center. 

The Illini got the tying run to third in the fifth, but Yocom snatched a line drive to end the inning and preserve the Huskers' lead. 

In the seventh, Metzler hit a one-out single and Edwards doubled to put both runners in scoring position, which prompted an Illini pitching change. Otte took advantage of the new pitcher, singling to score Metzler. Madi Unzicker then hit a sac fly, which scored Edwards and extended the Husker lead to 6-3. In the bottom of the inning, the Illini hit a leadoff single, but Nebraska retired the next three batters to end the game. 

This concludes Nebraska's regular season. The Huskers will play in the Big Ten Tournament in Madison, Wis., later this week. Nebraska has earned the No. 9 seed and will face eighth-seeded Michigan State on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. All games in the tournament will be televised on BTN and will also be available on BTN2Go and the BTN2Go mobile app. Additionally, all of Nebraska's games will be available on Huskers.com (radio).

Box Score 2018 Nebraska Softball Nebraska at Illinois May 06, 2018 at Urbana, Ill. (Eichelberger Field)

Nebraska 6 (31-22,9-13 B1G)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Tristen Edwards ss....... 2 1 1 1 1 0 3 1 0 Taylor Otte cf........... 4 1 3 4 0 0 2 0 0 Madi Unzicker 1b......... 3 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 Kaylan Jablonski dp...... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Rylie Unzicker rf........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Laura Barrow 2b.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 5 1 0 Olivia Ferrell p......... 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 Sarah Yocom 3b........... 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 Ally Riley ph........... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gina Metzler lf.......... 3 2 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 Bri Cassidy c............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals................... 27 6 8 6 2 1 21 5 4

Illinois 3 (36-17,13-8 B1G)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ K Sherlund cf............ 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 S Acosta 3b.............. 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 C Thomas lf.............. 4 1 1 2 0 0 4 0 0 S Abello c............... 4 1 2 1 0 0 3 1 0 J Nicklas pr............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B Loya 1b................ 3 0 1 0 1 0 6 0 1 M Doane rf............... 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 R McGuire dp............. 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 L Farina ss.............. 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 A Carrillo 2b............ 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 V Ruelius ph............ 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 E Oestreich p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 T Edwards p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 29 3 9 3 2 0 21 5 8

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 004 000 2 - 6 8 0 Illinois............ 201 000 0 - 3 9 2 -----------------------------------------

E - S Acosta(9); S Abello. LOB - NEB 4; Illinois 8. 2B - Edwards(11); Otte(7). HR - Otte(7); C Thomas(9); S Abello(4). SH - A Carrillo(7). SF - Edwards(2); M. Unzicker(1). CS - Otte(1).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Olivia Ferrell...... 7.0 9 3 3 2 0 29 32 116

Illinois IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- E Oestreich......... 6.1 7 6 2 2 1 25 28 90 T Edwards........... 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 10

Win - Ferrell (9-7). Loss - E Oestreich (15-9). Save - None. WP - Ferrell(5). Pitches/strikes: Ferrell 116/78; E Oestreich 90/55; T Edwards 10/7. Umpires - HP: Christina Drumm 1B: Sally Keller 3B: Geri Magwire Start: 12 p.m. Time: 2:01 Attendance: 503 Weather: 79 degrees, cloudy, 10mph wind Game: NEB53