Huskers Ready for Challenging Field at Mary Nutter

The Nebraska softball team (5-4) will head west to Cathedral City, Calif., for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic this weekend. The Huskers will play five games from Feb. 21 to 23 and will face some of their toughest opponents of the season. Nebraska plays three of the top 10 teams in the country which include No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Oklahoma. A pair of former Big 12 foes, the Huskers and Sooners will clash on Feb. 21 at 12:30 p.m. CT. Later that day, Nebraska will take on BYU at 5:30 p.m. CT. On Saturday, Nebraska will compete against Cal and second-ranked Washington at 4:30 p.m. CT and 7 p.m. CT, respectively. The weekend will conclude on Sunday against No. 7/9 Florida (11 a.m. CT). 

Scouting the Opponents
No. 3 Oklahoma: One of the most dominant programs in recent history, third-ranked Oklahoma is off to a hot start in 2020 after a runner-up finish at the 2019 Women's College World Series. The Sooners have just one loss through nine games so far this season. OU returns 2019 NFCA All-Americans Jocelyn Alo and Grace Green. Both have started all nine games for the Sooners. Green ranks third on the team with a batting average of .357, while Alo is hitting .346. Reigning Big 12 Player of the Week Lynnsie Elam is hitting .346 as well.

While the Sooners lost six seniors from the 2019 squad, several newcomers are stepping up in big ways for OU this season. Freshman catcher Kinzie Hansen leads the starters with a .394 batting average, while classmate Rylie Boone leads the team with a .467 batting average in four starts.

In the circle, Oklahoma brings back a two-time first-team All-America pick in senior Giselle "G" Juarez. While Juarez has only pitched 2.2 innings in 2020, the lefty finished 2019 with a 1.39 ERA and a 28-4 record. She pitched 186.1 innings and finished with 269 strikeouts.  She finished the 2019 season ranked second in OU career history in opponent batting average (.151) and strikeouts per seven innings pitched (10.11) and ninth in walks per seven innings pitched (1.31) and ERA (1.39). Fellow senior Shannon Saile has done most of the work so far this season. She has pitched a team-high 23.2 innings through nine appearances and has a team-high 35 strikeouts. With a record of 2-1, Saile has an ERA of 0.59.

BYU: BYU enters the weekend with a 5-4 record and will play UC Riverside and Notre Dame on Thursday before facing the Huskers on Friday. BYU is coming off a 3-2 outing at the Campbell Cartier Tournament in San Diego after splitting a pair of games with both San Diego State and Cal State Fullerton and beating Southern Utah. 

On offense, BYU is not a power hitting team. The Cougars have just three home runs on the season and are slugging .327. Senior outfielder Rylee Jensen-McFarland leads the starters with a .321 batting average. She has a team-best nine hits and has seven RBIs which rank second on the team. She also has the team's only triple and one of BYU's three home runs on the season. 

In the circle, BYU has given up just 14 earned runs in nine games and has a team ERA of 1.63. Aris Paulson has pitched 23.0 innings and has a 3-0 record with an ERA of 0.91. She also has 20 strikeouts on the season.

However, with a fielding percentage of .961, the Cougars are averaging one unearned run a game.

Cal: Cal has a 6-4 record and will have the opportunity to pick up three more wins before the game against Nebraska. The Bears take on Saint Mary's on Wednesday before competing against Auburn and Missouri at Mary Nutter prior to the match up with the Huskers. Most recently, Cal went 3-2 at the Fresno State Tournament, beating Fordham and Saint Mary's twice and falling to Fresno State and Cal Poly. 

Amani Bradley and Makena Smith have both started all 10 games for the Bears. Bradley ranks second overall on the team with a .412 batting average, while Smith is hitting .400. Kacey Zobac has an average of .429 and is slugging a team-high .619 through seven starts. 

In the circle, Alexandra Perez and Chloe Romero are handling most of the work. Together, the pair has pitched all but 0.1 inning this season. Perez has a record of 4-3 with a 2.89 ERA while Romero is 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA. Perez also leads the team with 21 strikeouts, while Romero has 14.

As a pitching staff, Cal is averaging under 3.0 earned runs a game. 

No. 2 Washington: Second-ranked Washington enters the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a 10-1 record. The Huskies were handed their lone loss of the season against then-ranked No. 9 Alabama. UW will play Wisconsin, Bethune-Cookman and Oklahoma prior to seeing the Huskers.

Washington returns two NFCA All-Americans from its 2019 squad that placed third at the WCWS in catcher Morganne Flores and pitcher Gabbie Plain. Flores has started all 11 games so far this season and is hitting .361 on the year. She leads the team with three home runs, 13 RBIs and a .722 slugging percentage. Senior Taryn Atlee is hitting a team-high .467 through 11 starts this season. She has 12 runs and 14 hits - all team bests. 

In the circle, Plain is carrying most of the load, with a team-high eight appearances and 31.1 innings pitched. With a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 3.13, Plain is limiting opposing batters to .224 and has 38 strikeouts on the season. As a team, the Huskies are outscoring their opponents 86-42 in the first 11 games of the season and are hitting .356 overall. 

No. 7/9 Florida: Florida is ranked seventh in the NFCA poll and ninth in the USA Softball poll. Florida has a record of 11-1 but will play Jacksonville on Wednesday prior to coming to Mary Nutter. The Gators have just one loss on the season as of Feb. 19, coming against Michigan on Feb. 8. The Gators lost All-Americans Kelly Barnhill (pitcher) and Amanda Lorenz (outfielder), but return All-American utility player Kendyl Lindaman. Lindaman earned third-team honors in 2019 after transferring from Minnesota. In 2020, Lindaman has started the first 12 games and ranks third on the team with a .394 batting average.

Sophomore Charla Echols leads the Gators with a .500 batting average through 12 starts and a .917 slugging percentage. She has 12 runs, 18 hits, four homers and 18 RBIs - all team highs. Regular starter Hannah Adams is also off to an impressive start. Adams is hitting .455 with 12 runs, two doubles, one homer and six RBIs. 

In the circle, the Gators have a team ERA of 1.92 and are giving up less than two runs a game. Natalie Lugo has a team-high seven appearances and 27.2 innings pitched. She has a 4-1 record with a 1.52 ERA 

History at Mary Nutter
Nebraska is competing in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic for the 10th straight season and the 11th time overall. Nebraska owns a 20-27 record at the tournament. Nebraska is 8-19 all-time vs. ranked teams at the event. Nebraska has defeated one ranked team in eight of the last nine years at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Seventeen of Nebraska's last 21 losses at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic have come to a ranked team. Last season, Nebraska went 1-4, defeating BYU and falling to San Diego State, No. 13 Arizona State and No. 2 UCLA.

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. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter (@HuskerSoftball). Additionally, all of the games will be streamed on FloSoftball (subscription required).