Nebraska Hosts Illinois to Open Big Ten Play

The Nebraska softball team opens Big Ten Conference play this weekend when the Huskers host Illinois for a three-game series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Bowlin Stadium.

First pitch on Friday is set for 5 p.m., Saturday’s game will start at 1 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is slated for Noon. Tickets can be purchased by visiting huskers.com/softball, calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED or at the Bowlin Stadium ticket office beginning one hour prior to first pitch.

Fans unable to make it out to Bowlin Stadium can listen to Nate Rohr call every game this season for free on Huskers.com or the official Huskers app. Friday’s game will also be televised on the Big Ten Network, while Sunday’s game will air within the state borders on Nebraska Public Media. Fans can also stream the games on Saturday and Sunday with a subscription to Big Ten+, with subscriptions starting at $9.99 per month. Friday’s game will be available on foxsports.com/live for those who receive the Big Ten Network.

Nebraska is 30-15 in conference play the past two seasons, finishing second in the regular-season standings in 2022 and fourth in 2023. Nebraska and Northwestern are the only two Big Ten teams who have won 30 conference games over the last two seasons.

The Huskers have swept the opening series of the conference season each of the past two seasons. In 2022, Nebraska won both games of a shortened series at No. 19 Michigan. Last year, the Huskers swept a three-game series against Purdue at Bowlin Stadium.

Leading Off

• Nebraska’s current 10-game homestand is the longest in Bowlin Stadium history.
• NU ranks fourth nationally with 56 doubles.
• The Huskers have used a different batting order in all 29 games this year.
• Billie Andrews and Sydney Gray are the only players to win multiple Big Ten Player of the Week awards this season.
• Billie Andrews is one of only 15 players nationally averaging 1.0 hit, 1.0 run and 1.0 RBI per game this season.
• Billie Andrews has hit 54 career home runs. That is more than every player on the Illinois roster combined (47).
• Billie Andrews is tied with Taylor Edwards for the Nebraska all-time home run record. Andrews’ next home run will be the 55th of her career, an NU record.
• Ava Bredwell has had both a run scored and an RBI in six consecutive games.
• Ava Bredwell enters Friday’s game with 99 career hits, one shy of 100.
• Brooke Andrews went 5-for-5 against Northern Colorado last Sunday, posting the first five-hit game by a Husker since the 2006 season.
• Caitlin Olensky threw a shutout against Creighton last Saturday, the first shutout by a Husker freshman since 2019.

A Sister Act at the Top of the Lineup
The Andrews sisters have hit first and second in the Nebraska batting order each of the past 13 games with younger sister Billie Andrews leading off and older sister Brooke Andrews hitting second. The sisters have proven to be a productive combination at the top of the order.

• During the last 13 games when Billie has led off and Brooke has hit second, Nebraska has averaged 6.8 runs per game. In the first 16 games, Nebraska averaged 4.7 runs per game.
• The duo have hit .385 collectively over the last 13 games while combining to average 2.7 hits per game, 2.5 runs per game and 1.9 RBIs per game.

Caneda Thriving as ‘Second’ Leadoff Hitter
With the Andrews sisters anchoring the top of the lineup, Nebraska has been searching for a strong No. 9 hitter who can act as a second leadoff hitter batting ahead of Billie Andrews. The Huskers appear to have found that hitter in Katelyn Caneda.

• Caneda, who posted the third-highest batting average (.366) by a freshman in program history last season, has bounced back from a slow start to the season. In her last 11 games, Caneda is batting .394 (13-for-33) with a .487 on-base percentage, nine runs and eight RBIs.
• As Caneda has gotten hot, Rhonda Revelle has chosen to move Caneda down in the order to the No. 9 spot in the hopes that Caneda will get on base in front of Billie Andrews. The move has proven effective as Nebraska has scored 23 runs in the three games Caneda has hit ninth, with Caneda scoring six runs and Billie Andrews totaling seven RBIs.
• Since moving into the No. 9 spot in the lineup three games ago, Caneda is 6-for-7 with two walks, reaching base in eight of her nine plate appearances. 

Bredwell & Bland Swinging Hot Bats
While the top and bottom of the Husker lineup have been strong of late, two big bats in the middle of the order have been productive as well. Ava Bredwell and Samantha Bland have both been enjoying hot stretches entering Big Ten play this weekend.

• Bredwell has been on fire the last 11 games. During that stretch, she is 15-for-33 (.455) with three doubles, two triples, three homers and 11 RBIs. Over the past 11 games, Bredwell leads NU in batting average, slugging percentage (.939) and on-base percentage (.561).
• Bredwell has been even better the past six games. She has come to the plate 21 times in the last six games and reached base 14 times for a .667 on-base percentage. She is 11-for-18 (.611) the last six games with two doubles, one triple, two homers and seven RBIs. Bredwell has at least one hit, one run and one RBI in five straight games.
• Bland has also been hot the past 11 games. She is batting .344 (11-for-32) during that stretch with four doubles, one home run and 10 RBIs. In four games at the Big Red Spring Classic last week, Bland was 9-for-16 (.563) with three doubles, one homer and seven RBIs.

Olensky Stepping Up in the Circle
With the season-ending injury to two-time first-team All-American Jordy Bahl, each of Nebraska’s pitchers has had to step up in Bahl’s absence. One pitcher who has emerged is freshman left-hander Caitlin Olensky.

• Olensky owns the team’s lowest ERA (3.37), as she is the only Husker with an ERA below 4.00. Olensky also leads NU in strikeouts per seven innings (4.2) and opponent average (.269).
• Over the last 10 games, Olensky is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 22.1 innings. In the first 19 games of the season, Olensky was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 23.1 innings.
• Olensky pitched in four of Nebraska’s six games last week and went 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA in a team-high 17.2 innings. In her lone start of the week, Olensky threw a 5.0-inning shutout against Creighton for her first career shutout and complete game.

Billie Andrews Ties Husker Home Run Record
Billie Andrews ranks eighth nationally in home runs and sixth in home runs per game with 11 homers in 25 games. Andrews has tied the Nebraska record with 54 career home runs.

• Last Sunday against Northern Colorado, Andrews hit her 54th career home run. That tied the Nebraska record first set by two-time All-American Taylor Edwards, who played from 2011 to 2014.
• Andrews has also tied another home run record. She has seven games with multiple homers in her career, tying Tristen Edwards (2017-21) for the most multi-homer games in NU history.
• Andrews ranks 15th among all active Division I players with 54 career home runs. She has played at least nine fewer games than each of the 14 players ranked ahead of her on the active home run chart, with the exception of Wichita State’s Addison Barnard.

Scouting Illinois (12-13, 0-0 Big Ten)
Illinois brings a 12-13 record into the opening weekend of Big Ten Conference play. The Fighting Illini have won four of their last six games following a 9-2 road win at Illinois State on Tuesday. Illinois has been at its best on the road, posting a 4-2 record in true road games.

Nebraska and Illinois share four common opponents this season in UCLA, San Diego State and Missouri. Both teams went 0-4 against those three opponents.

Illinois is batting .311 as a team, an average that ranks second in the Big Ten. A total of seven starters are hitting above .340. The Illini average 5.3 runs per game. Defensively, Illinois boasts a 4.12 ERA and a .964 fielding percentage while allowing 5.3 runs per game.

• Paige Berkmeyer leads Illinois with a .362 batting average, 20 RBIs and a .451 on-base percentage. She has added four doubles and two home runs.
• Kelly Ryono is hitting .360 and is tops on the team in runs (19), hits (32), doubles (7), triples (1), home runs (5), stolen bases (6) and slugging percentage (.629).
• Adisyn Caryl boasts a .351 average with six doubles and 11 RBIs.
• Abby Ryniec (.347) and Megan Ward (.342) round out the group of seven Illini starters hitting above .400.
• In the circle, Tori McQueen has been Illinois’ top pitcher, but the Illini have relied on three pitchers throughout this season. McQueen is 6-6 this spring with one save and a 2.26 ERA in 74.1 innings. She leads the Illini in ERA, wins, appearances (16), starts (12), complete games (7), shutouts (2), saves, innings pitched, strikeouts (80) and opponent average (.237).
• McQueen leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th nationally with a 7.27-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, as she has struck out 80 batters and walked only 11. McQueen also ranks second in the Big Ten in shutouts and walks allowed per seven innings (1.04).
• Lauren Wiles has seen the most action behind McQueen, tying McQueen for the team lead with 16 appearances. Wiles, who has started eight games, is 4-4 on the year with a 5.68 ERA in 49.1 innings. She has walked 27 batters and struck out 22 and opponents are hitting .339 against her.
• Briana Bower is 2-3 with a 4.83 ERA in 37.2 innings. She has appeared in 13 games with five starts and has struck out 23 and walked 18.
• Juliana Hooker (0-0, 31.50 ERA in 1.1 IP) rounds out the Illini staff.
• Tyra Perry is in her ninth season at Illinois, where she owns a 255-179 record. Perry has led Illinois to four NCAA Tournament appearances in her first eight seasons.
• Perry previously was the head coach at Ball State, Western Kentucky and Birmingham-Southern. She owns a 664-567 record in 23 career seasons as a head coach. Perry is one of only three active head coaches - and the only female head coach - to take three different programs to the NCAA Tournament.