Nebraska Closes Season at Northwestern

The Nebraska softball team closes out the 2021 season this weekend with a four-game series against the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Ill. The series begins with a single game on Friday at 3 p.m, followed by a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Three of the four games this weekend will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. BTN will carry Friday's opener and the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, with Dean Linke and Elise Menaker on the call. The Big Ten Network will also televise Sunday's game, with Connor Onion joining Menaker on the broadcast for the series finale.

Nebraska has been led by its pitching staff the past two series. The Huskers have allowed one earned run or less in five of their eight games the last two weeks while posting a team ERA of 2.33. Junior Courtney Wallace has highlighted the pitching success posting a 3-0 record with a 0.31 ERA over the last two weeks. Wallace has won each of her three starts the past two weeks, including tossing her first two career shutouts in her last two starts. She brings a 20.0-inning scoreless streak into this weekend's series.

Offensively, Nebraska has been led by a pair of freshman the past two series. Four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Billie Andrews is batting .375 (9-for-24) the last two weeks with three home runs and six RBIs. Kaylin Kinney has also homered three times and driven in six runs the past two weeks while batting .333 (6-for-18).

Quick Hitters

• Nebraska turned four double plays at Iowa last weekend, and the Huskers rank fifth nationally in double plays per game.
• Nebraska's 3.10 team ERA is its lowest since the 2014 season.
• The Huskers rank fourth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 4.5 runs per game.
• Billie Andrews leads all Big Ten freshmen in runs (30), home runs (7) and RBIs (28) and ranks second in hits (39) and steals (10).
• Billie Andrews is on pace to become the first Husker freshman to lead the team in home runs and RBIs since current U.S. Olympian Taylor Edwards did so in 2011.
• Tristen Edwards is the only player from a "Power Five" conference who reaches base at least once per game via a "free pass" (walk or hit-by-pitch).
• If she is named to the All-Big Ten first team next week, Tristen Edwards would become the first player in Big Ten history to earn first-team all-conference accolades as both an infielder and outfielder.
• Payton Huscroft earned her first four starts of the season last weekend and led Nebraska with a .333 average at Iowa.
• Courtney Wallace has not allowed a run in her last five outings, as she owns a career-best 20.0-inning scoreless streak.

Wallace Coming on Strong in the Circle
Courtney Wallace is having a career season in the circle, and she's never pitched better than she has the past two weeks, propelling her to a 10-7 record and a team-low 2.53 ERA.

• Wallace is 3-0 the last two weeks with a 0.31 ERA, allowing only one earned run in 22.2 innings. She went 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA over two starts in the Maryland series before tossing 12.1 scoreless innings over three appearances (one start) last weekend at Iowa.
• Wallace brings a streak of five straight scoreless outings and 20.0 consecutive scoreless innings into this weekend's series. She has thrown a shutout in each of her last two starts and over her last three starts, Wallace is 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA. 

Edwards Looks to Make Big Ten History
Senior Tristen Edwards is a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, having earned the honors as a shortstop as a sophomore in 2018 and a junior in 2019. After moving to the outfield last season, Edwards is looking to be a first-team All-Big Ten outfielder this spring.

• According to the Big Ten record book, Edwards would be the first player in the history of the conference to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors as both an infielder and outfielder. Edwards would also be the first Husker to earn first-team all-conference accolades as both an infielder and outfielder.
• Edwards is looking to become the first Husker to be a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, dating back to Nebraska's first season in the conference in 2012. Overall, Edwards would be the eighth Husker to be a three-time first-team all-conference honoree.

Edwards Walking to First With Frequency
Tristen Edwards has been able to walk to first base 52 times this season as teams have elected to frequently pitch around the senior slugger. 

• With 52 combined walks and hit-by-pitches - in only 36 games - Edwards leads the nation with an average of 1.44 "free passes" per game this season.
• Edwards is the only player from a "Power Five" conference (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) who reaches base at least 1.0 time per game via "free passes".
• Edwards has walked 37 times in 36 games this season, including 10 intentional walks. She ranks second nationally in walks per game (1.03) and eighth in total walks. 
• Edwards is bidding to become just the third Big Ten player in the past decade to average more than 1.0 walk per game over an entire season.
• Edwards has been hit by 15 pitches in 36 games. She ranks 10th nationally in hit-by-pitches per game (0.42) and 15th in total hit-by-pitches.

Edwards On Pace for Nebraska's Top On-Base Percentage
Senior outfielder Tristen Edwards is getting on base at a record-breaking clip this season, reaching base nearly 60 percent of the time she steps up to the plate. 

• Edwards ranks fifth nationally with a .585 on-base percentage. She is on pace to shatter the current Nebraska season on-base percentage record of .532, set by Kiki Stokes in 2015.

Billie Andrews Among Big Ten's Top Freshmen Hitters
With only the final week of the regular season remaining, Billie Andrews has arguably been the Big Ten's top freshman hitter this season from a statistical standpoint.

• Andrews leads all Big Ten freshmen in hits runs (30), home runs (7) and RBIs (28), while ranking second in hits (39) and stolen bases (10) and third slugging (.527) and triples (2).
• Among all Big Ten hitters regardless of class, Andrews ranks fourth in the conference in runs and RBIs, fifth in home runs, sixth in steals and 10th in triples.

Six Huskers Earned Degrees Last Saturday
Six of the Huskers' seven seniors officially earned their degrees from Nebraska last Saturday while the Big Red was defeating Iowa, 4-0.

• All five Husker seniors who will end their career graduated prior to playing their last game.
• Nebraska's other two seniors - Olivia Ferrell and Cam Ybarra - are both planning to return for a fifth season in 2022. Ferrell will play her fifth season as a graduate student after she earned her degree last Saturday.

2021 Graduates
• Tristen Edwards (management)
• Olivia Ferrell (psychology)
• Samantha Owen (child, youth & family studies)
• Ally Riley (psychology)
• Rylie Unzicker (psychology)
• Sarah Yocom (communications sciences & disorders)

Scouting the Northwestern Wildcats (26-14)
Northwestern enters the final weekend in third place in the Big Ten standings with a 26-14 record. With the NCAA Tournament selection on Sunday, Northwestern enters the series with a No. 63 ranking in the NCAA RPI, the third-highest ranking of any Big Ten team.

• Northwestern boasts one of the top offenses in the Big Ten. The Wildcats lead the Big Ten in scoring (5.1 runs per game) and rank second in batting average (.281), slugging percentage (.435), on-base percentage (.363), triples (18) and stolen bases (65).
• Skyler Shellmyer is one of four Northwestern starters hitting above .300 this season. She ranks third in the league with a team-high .374 average, and Shellmyer also ranks fourth in the Big Ten in hits (46) and ninth in runs (26) and stolen bases (10).
• Jordyn Rudd is batting .351, and she ranks fourth in the Big Ten in hits (46), sixth in average and eighth in RBIs (26).
• Rachel Lewis is third on the team with her .342 average, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten. Lewis has totaled 18 extra-base hits, slugging seven doubles, three triples and seven home runs. Lewis leads the conference with 25 stolen bases, is tied for the Big Ten lead with 35 runs scored and four triples and ranks second in walks (25), third in on-base percentage (.487), sixth in home runs and slugging percentage (.650) and seventh in hits (42).
• Morgan Newport rounds out the Wildcat .300 hitters with a .302 average. She leads Northwestern with eight home runs and 32 RBIs, ranking second in the Big Ten in RBIs and fourth in home runs. Newport is also fourth in the Big Ten in triples (3) and ninth in slugging percentage (.589).
• Defensively, Northwestern is allowing 3.0 runs per game. The Wildcats rank second in the Big Ten with 10 shutouts, second with a .975 fielding percentage and third with a 2.50 ERA.
• Left-hander Danielle Williams has pitched nearly half of Northwestern's innings this season, compiling a 14-5 record with a 2.06 ERA and two saves in 129.0 innings. Williams ranks second in the Big Ten in shutouts (6), third in wins and opponent average (.197), fourth in strikeouts (157) and innings pitched and seventh in saves. Williams has started 20 of Northwestern's 40 games.
• Right-hander Lauren Boyd has seen the most action behind Williams, ranking second on the team with nine starts and 61.2 innings pitched. Boyd is 3-3 on the season with a 2.95 ERA. She has struck out 43 and walked only 19, and opponents are hitting .253 against her.
• Left-hander Morgan Newport is 5-3 this season with a team-low 1.84 ERA. She has appeared in 15 games with five starts, throwing a total of 49.1 innings. Opponents are hitting only .236 against Newport.
• Left-hander Sydney Supple has appeared in nine games with five starts, posting a 3-2 record with one save and a 3.50 ERA in 24.0 innings. Right-hander Lauren Dvorak (0-1, 18.00 ERA in 2.1 IP) rounds out the Wildcat staff.
• Kate Drohan is in her 20th season at Northwestern, the only head coaching stop of her career. Drohan owns a 654-384-1 record with the Wildcats.