Huskers Host Big Red Invitational This Weekend

The Nebraska softball team plays its first home games this weekend when the Cornhuskers welcome Wichita State and Missouri to Bowlin Stadium for a three-team round-robin Big Red Invitational. The tournament begins with a single game on Friday followed by three games on Saturday and two games on Sunday.

One ticket is good for admission into each game that day. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting Huskers.com/softball, by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED or by visiting the Bowlin Stadium ticket office beginning one hour prior to the first game of the day. Fans unable to attend can watch every Husker game this weekend with a subscription to Big Ten+ or listen to a free radio broadcast of every Nebraska game on Huskers.com/listen. A subscription to Big Ten+ is available for as low as $9.95 per month.

Nebraska opens the tournament at 5:30 p.m. Friday against Wichita State. The Huskers and Shockers played two classic games in the NCAA Tournament last year, with Wichita State rallying for a win in the first round followed by Nebraska rallying for a win the next day in an elimination game. On Saturday, NU is scheduled to take on Wichita State again at 1:30 p.m.

Nebraska’s second game on Saturday is against No. 14 Missouri at 4 p.m. The Huskers wrap up the Big Red Invitational with a Sunday matchup against the Tigers scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Nebraska and Missouri have not met since 2020, and the Tigers are the first SEC team Nebraska has hosted at Bowlin Stadium since Georgia in the 2007 NCAA Lincoln Regional.

Leading Off

• Friday’s game will tie for the earliest home game in school history. The 2006 squad also played its first home game on March 1.
• NU is five games into a stretch where the Huskers play 10 consecutive games against 2023 NCAA Tournament teams.
• The Huskers are the only Big Ten team without a complete game this season.
• NU leads the Big Ten and ranks 23rd nationally with 27 doubles.
• The Huskers lead the Big Ten and rank 14th nationally in double plays per game (0.6).
• Five of Nebraska’s eight returning all-region players have missed multiple games due to injury this season.
• Missouri is the first SEC team to play at Bowlin Stadium since Georgia in the 2007 NCAA Lincoln Regional.
• Billie Andrews has six home runs in 10 games this season. She is one of only two players nationally with six or more home runs in 10 or fewer games.
• Ava Bredwell is expected to make her 100th career start at catcher on Friday.
• Emmerson Cope ranks 11th nationally with two saves, one shy of the Nebraska freshman record.

Huskers Set For 23rd season at Bowlin Stadium
Nebraska plays its first home games this weekend. This year marks the 23rd season the Huskers have called Bowlin Stadium home, dating back to the stadium’s first season in 2002.

• Nebraska is playing its home opener on March 1. That is believed to tie for the earliest home game in program history. In 2006, NU hosted Division II Missouri Western in a doubleheader on March 1, impromptu games that were added to the schedule one day earlier.
• The Huskers own a 263-110 all-time record at Bowlin Stadium. Nebraska has posted a winning record at Bowlin Stadium every season except 2019 (7-9) and 2020, when the season was canceled prior to NU playing a home game.
• Nebraska has won its home opener in each of the past three seasons. Overall, NU owns a 17-4 record in its first home game of the season since Bowlin Stadium opened in 2002.
• The matchup with Wichita State will mark the fourth time Nebraska has opened its home schedule against the Shockers. NU went 2-0 against Wichita State in the home-opening weekend of the 2022 season. In 2018, the Huskers and Shockers played a three-game series at Bowlin Stadium with Wichita State winning two of the three games. The teams also played a three-game series in 2016 with Nebraska winning two of the three games.
• Bowlin Stadium will have a new look this spring as additional seating has been added after more than 1,700 season tickets were sold. The previous grass berms behind each dugout have been converted to permanent chairback seats, while two additional bleachers have been added on the third-base concourse and one on the first-base concourse.

Billie Andrews Stars In Another Big Tournament
The Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic and the Clearwater Invitational are widely considered the top two regular-season tournaments in college softball. The Huskers have played in each of the prestigious tournaments over the past two seasons with Billie Andrews producing impressive numbers in both events while facing some of the best teams in the country.

• Nebraska faced four top-10 teams in five games at the 2023 Clearwater Invitational. In those five games, Andrews hit .385 (5-for-13) with one double, three home runs and four RBIs. She slugged 1.154 at the tournament.
• Last week at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Nebraska played three of its five games against ranked teams. Andrews shined again, batting .619 (13-for-21) at the tournament with four home runs and a 1.238 slugging percentage.
• In three games against ranked opponents (UCLA, Oregon and Utah) last weekend, Andrews was 10-for-13 (.769) with four home runs.

Freshmen Bats Shine at Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic
Nebraska freshmen Samantha Bland and Emmerson Cope came up big with the bat last weekend in a challenging five-game schedule at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Each player hit their first career home run last weekend.

• Bland and Cope combined to go 9-for-22 (.409) with two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs last weekend. They combined for 50 percent of Nebraska’s RBI total (12 of 24).
• Bland went 6-for-15 with two doubles and her first two career home runs. She led Nebraska - and ranked fifth in the 30-team tournament - with eight RBIs while ranking second on the team in hits, doubles and home runs. She was 5-for-11 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs in Nebraska’s three games against ranked opponents (UCLA, Oregon and Utah).
• Bland tied her career high in hits (2) twice in California while also tying her career high with two doubles against No. 19 UCLA and driving in a career-high four runs against No. 20 Utah.
• Cope went 3-for-7 (.429) with a home and four RBIs at the Mary Nutter Classic. She ranked second on the team in batting average last weekend and was third in RBIs. Cope hit a three-run homer against Cal State Fullerton as part of a 3-for-3 day that included career highs in hits (3) and RBIs (3).
• Cope also pitched in three games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, including starting Nebraska’s win over Cal State Fullerton and allowing only one run in a start against San Diego State.

Transfer Hitters Making a Big Impact
Nebraska first-year transfers Bella Bacon and Peyton Cody have both proven to be big additions to the Husker lineup. Together, the duo are batting .391 (25-for-64) this season with five doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs.

• Bacon, who spent her freshman season at Purdue in 2023, has started 13 of Nebraska’s 14 games at first base this season. The Omaha native is tied for the team lead in walks (4) and ranks second in hits (13) and runs (10) and fourth in batting average (.351) and doubles (3). Bacon also ranks second on the team with four multi-hit games.
• Bacon had 32 at bats as a freshman at Purdue in 2023 and has 37 at bats through her first three weeks as a Husker. Her production has improved dramatically at Nebraska, as Bacon has already exceeded her 2023 season total in hits (13-8), doubles (3-0), RBIs (6-5) and runs (10-1) while matching last year’s total with four walks.
• A sixth-year player who spent her first five seasons at St. John’s, Cody was limited to pinch-hitting duties during the first weekend, going 1-for-2 as a pinch hitter. She has returned in a big way, starting eight games the past two weeks and going 11-for-26 (.423) with two doubles, two homers and five RBIs in those eight starts.
• On the season, Cody leads Nebraska with a .500 on-base percentage and ranks second on the team in batting average (.444) and slugging percentage (.741) and is third in hits (12), home runs (2) and walks (3).

Huskers Pitching by Committee in 2024
Nebraska has used multiple pitchers in every game this season, utilizing a “pitching by committee” approach. The Huskers have used at least two pitchers in all 14 games, including seven games where three or more pitchers were utilized.

• Nebraska is the only Big Ten team who has not had a pitcher throw a complete game this season. While no Husker pitcher has thrown a complete game, 30 Big Ten pitchers have thrown a complete game, combining for a total of 52 complete games.
• The Huskers have had five pitchers start a game this season. That is a first for Rhonda Revelle, as Nebraska had never used more than four starting pitchers in a season since she took over the program in 1993.
• In this new approach, the staff has been particularly effective in relief. Nebraska’s staff has combined to post a 6-3 record with a 2.66 ERA in 44.2 relief innings compared to a 2-3 record with a 3.87 ERA in 47.0 innings as the starter. Opponents are hitting only .218 against NU’s relief pitchers with just four extra-base hits in 165 at bats.
• Sarah Harness has been NU’s most effective starter, despite a record of only 1-0. Harness has started six of the Huskers’ 14 games and owns a 1.62 ERA in 21.2 innings as a starter.
• Nebraska’s other pitchers have been effective in relief as Kaylin Kinney, Caitlin Olensky and  Emmerson Cope all own a lower ERA as a reliever than a starter. Kinney is 3-3 with one save as a reliever with a 3.05 ERA over seven appearances and 20.2 innings. Olensky is 2-0 as a reliever with a 2.21 ERA in 12.2 innings. Cope is 1-0 with two saves and a 1.31 ERA in four relief appearances totaling 5.1 innings.