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LINCOLN –The Nebraska softball team (10-18) continues its two-week home stand this weekend as it welcomes the Illinois Fighting Illini (21-7) to Bowlin Stadium for the Big Ten home opener March 29-31.Game one will be Friday at 5:30 p.m.. Game two is set for Saturday at 1 p.m., while the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at noon.
Last Time Out
Nebraska looks to bounce back this weekend after being swept by Drake in a doubleheader on Tuesdays in its home opener. Samantha Owen led the Huskers with one hit in both of the games, including one home run.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois enters the conference series with a 21-7 record and a 2-1 record in Big Ten play. Illinois is one of seven Big Ten teams to have at least 20 wins so far this season. The Fighting Illini are receiving votes in both the NFCA/USA Today Poll and the USA Softball/ESPN Poll.
Most recently, the Fighting Illini beat Eastern Illinois on Tuesday in their mid-week game by a score of 8-7 in eight innings. Illinois opened conference play last weekend at home against No. 23 Wisconsin. Illinois took two of three games against the Badgers, losing game one before bouncing back and winning the last two games of the series.
Annie Flemming leads Illinois at the plate. Flemming has started all 28 games and is hitting .411 on the year and .500 in conference play. Flemming has 25 hits, 39 runs, three doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs.
Carly Thomas is also hitting above .400, with a .406 average. Thomas has 28 runs, 39 hits, 16 doubles, four home runs and 21 RBIs.
Illinois has three other players hitting above .300, including Bella Loya (.389), Kiana Sherlund (.385) and Rhein Trochim (.340).
Loya also has a team-high nine home runs, which is tied for second in the Big Ten. In conference play, Sherlund leads the team with a .600 average.
In the circle, Sydney Sickels (13-3) has carried most of the load, pitching 81.1 innings. She’s made 21 appearances, including 13 starts. Sickels has an ERA of 2.93 and 66 of the team’s 101 strikeouts.
Taylor Edwards (2-2) and Emily Oestreich (5-2) have both seem some action as well in the circle. Edwards has made 12 appearances and four starts, while Oestreich has made 14 appearances and 11 starts. Edwards has an ERA of 3.61 and eight strikeouts, while Oestreich’s ERA is 4.05. Oestreich also has 15 strikeouts.
As a team, Illinois is fielding .951 with 39 errors through 28 games. The Illini have given up 38 unearned runs so far this season.
Follow the Huskers
A live radio broadcast will be available on Huskers.com and the official Huskers App for all of Nebraska’s games this season. Game one will be televised on BTN, while games two and three this weekend will be also be available on BTN Plus (subscription required). All three games will be available on BTN2Go and the BTN2Go app. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter (@HuskerSoftball).
Big Ten Home Run Hitters
This weekend will feature two of the Big Ten’s power hitters in Nebraska’s Tristen Edwards and Illinois’ Bella Loya. Both Edwards and Loya have nine homers on the season, which ranks second in the conference.
Owen Provides a Spark at the Plate Nebraska’s offense has struggled lately, however junior infielder Samantha Owen has provided a spark during the stretch. Nebraska has scored just three runs in the last eight games and all three have come from Owen’s bat. Owen went 2-for-6 with one run against No. 25 Michigan last weekend, which included a two-run homer in game two that scored NU’s only runs in the series. In the Drake doubleheader, Owen scored the only run with a solo home run in game one. She also had one of two Husker hits in game two against the Bulldogs. Madi Unzicker Ranks in Top 10 in Hit By Pitches From Feb. 8 to March 16, senior infielder Madi Unzicker reached base for 19 straight which was the longest by a Husker since All-Amercian MJ Knighten got on base 21 straight times in 2017. One reason Unzicker has been so successful is because she isn’t afraid to use her body to get on base....literally. On March 26 against Drake, the Omaha, Neb., native was hit for the sixth time this season, bringing her career total to 19. She now ranks in the top 10 on Nebraska’s all-time hit by pitch list (10th).