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Huskers Open Season at UNI-Dome Classic
Randy York N-Sider
Official Blog of the Huskers
If this is February, it must be softball season, and sure enough, Nebraska will open Friday at 2:45 p.m. against Northern Iowa inside the UNI-Dome at Cedar Falls, Iowa. Senior outfielder Kiki Stokes, the Huskers’ only returning All-American from 2015, knows what the biggest hurdles might be their five-game season-opening weekend – Game 2 Saturday at 8 a.m. against Western Illinois and Game 4 Sunday against Green Bay at 8 a.m.
That means 5:30 a.m. reveille on both Saturday and Sunday, followed by 10:15 a.m. second-game doubleheaders that match Nebraska with Drake Saturday and with Saint Louis Sunday. If that sounds like a busy season-opening challenge, rest easy. One of three senior tri-captains with Alicia Armstrong and Mattie Fowler, Stokes will make sure the Huskers rise early and play competitively. Her nickname is, after all, Mama Kiki or Kiki Mama, depending on whoever she might be having a conversation.
Husker teammates who choose those endearing names “just see me as an older sibling or like a mom,” Strokes said Monday in a press conference inside Memorial Stadium. Mama Kiki or Kiki Mama are simply a call to action. The nickname surfaces as a term of endearment when “they want to know what they need to do,” Stokes said, acknowledging the experience of a senior class that has won two NCAA Regional titles, one Big Ten championship and made one trip to the Women’s College World Series.
Here are three more quick-hitters worthy of Big Red Fans’ attention prior to the opener:
Junior all-region infielder MJ Knighten also met the media at Monday’s season-opening press conference.
Huskers Already Have Adjusted to 6 a.m. Daily Practices
Stokes doesn’t envision problems playing two games that begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. “We’ve been practicing at 6 a.m. for a month now, so we should be able to adjust,” she said. “We’ve grown up having to adjust to the weather, and that’s not an issue in an indoor facility,” Stokes said, referring to the Huskers opening their season at an indoor tournament. Armstrong, Fowler and Stokes are serving their second straight season as captains. Stokes also is one of only two All-America outfielders in school history. She set school records last year with 66 runs and a .532 on-base percentage, helping her earn third-team All-America honors. This season, Fowler becomes the first four-year softball captain in school history.
Infielder MJ Knighten Admits She’s Not a Morning Person
Husker junior infielder MJ Knighten also met the media at Monday’s season-opening press conference. She admitted that she’s “not a morning person, so it’s going to take me awhile to adapt” to this weekend’s schedule. Knighten has made 120 consecutive starts at third base. A two-time All-Big Ten pick, she earned first-team all-region accolades last year after batting .412 with 82 hits and 60 RBIs. A native of Buena Park, Calif., Knighten also earned 2015 Academic All-Big Ten honors and was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.
Knighten ranks 5th in school history with a .364 career batting average and ranks 9th in school history with a .546 slugging percentage. Knighten is one of four Husker all-region players on the 2016 roster, tied for the most returning all-region players in program history. Senior pitcher Emily Lockman, junior catcher Cassie McClure and Stokes are Nebraska's other all-region honorees.
Revelle Continues as the Longest Serving Female Coach in School History
Rhonda Revelle (pictured above) is in her 24th season leading her alma mater in 2016. She is the longest serving female head coach in the history of Nebraska Athletics. Revelle owns 878 wins at Nebraska and is the all-time wins leader (male or female) in Nebraska Athletics history. “If you look at our senior class, they’ve had a pretty nice run and played for championships,” Revelle said at Monday’s press conference. “They’ve understood what it’s like to play in this conference. With that said, they’re still not satisfied. They’re not looking at the past. They’re looking at the here and now. We’ve been able to challenge ourselves every single day. We’ve played indoors every day for the past month. We have a nice balance of speed and power, and if we’re having trouble swinging at the ball, we have the ability to manufacture runs.”
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