NU Hosts Maryland in Final Home Series

The Nebraska softball team hosts its final home games of the season this weekend when the Huskers welcome the Maryland Terrapins to Bowlin Stadium for a four-game series. The teams will open the series with a Friday doubleheader at 3 p.m. followed by a single game at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The series finale is set for 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Following Sunday’s game, Nebraska will honor its senior class with an on-field ceremony for Tristen Edwards, Samantha Owen, Ally Riley, Rylie Unzicker and Sarah Yocom. The Huskers’ two additional seniors – Olivia Ferrell and Cam Ybarra – intend return for a sixth season next year, utilizing the extra year the NCAA granted after the 2020 season was canceled.

The 2021 senior class has combined to play in nearly 600 games at Nebraska. A two-time All-Big Ten selection, Edwards has started 208 games in her career and ranks in the top five all-time at Nebraska in doubles, home runs, extra-base hits, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Owen has started 63 games in her three seasons as a Husker, batting .256 with 13 doubles, six home runs and 33 RBIs. Riley, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run in Nebraska’s last game, is a .260 career hitter in her 54 starts in a Big Red uniform. Unzicker, who brings a five-game hitting streak into this weekend, has started 104 games in her Husker career and has produced 25 extra-base hits. Yocom has started multiple games at every infield position in her career. She has made 61 career starts and brings a streak of 26 consecutive starts at first base into this weekend’s series.

Quick Hitters

• Friday’s games will mark Nebraska’s 11th doubleheader of the season. The Huskers have split six of their first 10 doubleheaders while sweeping both games twice and losing both games twice.
• Ten of Nebraska’s 16 losses have been by either one or two runs. 
• NU owns a .970 fielding percentage, and the Huskers have posted a .970 mark or better only three times in school history.
• Nebraska’s 3.28 team ERA is on pace to be its lowest since the 2014 season.
• The Huskers rank third in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 4.7 runs per game.
• Billie Andrews leads all Big Ten freshmen in runs (24), RBIs (22) and steals (10).
• Tristen Edwards needs four extra-base hits to become the second Husker with 100 career extra-base hits.
• Tristen Edwards is either walked or hit by a pitch an average of 1.5 times per game, the highest average in the nation.
• Tristen Edwards enters this weekend with a streak of 198 consecutive starts.
• Rylie Unzicker has hit leadoff in 14 of the past 15 games and is hitting .313 in those 14 games with 13 runs scored.

Glatter Pacing Husker Offense the Past Two Weeks
Junior Peyton Glatter has been Nebraska’s top hitter the past two weeks.

• Glatter is batting .333 (7-for-21) the last two weeks, the top average on the team. She also leads Nebraska with eight RBIs during that stretch and is tied for the team lead in hits, doubles (2) and home runs (1).
• Glatter has been especially productive in clutch situations. Over the past two weeks, she is batting .556 (5-for-9) with runners on base and .714 (5-for-7) with runners in scoring position. Glatter is also 5-for-9 with two outs over the last two series with five two-out RBIs.
• Entering this weekend’s series Glatter has produced an RBI in four straight games.

Edwards Walking to First With Frequency
Tristen Edwards has been able to walk to first base 47 times this season as teams have elected to frequently pitch around the senior slugger. 

• With 47 combined walks and hit-by-pitches – in only 32 games – Edwards leads the nation with an average of 1.47 “free passes” per game this season.
• Edwards is one of only two players 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 walks and/or hit-by-pitches. The other is Arkansas’ Hannah McEwen.
• Edwards has walked 32 times in 32 games this season, including eight intentional walks. She ranks third nationally in walks per game (1.0) and 15th nationally in total walks. Edwards is one of only three players nationally averaging 1.0 walk per game.
• 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 32 games. She ranks sixth nationally in hit-by-pitches per game (0.47) and 10th nationally in total hit-by-pitches.

Edwards On Track for Nebraska’s Top On-Base Percentage
Senior outfielder Tristen Edwards is getting on base at a record-breaking clip this season, reaching base nearly 60 percent of the time she steps up to the plate. Edwards ranks seventh nationally with a .585 on-base percentage. She is on pace to shatter the current Nebraska season on-base percentage record  of .532.”

Kinney Earns First Win on Her Birthday

Freshman Kaylin Kinney earned her first career win as part of two outstanding relief efforts in last Saturday’s doubleheader against Wisconsin. The win came on her birthday (April 24). In the doubleheader, Kinney allowed only two runs on just four hits in 7.2 innings with four strikeouts and just one walk. In game one, she picked up her first career victory with 5.2 innings of relief. Kinney then tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief in game two and did not allow a hit.

Scouting the Maryland Terrapins (14-18)

Maryland enters this weekend’s series in 10th place in the Big Ten standings with a 14-18 record, although the Terrapins are only two games out of sixth. Maryland has won two of its last three Big Ten series, winning three of four games against Michigan State three weeks ago and going 3-1 at home against Penn State last weekend. 

Nebraska and Maryland have each played Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin this season. The Huskers posted a 14-12 record against that group, while Wisconsin went 12-13 against those eight opponents.

• Maryland is batting .242 as a team and averaging 3.0 runs per game. The Terrapins have been held to two or fewer runs in six of their last eight games, but four of those games came against a Michigan pitching staff which entered play this week leading the nation in ERA.
• A pair of Terrapins are hitting above .300 this season led by Taylor Okada. The junior is hitting a team-high .337 and leads Maryland with 32 hits.
• Freshman Jaeda McFarland has been one of the Big Ten’s best freshmen this season. McFarland is batting .304 and she leads the team with 17 runs, four triples, 14 RBIs, eight stolen bases, a .480 slugging percentage and a .394 on-base percentage and is one of four Terps tied for the team lead with two home runs. McFarland’s four triples are also tied for the Big Ten lead.
• JoJo McRae is batting .282 but only has 39 at bats on the season. Regan Kerr (.264) and Campbell Kline (.262) are the only other Terrapins hitting above .250. Kerr is also tied for the team lead with eight stolen bases, while Kline is tied for third in the Big Ten with three triples.
• Defensively, Maryland boasts a 3.23 team ERA, a .968 fielding percentage and is allowing 3.7 runs per game. The Terrapins have primarily used three pitchers this season.
• Trinity Schlotterbeck leads the team with 16 appearances, 13 starts and 72.1 innings pitched. She has compiled a 6-5 record with a 3.19 ERA and opponents are hitting only .238 against her.
• Courtney Wyche has appeared in 13 games with 10 starts, and her seven complete games lead the Terps. Wyche boasts a team-low 2.27 ERA in 61.2 innings, and she is 3-6 on the season.
• Jennifer Brann has also made 13 appearances with nine starts. She is 4-5 on the season with a 2.75 ERA and one save in 56.0 innings. Brann leads the team in strikeouts (38) despite ranking third in innings pitched. She also has the lowest opponent batting average (.237) of any Terrapin pitcher.
• Haley Ellefson (1-2, 7.70 ERA in 20.0 IP) rounds out the Maryland staff.
• Mark Montgomery is in his second season as the head coach at Maryland and his 21st season as a collegiate head coach. He owns a 26-29 record at Maryland after previously compiling a 72-31 record in two seasons at Georgetown (Ky.) from 2001 to 2002, a 216-226 records in eight seasons at Centenary from 2003 to 2010, a 42-63 record in two years at Northern Colorado in 2011 and 2012 and a 226-163 record in seven seasons at Louisiana Tech from 2013 to 2019. Montgomery boasts a 582-512 career record in 21 seasons.