Huskers Face Shockers in Three-Game Series This Weekend

LINCOLN – The Nebraska softball team (10-6) continues competition on the road this weekend when it travels to Wichita, Kan., for a three-game series against the Wichita State Shockers (14-5). 

The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m., with a tentative game two start time of 3 p.m. On Sunday, the series finale is set for 1 p.m.

Last Time Out Nebraska went 2-1 last weekend at the Colorado State Classic. The Huskers were supposed to play five games, but the tournament was cut short due to a lack of light on the field and the weather. Nebraska defeated Idaho State twice over the weekend, while falling to host school Colorado State. In game one, Nebraska defeated Idaho State 10-4 in nine innings, thanks to a six-run ninth inning. In the second game, the Huskers fell to Colorado State, 12-9, in a game that was actually paused due to darkness and finished the following day. In the final game of the weekend, NU shut out Idaho State, 5-0. Freshman Lindsey Walljasper went a career-long 7.0 innings in the circle to help the Huskers shut out the Bengals. 

Scouting Wichita State Wichita State enters the series with a 14-5 record. On Wednesday, the Shockers were shut out by No. 19 Oklahoma State, 3-0. WSU out hit OSU, 6-4, but the Cowgirls’ pitching staff recorded seven strikeouts to help get the win. The loss snapped WSU’s five-game winning streak.

On March 2 and March 3, the Shockers went 4-0 at the Red & White Showcase. WSU beat Texas Southern twice, Texas State and DePaul and outscored its opponents 28-3. The Shockers also won on Feb. 24. 

Lauren Mills is hitting .406 which leads the team. She has seven runs, 13 hits, two doubles, one home run and six RBIs. She also has 12 walks and just three strikeouts. Wylie Glover is hitting .404 through 18 starts. She has a team-high19 hits and also has eight runs, one home run and five RBIs. Wichita State is allowing under three runs a game and is recording more than five strikeouts a game. The Shocker pitchers have pitched four shutouts this season, including two in the last five games. WSU is fielding .973, with 15 errors through 19 games. The Shockers have given up just 10 unearned runs this season.

Follow the Huskers A live radio broadcast will be available on Huskers.com and the official Huskers App for all of Nebraska’s games this season. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter (@HuskerSoftball).  Madi Unzicker is Getting on Base Senior infielder Madi Unzicker leads the Huskers with a 15-game on-base streak. The streak is a the longest by a Husker since All-Amercian MJ Knighten got on base 21 straight times in 2017. Unzicker’s on base percentage is .491 which ranks seventh in the Big Ten. Unzicker also isn’t afraid to use her body to get on base....literally. The Omaha, Neb., native has been hit five times this season which ranks second in the conference. The five this season bring her career total to 18. She is just one away from moving into the top 10 on Nebraska’s all-time hit by pitch list. However, Unzicker can also hit her way on base. Last weekend, Unzicker went went 7-for-12 with four runs, six RBIs, one double and two homers a the Colorado State Classic. She also had a career-best three hits in game one against Idaho State.She’s slugging .650 which ranks third on the team and 15th in the conference.  Boruff Provides Offensive Spark Prior to the season, junior outfielder Bree Boruff had one career hit. However, this season, Boruff is ranked second on the team, hitting .404  - which ranks eighth in the Big Ten. She also has eight runs, two doubles, seven RBIs and 19 hits. Boruff is coming off of her most impressive weekend yet. At the Colorado State Classic, Boruff led the Huskers going 8-for-12 (.667), with two runs, two RBIs, a double and three stolen bases through three games. A Pair of Double Threats Freshmen pitchers/utility players Courtney Wallace and Lindsey Walljasper have proved valuable for the Huskers in several ways.

COURTNEY WALLACE Courntey Wallace has made 11 starts and played in all but one game for Nebraska. She’s hitting .263 with eight runs, 10 hits, a team-best two triples and five RBIs. In the circle, Wallace has a record of 2-0 and has made six appearances and two starts. At the Lone Star College Classic, Wallace started all five games, including once in the circle. She picked up her first-career win in the final game of the weekend against UNO. Overall, she pitched 6.0 innings and made two appearances. She finished the weekend with six strikeouts. At the plate, Wallace went 6-for-16 (.375), which ranked fourth on the team. She had scored four runs and drove in two more. She also had two doubles and in the season opener, she hit two triples, which tied a Nebraska single-game record. At the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Wallace hit her first-career home run against No. 2 UCLA. Most recently, the Omaha, Neb., native batted .250 with two runs and one RBI at the Colorado State Classic last weekend. 

LINDSEY WALLJASPER Lindsey Walljapser has started all 16 games for the Huskers so far this season, primarily in the circle or as the designated player, although she did make one start in left field for Nebraska. Walljasper is hitting .308 with eight runs, four doubles three homers and 15 RBIs, which rank second on the team and 11th in the Big Ten. On defense, Walljasper has an ERA of 3.03 which ranks second on the team. She’s also pitched two complete games and has a record of 4-2. Walljasper has a team-best 36 strikeouts, which ranks 12th in the conference. In week one, she went 7-for-19 with two runs, seven RBIs, two doubles and a home run during the opening weekend at the Lone Star College Classic. At the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the California native went 3-for-9 (.333) with four runs and eight RBIs. She also had one double and two home runs, slugging 1.111. In the circle, Walljasper started and earned the win in the first game against NC State. She improved to 2-0, going 6.0 innings and giving up five hits and no earned runs. She also recorded a career-best nine strikeouts against the Wolfpack. Walljasper was named Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week following the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, becoming Nebraska’s first since 2015. Most recently, Walljasper went 4-for-11 (.364) at the plate at the Colorado State Classic. In the circle, Walljasper pitched a complete 7.0 innings in game two against Idaho State, marking her second complete game the longest outing of the season for her. 

Malone Returns to WSU

Nebraska’s second year graduate manager Katie Malone returns back to her alma mater this weekend when the Huskers travel to Wichita State to take on the Shockers. A pitcher, Malone played four years for WSU and recorded a school-record 171 appearances. The Crete, Neb., native ended her career with 76 wins, which ranks second in school history. She also finished her career with 482 strikeouts which ranks fourth in WSU history. Additionally, her 26 wins as a senior set a single-season record for WSU.

Huskers Will See a Familiar Face

The Huskers will see a familair face this weekend, as former NU All-American MJ Knighten is in her first year as a graduate manager for the Shockers. Knighten played for the Huskers from 2014-17. The first four-time All-Big Ten pick in program history started 228 of Nebraska’s 229 games at third base in her four-year career and can be found in the NU record books numerous times, including career hits (third, 186), career runs (third, 183) and career total bases (third, 423).