Huskers Clash With Wildcats This Weekend

LINCOLN –The Nebraska softball team (13-19, 2-4 Big Ten) finishes a two-week home stand this weekend as Northwestern (26-7, 6-0 Big Ten) comes to Lincoln for a Big Ten match up. The Wildcats are at the top of the Big Ten standings and are ranked No. 25 in the USA Softball/ESPN Poll and are receiving votes in the NFCA/USA Today Poll. Game one is set for Friday, April 5 at 5:30 p.m. Game two is Saturday at 1 p.m., while the series finale is set for Sunday at noon. 

For the Fans
On Friday, the first 500 fans will receive free Nebraska ear warmers. On Saturday, the first 500 fans will receive a free car flag and on Sunday, the Huskers will host Bark in the Park. Fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to Sunday's game. The first 500 fans will receive a free dog bandana.

Last Time Out
After snapping a 12-game losing streak, the Huskers have won three of their last four games and look to use that momentum heading into this weekend. Nebraska won its first Big Ten series over the weekend, taking two of three games against Illinois. Then, Nebraska put up 13 hits to crush South Dakota State, 14-3, on Tuesday in a mid-week game.

Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern enters the weekend series with a 26-7 record, including a 6-0 record in conference play. The Wildcats are ranked No. 25 in the USA Softball/ESPN Poll and are receiving votes in the NFCA/USA Today Poll. 

The Wildcats are on a four-game winning streak and have won nine of their last 10. Northwestern opened Big Ten play with a three-game sweep over Rutgers. Last weekend, the Wildcats swept Iowa, 3-0. Most recently, Northwestern defeated crosstown rival Loyola on Wednesday by a score of 5-1.

On offense, the Wildcats are hitting .284 overall. However, in conference games, Northwestern is outscoring opponents 36-6 and is hitting .344. Nikki Cuchran leads the team with a .348 batting average overall and a .467 average in conference play. Jordyn Rudd and Morgan Newport are both hitting .330 overall, while Maeve Nelson is hitting .315. Nelson also leads the team with six home runs, while Ruud leads the ‘Cats with 31 RBIs. In Big Ten play, Nelson leads the ‘Cats with a .500 batting average. She has one double and two home runs and is slugging a team-high .889 through six Big Ten games. 

In the circle, freshman Danielle Williams leads the Wildcats. The reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week has a conference-best ERA of 1.19 overall and a 0.28 ERA in Big Ten play. Williams has been named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week twice this season and has been named Freshman of the Week three times in 2019. Williams has done most of the work in the circle, pitching 117.1 innings. She has made 23 appearances, including 17 starts. She’s pitched 15 complete games and eight solo shutouts, which rank first in the conference and second in the country. Williams has a 17-3 overall record and is 4-0 in conference games. Williams has recorded 156 of Northwestern’s 249 strikeouts. Her strikeout-to-walk ratio (156-15) ranks second nationally only to UCLA’s Rachel Garcia. Additionally, in 25.0 Big Ten innings pitched, Williams has allowed just 13 baserunners (six hits, three walks, four hit by pitches).

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. All three games will also be available on BTN Plus (subscription required). Fans can also follow the action on Twitter (@HuskerSoftball). 

Husker Bats are Back Nebraska’s offense hit a slump during the month of March. Nebraska lost 12 straight games, but have won three of the last four, in part to some hot Husker bats. The Huskers are coming off one of their best offensive performances of the season this weekend and against South Dakota State in the mid-week. Nebraska scored 16 runs in three games  against Illinois 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. On Tuesday, the Huskers had 14 runs on 13 hits and went 13-for-27 (.481) against South Dakota State.

Individually, Tristen Edwards leads the team over the last four games, going 7-for-10 (.700) with five runs, two doubles, three home runs, five RBIs and five walks. She slugged 1.800 and had an on-base percentage of .800. Alyvia Simmons is also adding a .467 average over the last four games and a .933 slugging percentage.  Additionally, young Huskers are contributing during this stretch, including freshmen Peyton Glatter, Courtney Wallace and Lindsey Walljasper had big weekends at the plate. Glatter ranks second over the last four games going 6-for-12 (.500) with three doubles and an RBI. As a group, the trio is hitting .417.

Owen Provides Offensive Spark During Nebraska’s offensive slump, Samantha Owen provided a spark. Prior to the Illinois series, Nebraska scored just three runs in the eight games and all three came from Owen’s bat. Owen went 2-for-6 with one run against No. 25 Michigan last weekend, which included a two-run homer in game two that scored NU’s only runs in the series. In the Drake doubleheader, Owen scored the only run with a solo home run in game one. She also had one of two Husker hits in game two against the Bulldogs. Over the last eight games, Owen has gone 8-for-22 (.318) with a slugging percentage of .727 and an on-base percentage of .400. Edwards at the Plate Tristen Edwards returned this season as Nebraska’s top hitter. She currently leads the team with a .356 average. She also ranks first in hits with 31, home runs with 12, RBIs with 32, walks with 21 and slugging percentage (.828). However, over the last four games, Edwards is 7-for-10 (.700) with five runs, five RBIs, two doubles, three home runs and five walks. She’s slugging 1.800 and has an on-base percentage of .800. Edwards has two 4-for-4 games at the plate this season, most recently against Tulsa in game one of the Rock Chalk Challenge. Edwards also leads the team with 12 home runs, which ranks first in the Big Ten and 18th in the country. 
Edwards hit three home runs over the last four games to move into the top 10 on Nebraska’s all-time career home runs list. Edwards made Husker history on Tuesday against South Dakota State. The junior finished with two home runs, marking her fourth multi-home run games this season and the sixth in her career, putting herself elite company. The only other Huskers to have at least five multi-home run career games are Tatum Edwards and Jennifer Lizama. Both Tatum Edwards and Jennifer Lizama earned multiple All-America awards while at Nebraska. Additionally, her four multi-home run games this season are the most multi-home run games in a single season in school history. Previously, MJ Knighten and  Ali Viola held the record at three and both Knighten and Viola earned first-team All-America honors following those seasons. Finally, since stepping foot on campus in 2017, Edwards has six of the last seven multi-home run games. Kaylan Jablonski had the other in 2018 (three home runs at Cal State Fullerton).