Huskers Begin Road Stretch with Northwestern

LINCOLN – The Nebraska softball team begins a seven-game road stretch with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to take on Big Ten foe Northwestern for a three-game series March 30-April 1. The Huskers and the Wildcats will play one game on Friday at 3 p.m. CT, one game on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT and one game on Sunday at noon CT. All three games will be available on Huskers.com (radio), as well as BTNPlus/FloSoftball. Fans can also follow along on Twitter (@HuskerSoftball).

The Huskers are coming off of a 9-3 victory over South Dakota on March 27. Kaylan Jablonski picked up her nation-leading 17th win and also recorded a career-best nine strikeouts. Madi Unzicker hit Nebraska’s first grand slam of the season and finished with a career-best four RBIs. Bri Cassidy also had one homer for the Huskers against the Coyotes.

Northwestern holds a 19-9 record, including a 2-1 record in Big Ten play. The Wildcats could pick up two more wins before meeting Nebraska this weekend, as they play a doubleheader on Wednesday against in-state Big Ten rival Illinois.

Northwestern opened Big Ten play with a three game series against Minnesota. The Wildcats won the first two games, but dropped the series finale on Sunday. They are currently tied for third in the conference.

The Wildcats rank in the top five in the Big Ten many offensive categories including batting average (fourth), on-base percentage (second), runs scored (tied for third), RBIs (fifth), doubles (fifth) and stolen bases (first).

Sabrina Rabin and Rachel Lewis lead the offensive efforts for Northwestern. Both have started all 28 games for the Wildcats. Rabin is batting .398, while Lewis is batting .321. Rabin ranks third in the conference in batting average and hits (41). Lewis ranks second in slugging percentage (.716), fifth in on-base percentage (.456), fourth in runs scored (26), second in RBIs (33) and third in home runs (eight).

In the circle, Morgan Newport and Kenna Wilkey have shared most of the work, pitching 66.0 and 71.2 innings, respectively. Newport leads the pitching staff with a 2.76 ERA and a 9-3 record. She’s made nine starts and has pitched five complete games, including two solo shutouts. Wilkey has a 7-3 record and has made 10 starts. She’s pitched five complete games, including two solo shutouts. She also has a team-best 65 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.22. Additionally, both Newport and Wilkey have one save.

Since joining the Big Ten, Nebraska has won 14 of 16 against Northwestern, which includes the last six straight. Last season, the Huskers swept the Wildcats in a three-game series. Taylor Otte went 4-for-11 (.364) with two doubles and one home run in the series. Jablonski and Laura Barrow each batted .333 for the Huskers.

Huskers vs. Northwestern

Several Huskers have played particularly well against Northwestern in their careers, including seniors Laura Barrow and Taylor Otte. They both are batting .308 against Northwestern in their careers, compared to overall career averages of .284 (Barrow) and .240 (Otte).

Home Run Hitters

Home run hittersHome run hitters This weekend, three of the top five home run hitters in the conference will be on the field, including Northwestern’s Rachel Lewis (third) and Nebraska’s Kaylan Jablonski (tied for fourth) and Tristen Edwards (tied fourth).

Barrow is Batting Big

Laura Barrow has been on fire at the plate lately. She’s had a hit in the last five games, which is her longest hitting streak of the season. She had two doubles all of last season and has six this season - half of those have come in the last week. Over the last five games, she's batting .533, compared to her .200 average through the first 30 games of the season.

Simmons Shining at Leadoff

Alyvia Simmons moved to leadoff at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic to fill in for Taylor Otte, who was injured at the time, and she seems to have found her spot in the batting order. Simmons’ stats have significanly improved since her move.Alyvia Simmons moved to leadoff at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic to fill in for Taylor Otte, who was injured at the time, and she seems to have found her spot in the batting order. Simmons’ stats have significanly improved since her move. On March 14, in game two of the South Dakota State doubleheader, Simmons recorded her 100th-career hit.  Additionally, Simmons has been even more impressive this past week. Against Michigan State, Simmons led the team over the weekend with a .667 batting average. She had six runs, six hits, two doubles and a team-high seven RBIs. On March 24, she had four hits and a career-best five RBIs against the Spartans. Her four hits also are tied for fourth in school history. In the mid-week game against South Dakota, Simmons went 2-for-3 with three runs, one triple, one walk and one stolen base. 

Jablonski Earned Nation-Leading Win in the Circle

Kaylan Jablonski earned her 17th win against South Dakota on Wednesday, becoming the first Division I pitcher to reach 17 wins this season. The four pitchers in second place (16 wins) haven’t even recorded a hit this season. Additionally, her four saves are tied for sixth in the country and she is the only pitcher in the country to rank in the top 10 in wins and saves this season.