Huskers Head to Illinois to Open Big Ten Play

The No. 24 Nebraska softball team wraps up its 11-day road trip this weekend when the Huskers travel to the Land of Lincoln to open Big Ten Conference play with a three-game series at Illinois.

The Huskers and Fighting Illini will play single games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Nate Rohr will call all of the action for free on Huskers.com, courtesy of the IMG College Husker Sports Network. Fans can also watch all three games this weekend on www.fightingillini.com/watch.

Nebraska takes an 18-9 record into Big Ten play, while Illinois is 19-9. On paper, the Husker-Fighting Illini matchup is the best of the seven Big Ten series this weekend, as Nebraska and Illinois’ 37 combined wins and .672 combined winning percentage are the highest combined totals of any Big Ten series.
Nebraska has won nine of the 12 meetings with Illinois since the Huskers joined the Big Ten prior to the 2012 season. NU has posted 2-1 series victories in each of its two trips to Illinois in 2013 and 2014.

Nebraska has been a road warrior for the past three Big Ten seasons, winning 10 consecutive Big Ten weekend road series. NU’s last road series loss came in a three-game sweep at Indiana in the final road series of the 2012 season. The Huskers are 25-9 in Big Ten road games the past three seasons.

The Huskers have finished in the top three in the final Big Ten standings in each of their first four seasons in the conference. Nebraska has posted a 65-26 record in Big Ten play, ranking second in the league in wins and winning percentage (.714) during NU’s time as a Big Ten Conference member.

This Week’s Top 10

1. Nebraska owns an 18-9 record this season while facing the nation’s 12th-toughest schedule.

2. The Huskers have used 27 different starting lineups (P, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, DP) this season and 27 different batting orders, never duplicating a starting lineup or batting order.

3. Nebraska owns a 23-16 record in conference openers, including a 3-1 mark in Big Ten openers.

4. After playing seven of its last 18 games against ranked opponents, the Huskers will play each of their next 10 games against unranked opponents.

5. Eleven different Huskers have homered this season, the most players to hit a home run in a single season in school history.

6. Nebraska has not lost a Big Ten Conference road series in the last three seasons. The last Big Ten road series NU lost was in May of 2012.

7. Nebraska plays 12 of its first 17 Big Ten games on the road, beginning with the conference-opening series at Illinois this weekend.

8. MJ Knighten ranks second nationally with 15 home runs, the sixth-highest total in school history.

9. Alicia Armstrong made her 200th career start against Omaha last Wednesday and tied the Nebraska game record with eight RBIs.
   
   
10. Kiki Stokes made her 200th career start against UNLV last Friday, and she tied the Nebraska record with four runs scored vs. UNO last Wednesday.

Leading Off...

• Nebraska came in at No. 22 in the first NCAA RPI ranking of the season, released on Monday.
• The Huskers have played the nation’s 12th toughest schedule according to the NCAA RPI.
• The opponent has scored first in 19 of Nebraska’s 27 games this season, including 12 of the last 15 games and 18 of the last 23 games.
• Nebraska was 6-0 this season when scoring first before losing both games last weekend when scoring first.
• NU was 8-0 when scoring in the first inning before losing both times last weekend when it scored in the first.
• NU is 17-2 when holding the opponent five runs or less.
• The Huskers have hit multiple home runs in 14 of their 27 games this season (12-2 record).
• Nebraska is 15-2 this season when committing one or no errors and 3-7 when committing two or more errors.
• Nebraska has committed multiple errors in six of its last nine games, including five games with three errors. In the first 18 games, the Huskers had only four games with multiple errors and no games with three errors.
• The Huskers have drawn 52 walks in their last eight games (6.5 per game). In the first 19 games, Nebraska totaled only 33 walks (1.7 per game).

    Husker Quick Hitters

• Eighteen of Alicia Armstrong’s 29 RBIs this season have come with two outs.
• Laura Barrow went 8-for-16 (.500) in five games at the Easton Tournament last weekend with two doubles and four RBIs. In her first 18 games, Barrow was 11-for-54 (.204) with one double and four RBIs.
• Barrow has four multi-hit efforts in her last five games after having two multi-hit games through the first 18 games of the season.
• Caitlin Bartsch threw a career-high 4.1 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief vs. DePaul in NU’s last game.
• Senior Mattie Fowler owns a six-game hitting streak, batting .529 (9-for-17) during the streak with two homers, five walks and seven RBIs.
• Fowler has produced multiple hits in three straight games.
• Taylor Kadavy made her collegiate debut last Saturday, allowing one run in 3.2 innings against Arkansas. She became the first left-hander to pitch for NU since 2001.
• MJ Knighten ranks second nationally with 15 home runs. She is already tied for sixth on Nebraska’s season home run chart, one shy of the most by a Husker junior.Due to her power, Knighten has seen fewer pitches to hit recently. She has drawn a walk in eight straight games, totaling 13 walks and two hit-by-pitches in that stretch.
• Knighten has produced either multiple hits, multiple RBIs or both in 19 of 27 games this season. She owns eight games with both multiple hits and multiple RBIs.
• Knighten is hitting .429 and has had a season batting average above .400 at the end of 60 consecutive games dating back to March 21, 2015.
• Knighten has started 147 consecutive games. She is the only Husker with more than 11 straight starts.
• Junior Cassie McClure earned her 10th victory in Nebraska’s last game. The 10 wins are a career high for McClure, and she entered the week as one of 65 Division I pitchers with a double-digit win total.
• Senior Kiki Stokes is one of only eight active players nationally who has totaled 150 career hits, 150 runs and 50 stolen bases.
• Last weekend, Stokes became the sixth Husker to draw 100 career walks. She is one of 27 active Division I players who has walked 100 times.

Scouting Illinois (19-9)
Illinois brings a 19-9 record into Friday’s Big Ten Conference opener. The Fighting Illini have won eight of their last 10 games and 12 of their last 15. Illinois is 2-0 at home this season, sweeping a doubleheader from IUPUI at Eichelberger on March 15.

Illinois is 1-0 against ranked opponents this season, defeating then-No. 10 Florida State, 5-1, on Feb. 13. The Fighting Illini are 4-2 this season against teams from a Power Five Conference.

Fighting Illini Offense
Illinois is batting .314 as a team while averaging 6.0 runs per game. The Fighting Illini rank second in the Big Ten in average and runs scored (167), while leading the league in hits (238). Illinois boasts power and speed, leading the Big Ten in doubles (46) and triples (11) and ranking second in stolen bases (53).

Kylie Johnson paces the Illini with a .354 average and 12 stolen bases. She has put the ball in play in each of her 84 plate appearances this season, as Johnson has not drawn a walk or been hit by a pitch. Allie Bauch is batting .349 with three home runs and a team-high 11 walks, and she ranks second in the Big Ten in triples (3). Remeny Perez has also added three triples and three home runs.

Carly Thomas and Nicole Evans have been Illinois’ top power threats, as each has hit five home runs. Evans is batting .302 and leads the team with 24 RBIs, while Thomas is hitting .347 and leads the Illini with a .614 slugging percentage.

Fighting Illini Defense
The Fighting Illini boast a 2.90 ERA while allowing an average of 3.7 runs per game. Illinois also boasts a .960 fielding percentage, committing 33 errors in 28 games.

Jade Vecvanagas and Breanna Wonderly have been the Illini’s top two pitchers. Vecvanagas is 8-6 with a 2.48 ERA in 82.0 innings. She has allowed only one home run and opponents are hitting just .239 against her. Wonderly is 6-3 with a 3.25 ERA in 71.0 innings.

Taylor Edwards (4-0, 1.57 ERA in 22.1 IP) and Kate Giddens (1-0, 6.77 ERA in 10.1 IP) round out the Illini staff.

Fighting Illini Staff
Illinois is led by first-year head coach Tyra Perry. Perry has led the Fighting Illini to a 19-9 start, and she owns a career record of 428-397-1 in 16 seasons as a collegiate coach. Perry previously served as head coach at Ball State (2014-15), Western Kentucky (2008-13) and Birmingham-Southern (2002-07).

Perry is assisted by associate head coach Kassie Stanfill and assistant coach Laura Trout.

Series History
Nebraska’s series with Illinois dates back to 2006, when the Fighting Illini program was in only its seventh season of existence. In the 2006 meeting, Nebraska set a school record for RBIs (20) and scored the second-most runs in program history in a 21-1 run-rule victory.

The 2006 meeting marked the only matchup between the programs before Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference prior to the 2012 seasons. The teams have met annually in each of the Huskers’ first four seasons in the league. Nebraska has won each of the first four conference series between the programs, including a sweep in 2012 and road series victories at Illinois in 2013 and 2014.

Nebraska vs. Illinois Series History
• Series Record: Nebraska leads, 10-3
• Last Meeting: Nebraska won 9-1 (5) in 2015
• Current Win Streak: Nebraska, 1 game
• Big Ten Conference Record: Nebraska leads, 9-3
• Last 5 Games: Nebraska leads, 4-1
• Last 10 Games: Nebraska leads, 7-3
• Series Record in Champaign: Nebraska leads, 4-2
• Revelle vs. Illinois: 10-3 (.769)
• Revelle vs. Coach Perry: 0-0 (.000)