NU Looks to Continue Momentum Against Jackrabbits

LINCOLN –The Nebraska softball team (12-19) continues its two-week home stand on Tuesday as it welcomes the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (24-7) to Bowlin Stadium for a mid-week game beginning at 5 p.m. The game will be Nebraska’s annual “Pink Game.“ Fans are encouraged to wear pink to bring awareness to all types of cancer affecting women. 

Last Time Out
The Huskers look to continue momentum this week after an impressive weekend at home. Nebraska won its first Big Ten series against Illinois March 30-31, taking two of three games against the Fighting Illini. Both wins were come-from-behind victories, as Nebraska trailed in all three games. Game three was a thrilling win after freshman Peyton Glatter hit a walk-off to score classmate Courtney Wallace. In its only loss over the weekend, Nebraska trailed 8-1, but came back to tie it 8-8 and push the game into extra innings. Illinois scored three runs in the eighth to get its only win in the series.

Tristen Edwards led the Huskers over the weekend, hitting .571 and slugging 1.143. She had two runs, one double and one homer. Peyton Glatter went 5-for-9  (.556), while Courtney Wallace was 4-for-9 (.444) with three runs, one double, two triples and one home run, finishing with a slugging percentage of 1.333. Alyvia Simmons (.417) and Lindsey Walljasper (.400) also hit at least .400 over the weekend. 

Scouting South Dakota State
South Dakota State comes to Lincoln with a 24-7 record. The Jackrabbits haven’t played a game since March 23, but have won their last four. Most recently, SDSU swept UNO in a three-game series March 22-23 to open Summit League play. As a team, the Jacks are hitting .292, with four hitters averaging above .300. Ali Herdliska leads the team with a .375 batting average. She has a team-high 33 hits, seven home runs, 30 RBIs and 28 walks. Julia Anderson is also helping out at the plate, hitting .323. She has 32 hits, with a team-best 10 doubles. She also has four home runs, which ranks third on the team and 24 RBIs which ranks second. Yanney Ponce is hitting .316, while Lyndsey Crist is batting .306 with six home runs and 14 walks, which both rank second on the team. 

In the circle, Kendra Conard has an 8-0 record and a 1.51 ERA. Conard has made 11 appearances with eight starts and has pitched four complete games, including one shutouts. She also has 17 strikeouts. Taylor Compton has a team-high 67.1 innings pitched, with an ERA of 3.53 and a 6-3 record. Compton has pitched three complete games and has a team-high four saves on the season. She also has a team-best 33 strikeouts. As a team, South Dakota State is fielding .978 with 20 errors through 31 games. The Jackrabbits have given up 11 unearned runs so far 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. The game will also be available on BTN Plus (subscription required). Fans can also follow the action on Twitter (@HuskerSoftball). 

Simmons Back in the Lineup Alyvia Simmons returned as one of Nebraska’s top hitters this season, but she suffered a minor injury in the middle of the season that limited her playing time. Simmons has bounced back quickly and is performing quite well since getting back in the starting lineup. Simmons started the first 10 games, but was unable to start several games during the middle of the season. However, she’s been back in the starting lineup for 12 of the last 13 games and is hitting .324 in that stretch, an improvement from her .279 season average.  Additionally, the senior leads Nebraska starters in conference play. Through the first six Big Ten games, Simmons has gone 8-for-20 (.400). Most recently against Illinois, Simmons went 5-for-12 (.417) with one run, two doubles, one triple and two RBIs. With her double during the Illinois series, Simmons now ranks in the top 10 on Nebraska’s all-time career list with 36. Huskers Coming Off Big Offensive Weekend The Huskers are coming off one of their best offensive performances of the season this weekend. Nebraska scored 16 runs in three games and recorded 29 hits., averaging more than 5.0 runs/game and more than 9.0 hits/game, an improvement from the team’s season averages of 4.7 runs/game and 6.7 hits/game. Additionally, in the final two games of the series, Nebraska had at least 10 hits for the first time since March 1. In game two, Nebraska had 13 hits which tied the second-highest hits total this season. As a team, Nebraska hit .341 against Illinois compared to a .259 season total. The Huskers also slugged .706, compared to a .450 season average.

Individually, Tristen Edwards led the team going 4-for-7 (.571) with two runs, one double, one home run, one RBI and four walks. She slugged 1.143 and had an on-base percentage of .727. Additionally, freshmen Peyton Glatter, Courtney Wallace and Lindsey Walljasper had big weekends at the plate. 

Double Threats

Nebraska’s pitchers are proving to much more than just a position on defense. Courtney Wallace, Lindsey Walljasper and Olivia Ferrell were impressive over the weekend, not just in the circle, but at the plate as well for the Huskers. Each pitcher had a home run over the weekend. For Ferrell, it was her first-career homer. Wallace recorded a career-high seven strikeouts in game three and Walljasper picked up both of Nebraska’s wins over the weekend.  As a group, they combined for nine hits, two doubles, two triples, three home runs and five RBIs. The group hit .391 and slugged 1.04 over the weekend.

Additionally, Wallace has made starts at four different positions this season, including pitcher (six starts), third base (five starts), designated player (eight starts) and left field (three starts). Walljasper has started at pitcher, left field and designated player. Wallace and Walljasper are the only Huskers to make starts at more than two positions this season and Wallace is the only one to make starts at four different positions.  Wallace also has a team-high four triples this season. She is one short of tying the freshman single-season record, while she needs six to tie the all-class record.