Huskers Face Michigan, Purdue in Florida

After taking last week off, the Nebraska softball team returns to Florida this week for a pair of three-game Big Ten Conference series at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex. The Huskers will face No. 23 Michigan twice on Thursday and once on Friday before taking on Purdue twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. Fans can watch all six games this weekend with a subscription to Big Ten Network+.

Nebraska went 3-3 in its season-opening trip to Florida two weeks ago, splitting doubleheaders with Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State. At the conclusion of this weekend, the Huskers will have faced five of the other 13 Big Ten teams. Nebraska will play the remaining eight teams in four-game series at campus sites over an eight-week schedule.

The Huskers received some historic performances and outstanding pitching during the opening week of the season. Tristen Edwards went 8-for-18 with a double, three homers and six RBIs in the six games. She was honored as the Big Ten Player of the Week for her efforts, claiming the award for the sixth time in her career, tying a Big Ten record. 

Nebraska's pitching staff posted a 2.67 ERA in the opening weekend and allowed two or fewer runs in three of the six games. NU limited Michigan State to just one run in the win over the Spartans which marked Rhonda Revelle's 1,000th win at Nebraska, the first coach in the history of Husker Athletics to reach that milestone.

Quick Hitters

• Nebraska pitching struck out 36 batters and walked only 10 in the first six games of the season, while also allowing only one home run.
• Tristen Edwards tied the Big Ten record with her sixth career Player-of-the-Week award following the opening weekend.
• Tristen Edwards leads the Big Ten in home runs (3) and slugging percentage (1.000). Her three home runs are more than the team total of any other Big Ten school.
• Kaylin Kinney leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally with two saves.
• Courtney Wallace ranks fifth in the Big Ten in wins (2).
• Olivia Ferrell ranks seventh in the Big Ten in strikeouts (18).
• Tristen Edwards needs one extra-base hit this weekend to become the fourth Husker with 90 career extra-base hits.
• Tristen Edwards needs eight hits this weekend to record her 200th career hit.
• Tristen Edwards has led off an inning three times this season and homered each of those three times.
• Billie Andrews went 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs with runners in scoring position the opening weekend, including 2-for-3 with 4 RBIs with two outs.
• Rhonda Revelle became the first 1,000-win coach in the history of Nebraska Athletics with the win vs. Michigan State.

Edwards Named Player of the Week for Record Sixth Time
Senior outfielder Tristen Edwards was named the first Big Ten Player of the Week of the 2021 season on March 2. She was honored after hitting .444 in six games during the opening weekend with one double, three homers and six RBIs.

• Edwards hit more home runs herself (3) than any other team hit in the opening weekend, as all 14 Big Ten teams played a six-game conference-only schedule in Leesburg, Fla.
• Edwards was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the sixth time in her career. That set a Nebraska record for most career conference player-of-the-week honors and tied the Big Ten record for most career player-of-the-week awards.
• Edwards became only the third player in Big Ten history to be a six-time player of the week. The other two are two-time Northwestern All-American Adrienne Monka and four-time Michigan All-American Sierra Romero.
• Edwards became the first Husker to win six conference player-of-the week awards, breaking the previous record of five held by three-time All-American Ali Viola. Overall, Edwards is one shy of the most conference weekly awards in school history. All-American Peaches James won seven conference weekly awards in her decorated career, including six pitcher-of-the-week accolades and one player-of-the-week award.

Revelle Wins 1,000th Game at Nebraska
Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle won her 1,000 game at Nebraska on Feb. 27, when the Huskers defeated Michigan State, 7-1 in game one of a doubleheader. She achieved the milestone in her 29th season and her 1,582nd game.

• The all-time wins leader in the history of Nebraska Athletics, Revelle is the first Husker coach to record 1,000 wins at Nebraska.
• She is the eighth active Division I coach who has won 1,000 games at his or her current school. She is joined on that list by Michigan's Carol Hutchins, as the Big Ten is the only conference in the country with two head coaches who have won 1,000 games at their schools. The good friends will face each other on Thursday and Friday.
• With 1,009 career wins, Revelle is one of 14 active Division I coaches and 24 Division I coaches all-time to reach 1,000 career victories.

Husker Pitching Shines in the Sunshine State
The biggest bright spot for Nebraska during the opening weekend was the performance of its pitching staff, which held three of its six opponents to two runs or less and posted a 2.67 ERA.

• Nebraska held both Michigan State and Ohio State to one run, nearly posting its first shutout since 2019 as both the Spartans and Buckeyes plated their only run in the bottom of the seventh inning. 
• Nebraska held an opponent to one run twice in the opening weekend. Last season, Nebraska held only one opponent to one run in 23 games. The Huskers posted a 2.67 staff ERA in the opening weekend after finishing the shortened 2020 season with a 5.54 ERA.
• Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the pitching performance was the strikeout-to-walk ratio, which showed marked improvement from recent seasons. The Huskers struck out 36 batters and walked only 10. NU averaged 6.0 strikeouts per seven innings and only 1.7 walks per seven innings. Over the previous six seasons combined, Nebraska averaged 4.4 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per seven innings.
• Another impressive aspect of the pitching performance was the ability to limit home runs. Nebraska allowed only one home run in 161 opponent at bats the opening weekend. The previous three seasons combined, NU allowed a home run an average of every 31 at bats.
• Individually, junior Courtney Wallace went 2-0 the opening weekend with a 2.25 ERA. She allowed only five runs in her three starts, which included limiting Ohio State to one run in her second career seven-inning complete game. Wallace also struck out 13 batters and walked only three after entering the year with more career walks (89) than strikeouts (88).
• Senior Olivia Ferrell posted a 3.63 ERA in 17.1 innings, while leading Nebraska with 18 strikeouts, a total that ranks seventh among all Big Ten pitchers.
• Freshman Kaylin Kinney made three relief appearances in her debut weekend, allowing one run in 6.0 innings for a 1.17 ERA. She earned the save in two of Nebraska's three wins, leading the Big Ten and ranking seventh nationally in saves.

Edwards & Kinney Leading the League
After one weekend of play where all 14 Big Ten teams played six games, Tristen Edwards and Kaylin Kinney both find themselves leading the league in at least one category.

• Senior Tristen Edwards leads the Big Ten in home runs (3) and slugging percentage (1.000). Her three home runs are more than any of the other 13 Big Ten teams have hit this season, while her 1.000 slugging percentage is .273 higher than any other Big Ten player.
• Freshman Kaylin Kinney leads the Big Ten with two saves, ranking seventh nationally in saves.