The Nebraska softball team opens its 2020 season this weekend in Las Cruces, N.M., at the Troy Cox Classic. The tournament is hosted by New Mexico State and will take place at the NM State Softball Complex. The Huskers will play a total of five games from Feb. 6-9.
On Thursday, Nebraska plays host school New Mexico State at 5 p.m. CT. On Friday, the Huskers compete against UTEP at 12:30 p.m. CT. On Saturday, NU plays Bradley (10:30 a.m. CT) and UTEP (3 p.m. CT). The Huskers conclude the tournament against No. 20/24 Arkansas on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT.
Scouting the Opponents
NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State finished the 2019 season with a 33-22 record which included a 12-6 WAC record. The Aggies lost their three major offensive weapons from last season in Mya Felder, Victoria Castro and Kelsey Horton. They each started every game last season and batted above .300. The trio combined for 40 of the team's 70 home runs. Felder led the team, hitting .357. Horton had a team-best .711 slugging percentage and 18 home runs.
The Aggies will be led by their five seniors, including Nikki Butler, who started all but two games last season. The 2019 WAC Player of the Year finished with a .299 batting average and a .529 slugging percentage. NM State welcomes nine freshmen in 2020.
In the circle, New Mexico State returns Analise De La Roca and Chloe Rivas. De La Roca finished last season with a 3.90 ERA and a record of 8-6. She had 32 strikeouts and pitched four complete games. She made 24 appearances, including 18 starts. Rivas made 14 appearances and finished with a 2-1 record. She had an ERA of 5.00 and 20 strikeouts.
The Aggies will have to replace Samaria Diaz, who transferred to Oregon. The 2019 WAC Pitcher of the Year carried most of the workload for NM State last season. Diaz appeared 43 times which included 27 starts. She pitched 177.0 of the team's 362.0 innings. She had a team-low ERA of 2.10 and a record of 16-9. She also recorded 228 of the team's 329 strikeouts.
UTEP
UTEP begins a new era in 2020 under first-year head coach T.J. Hubbard. The Miners return two of their top three hitters from last season in sophomores Kasey Flores and Pate Cathey.
Flores played in all but two games last season and ranked second on the team with a .352 batting average and a .607 slugging percentage. The utility player lead the team with 39 RBIs in 2019 and ranked second with 10 doubles. She also added nine homers. Flores was named to the 2020 Conference USA Preseason All-Conference team in January. Cathey ranked third on the team, hitting .324. An infielder, Cathey played in all but five games and finished with eight doubles, one triple, five home runs and 21 RBIs last season.
In the circle, the Miners graduated its two top pitchers from 2019 in Kira McKechnie and Julie Wright. Together, the duo made 58 appearances and started 46 of 50 games. They pitched a combined 242.2 of 300.0 innings. McKechnie finished the season with a 5.84 ERA and a 5-14 record. She also had 89 strikeouts. Wright finished with an 11-15 record and a 5.92 ERA, while adding 66 strikeouts.
A young team, UTEP will need its 11 underclassmen to step up in big ways this season.
BRADLEY
Bradley is coming off a 29-21 finish from 2019. The Braves finished their season at the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, where they fell to eventual champion Drake in the semifinals.
Bradley returns several key players from last year's squad, including its top five hitters in Allison Apke, Kealia Wysocki, Lucy Mead, Taise Thompson and Stacia Seeton. All five hitters finished the 2019 season with a batting average above .300. Apke led the way with .349 while slugging .675. She added 12 homers, 39 RBIs and 25 walks. Wysocki hit .342 and finished with a team-high .775 slugging percentage. Mead hit .337, while Thompson and Seeton finished with averages of .316 and .306, respectively.
In the circle, Bradley returns Grace French, Emma Jackson and Taise Thompson. Jackson returns as the most experience pitcher from last season. She threw 79.0 innings and made 18 appearances with 15 starts. She finished with an ERA of 4.43 and a 5-7 record, while adding 53 strikeouts. French finished with a team-low ERA of 1.79 last season as a freshman after making 15 appearances and six starts. She pitched a total of 47.0 innings. Thompson pitched 28.1 innings in 2019, finishing with a 1-2 record and an ERA of 4.45.
No. 20/24 ARKANSAS
Arkansas enters the 2020 season ranked in both major softball polls. The Razorbacks are ranked No. 20 in the USA Softball/ESPN Poll and hold the No. 24 spot in the USA Today/NFCA Poll. Arkansas finished the 2019 season with a 38-20 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
The Razorbacks return three of their top four offensive players for the 2019 squad including Hannah McEwen, Danielle Gibson and Sydney Parr. McEwen started all 58 games and led the team with a .386 batting average. An All-SEC first-team pick and an NFCA All-Region honoree, McEwen had a team-best 73 hits, 43 runs and 12 doubles. Gibson hit .372 on the year and slugged .605. The NFCA All-Region pick made history last season when she tied the SEC record for home runs in a game (four). She finished with 45 RBIs on the season, which ranked second on the team. Sydney Parr hit .326 with 44 hits and 14 RBIs.
In the circle, senior Autumn Storms is expected to carry a heavy load after making 43 appearances and 32 starts last season. The NFCA second-team All-American pitched 201.2 innings for the Razorbacks last season and 15 complete games. She finished with a 1.63 ERA and a record of 20-9. Storms added 172 strikeouts which ranked second on the team.
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, Nebraska's game against New Mexico State will be streamed on the WAC Digital Network, while all other games will be available on FloSoftball (subscription required).
