Huskers and Hawkeyes Meet in Iowa City

The Nebraska softball team travels to Iowa this weekend for a four-game series with the Hawkeyes at Bob Pearl Field. The series begins with a single game on Friday at 3 p.m. before a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. The series finale is set for Noon on Sunday. Fans with a subscription to Big Ten Network+ can watch all four games this weekend.

Nebraska and Iowa are both looking to climb the Big Ten Conference standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Huskers and Hawkeyes are tied for fifth in the league standings with identical 20-16 records. Both teams are also coming off four-game sweeps last weekend, as Iowa won all four of its games at Rutgers and Nebraska posted its first Big Ten sweep of the season by going 4-0 at home against Maryland.

The Huskers won a pair of one-run decisions in the first two games against Maryland before outscoring the Terrapins 16-4 over the final two games. Nebraska’s freshmen led the way at the plate, with four freshmen starters combining to go 14-for-30 (.467) in the series with two doubles, six home runs and 14 RBIs. Billie Andrews and Kaylin Kinney each hit three home runs and drove in six runs in the four-game series, while Caitlynn Neal doubled twice and Abbie Squier had a pair of RBIs. Kinney was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for her performance, while Andrews was selected as the Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week.

In the circle, Olivia Ferrell went 2-0 with one save last weekend, factoring into three of NU’s four wins. Courtney Wallace also went 2-0 with her first career shutout on Sunday. Kinney contributed by starting the third game of the series and allowing just one run in 5.0 innings.

Quick Hitters

• Nebraska’s next win will mark the 1,500th victory in program history.
• The sweep of Maryland last weekend was the first four-game conference sweep in school history (this is the fourth season in program history Nebraska has played four-game conference series).
• Ten of Nebraska’s 16 losses this season have been by either one or two runs. 
• Nebraska’s 3.10 team ERA is its lowest since the 2014 season.
• The Huskers rank third in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 4.8 runs per game.
• Nebraska is 13-1 this season when it has more hits than its opponent.
• All four Big Ten weekly award winners (two Huskers and two Hawkeyes) will be on the same field this weekend.
• Billie Andrews leads all Big Ten freshmen in hits (36), runs (28), home runs (7), RBIs (28) and stolen bases (10).
• Tristen Edwards is either walked or hit by a pitch an average of 1.44 times per game, the highest average in the nation.
• Courtney Wallace went 2-0 last week with a 0.68 ERA, ending her week with 7.2 consecutive scoreless innings.

Freshmen Make Mark Against Maryland
Nebraska’s freshmen played a large part in the Huskers’ four-game sweep of Maryland last weekend in the final home games of the season.

• Offensively, five freshmen played in the Maryland series, including four who started multiple games. Collectively, the freshmen went 14-for-30 (.467) with 10 runs, two doubles, six home runs, 14 RBIs, a 1.133 slugging percentage and a .556 on-base percentage. The freshmen accounted for 52 percent of NU’s hits last weekend and 64 percent of the team’s RBIs.
• Kaylin Kinney was 4-for-5 in the series with three home runs, four runs scored and six RBIs. She was 4-for-4 with a walk, three homers and six RBIs in her two starts. In game three of the series, Kinney hit two home runs and started in the circle, allowing only one run in 5.0 innings. 
• For her efforts, Kinney was named the Big Ten Player of the Week, becoming the first Husker freshman named the conference player of the week since the 2011 Big 12 season.
• Billie Andrews went 6-for-11 (.545) last weekend and matched Kinney with three home runs and six RBIs. She had at least one run, one hit and one RBI in all four games against Maryland, including homering in three of the four games.
• For her performance, Andrews was named the Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week. She has won four of the eight freshman-of-the-week honors the Big Ten has awarded this season.
• Abbie Squier started the final two games last weekend in left field, her first career starts at the position. Squier was 2-for-6 in those starts with a pair of walks and two RBIs.
• Caitlynn Neal started three games in right field against Maryland, going 2-for-8 with her first two career doubles.
• Camyl Armendariz also contributed, scoring one run as a pinch runner last weekend.

Edwards Walking to First With Frequency
Tristen Edwards has been able to walk to first base 52 times this season as teams have elected to frequently pitch around the senior slugger. 

• With 52 combined walks and hit-by-pitches – in only 36 games – Edwards leads the nation with an average of 1.44 “free passes” per game this season.
• Edwards is the only player from a “Power Five” conference (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) who reaches base at least 1.0 time per game due to “free passes”.
• Edwards has walked 37 times in 36 games this season, including 10 intentional walks. She ranks third nationally in walks per game (1.3) and fourth in total walks. 
• Edwards is bidding to become just the fourth Big Ten player to average 1.0 walk per game over an entire season since Nebraska joined the conference in 2012. She would join Minnesota’s Kendyl Lindaman (1.02 in 2017), Michigan’s Sierra Romero (1.08 in 2014) and Ohio State’s Alicia Herron (1.00 in 2012).
• Edwards has been hit by 15 pitches in 36 games. She ranks seventh nationally in hit-by-pitches per game (0.42) and 12th in total hit-by-pitches.

Billie Andrews Among Big Ten’s Top Freshmen Hitters
With two weeks left in the regular season, Billie Andrews has arguably been the Big Ten’s top freshman hitter from a statistical standpoint.

• Andrews leads all Big Ten freshmen in hits (36), runs (28), homers (7), RBIs (28) and steals (10), while ranking second in average (.310) and slugging (.560) and third in triples (2).
• Among all Big Ten hitters regardless of class, Andrews ranks fourth in the conference in runs and RBIs, fifth in home runs, sixth in steals and 10th in triples.

Brooke Andrews Steps Up At Third Base
Sophomore Brooke Andrews has been an impressive addition to the lineup while starting the past 20 games at third base for Nebraska following a season-ending injury to Sydney Gray.

• In her streak of 20 straight starts, Andrews has slugged four doubles, one triple and two home runs while driving in 13 runs with five multi-hit games. During that stretch, she leads Nebraska in doubles and triples and ranks fourth on the team in home runs and RBIs.

Kinney Finding Her Way at the Plate & In the Circle
Freshman Kaylin Kinney, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, has been the most productive of her young career the past two weeks.

• Over the last eight games, Kinney is 6-for-14 (.429) at the plate with three home runs, seven RBIs, a .571 on-base percentage and a 1.071 slugging percentage. Kinney was 4-for-5 in the Maryland series with three home runs, including her first career multi-homer game.
• In the circle, Kinney earned her first career win on her birthday against Wisconsin on April 24, allowing only two runs in a career-high 5.2 innings. She also pitched 2.0 hitless innings of relief that same day. Last Saturday against Maryland, Kinney started and allowed just one run in 5.0 innings. She left the game with the lead but did not factor into the decision.

Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes (20-16)
Iowa enters this weekend tied with Nebraska for fifth place in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 20-16 record. Iowa is coming off a four-game sweep at Rutgers last weekend. Prior to the sweep of the Scarlet Knights, the Hawkeyes had lost three straight series.

Nebraska and Iowa have each played 10 of the other 12 Big Ten teams. Both teams split a doubleheaders with Michigan State and Ohio State and lost three of four games to Minnesota and Wisconsin. Both the Huskers and Hawkeyes won series against Maryland, Penn State and Purdue and lost their series to Michigan. Iowa fared better than Nebraska against Indiana and Rutgers, as the Hawkeyes went 3-1 against the Hoosiers and 4-0 against the Scarlet Knights, while the Huskers were 1-1 against Indiana and 2-2 against Rutgers.

• Iowa is batting .238 as a team and averaging 3.8 runs per game. A pair of Hawkeye starters are batting above .300 and three more are hitting above .265. Iowa has been proficient at playing small ball this season, ranking second in the conference with 30 sacrifices.
• Denali Loecker leads the team with a .327 average, 32 hits, eight doubles, 24 RBIs, a .531 slugging percentage and a .411 on-base percentage. She is also tied for the team lead with four home runs.
• Brylee Klosterman, the Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week, boasts a .316 average. She leads the Hawkeyes with a pair of triples and ranks second on the team in runs (15) and third in hits (30).
• Riley Sheehy is third on the team with a .284 average, and she is tied for the team lead with 13 walks and five stolen bases.
• Kalena Burns (.278) and Nia Carter (.267) are both hitting above .265. Burns is tied for the team lead with four home runs and ranks second among all Hawkeyes with 19 RBIs. Carter is second on the team with 31 hits. Grace Banes is the Iowa runs leader, as she has crossed home plate 18 times this season.
• Defensively, Iowa is allowing 3.1 runs per game this season. The Hawkeyes rank fifth in the Big Ten with a 2.45 ERA and have primarily used a three-pitcher rotation.
• Right-hander Sarah Lehman leads the Hawkeyes with 94.0 innings and 10 complete games this season, and she is tied for the team lead with 17 appearances. Lehman owns a 5-8 record with a 2.90 ERA and opponents are hitting only .238 against her.
• Right-hander Allison Doocy, the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, has started a team-high 13 games and is 8-4 with a 2.11 ERA in 79.2 innings. She owns the most wins of any Hawkeye and is tied for the team lead with one save and 17 appearances. Doocy has struck out 85 batters while walking only 20. Opponents are hitting .238 against her. In her most recent outing last Sunday at Rutgers, Doocy tossed a 5.0-inning no-hitter. She also did not issue a walk but did hit three batters.
• Left-hander Lauren Shaw is the third of Iowa’s primary pitchers. She is 7-3 with a team-low 2.01 ERA in 76.2 innings. Shaw is also tied for the team lead with two saves.
• Right-handers Denali Loecker (0-1, 8.40 ERA in 3.1 IP) and Maggie Peterson (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 1.0 IP) round out the Hawkeye staff.
• Renee Gillispie is in her third season as the head coach at Iowa, where she owns a 56-53 record. In her 27th season as a collegiate head coach, Gillispie is 885-632-3 in her career. Prior to Iowa, Gillispie led UCF to a 625-403-1 record in 17 seasons from 2002 to 2018. She spent four seasons at Texas Tech from 1996 to 1999, posting a 118-123-1 record. Gillispie began her head coaching career at Bradley, leading the program to an 86-53-1 record in three seasons from 1993 to 1995.