Numbers to know and players to watch in Huskers’ five-game weekend set in New Mexico

Head coach Rhonda Revelle’s Nebraska softball team will have to pick itself up off the mat and deal with the new reality of being without national superstar Jordy Bahl on the field for another calendar year.

Bahl will be redshirting this year after suffering a season-ending ACL injury less than three innings into her Husker debut as part of the Puerto Vallarta Challenge in Mexico.

Nebraska lost that game in a shutout, 8-0, to No. 8-ranked Washington and followed up the next day with a 6-1 loss to No. 11-ranked Duke. The Huskers rebounded to come out of the weekend with a 2-2 record following wins over Long Beach State, 7-2, and Utah Valley, 3-2, but the entire tenor of the season changed the moment Bahl suffered that crushing injury.

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The Huskers entered the season ranked in the top 18 in the country in all four major national preseason polls:

NFCA/USA Today poll >> No. 18*

ESPN.com/USA Softball >> No. 17

D1Softball >> No. 13

Softball America >> No. 15

*Coaches poll featuring 32 voters

That lofty ranking was based almost exclusively around the arrival of a two-time First Team All-American and two-time national champion. That much can be easily deduced based on the fact that the Huskers were dropped from the top 25 in all four polls and that they were dropped after losing to teams now ranked nationally at No. 5 (Washington) and No. 10 (Duke) on a neutral field while several other teams – all ranked No. 10 or lower – also lost multiple games but were not dropped out of the polls entirely.

Oregon (4-2), UCLA (2-3) and Baylor (0-2) all lost multiple games to start the season, but the only team – and only national poll – that was dropped from the top 25 was UCLA in the Softball America rankings.

So, expectations both locally and nationally have been altered completely. For fair and justifiable reasons.

But Nebraska was not – and is not – a one-woman team. The realistic goal of competing for a Big Ten championship and beyond will have to be adjusted. But the Huskers won’t fall apart. They still have high-quality players and will be looking to prove that in their return to action.

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Nebraska will now look to rebound and get the season reset and restarted with a set of five games in three days at the Troy Cox Classic on New Mexico State’s campus Friday-Sunday.

First up will be the Huskers’ first two true road games of the season in a doubleheader against the host Aggies on Friday (start time of Game 1 is 4 p.m.), then they face Montana at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday before two straight games against Sacramento State (1 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday) to wrap up the tournament.

Note: All times listed are Central

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All five games this week – and every game this season – will have a free radio broadcast with Nate Rohr on the call. The radio broadcast is available at Huskers.com/listen and on the official Huskers app.

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All notes and stats courtesy of Nebraska Athletics Communications

>> The Huskers’ three opponents this weekend combined for a 9-4 record last week. New Mexico State went 4-0 at home, Montana went 2-3 in Louisiana and Sacramento State went 3-1 while hosting three home games and playing a road contest at UC Davis.

>> Nebraska has won 31 of its last 37 games at the NM State Softball Complex, dating back to the 2011 season.

>> Two of NU’s three most recent no-hitters have come in Las Cruces against this week’s opponents (2023 at New Mexico State and 2015 vs. Montana).

>> Billie Andrews has started 163 consecutive games at shortstop. She has also hit leadoff for the Huskers in 70 straight games. Andrews has six games with multiple home runs in her career. The Nebraska record for most career multi-homer games is seven by Tristen Edwards.

With five extra-base hits last week, Andrews became the eighth player in NU history with 75 career extra-base hits.

Andrews averaged more than one extra-hit per game in Mexico. She finished the tournament with a .357 average (5-for-14) with two doubles, one triple and two home runs. She led Nebraska in hits (5), runs (4), doubles (2), triples (1) and home runs (2).

>> Kaylin Kinney returned to action at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge, playing for the first time since February 2023. Kinney pitched in three of Nebraska’s four games in Mexico, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.27 ERA.

She earned the win in relief against both Long Beach State and Utah Valley, combining to pitch 7.1 shutout innings with only two hits allowed in those wins.

Kinney limited opposing hitters to a .200 average in the tournament, while allowing only two extra-base hits (both doubles).

>> Brooke Andrews produced four of Nebraska’s 11 RBIs in the opening week. In addition to the run production, Andrews was second on the team in batting average (.222) and hits (2).

>> Katelyn Caneda has started 62 consecutive games at second base.

>> Sarah Harness went 2-0 in Las Cruces last season, allowing only one hit in 11.0 scoreless innings. That included a no-hitter against New Mexico State, Nebraska’s first seven-inning no-hitter since 2007.

>> Revelle is one win shy of recording her 1,100th win as a Husker. Only two active Division I coaches have won 1,100 games at their current schools (Patty Gasso and Patrick Murphy).

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>> Nebraska has played 110 games in Las Cruces in its 49-year history. The Huskers boast a 76-34 all-time record in Las Cruces, including a 42-14 mark under Revelle.

>> Nebraska is 28-6 in its last seven trips to Las Cruces, which dates back to 2012. Overall, the Huskers have won 31 of their last 37 games at the NM State Softball Complex.

>> Offensively, Nebraska’s active hitters – minus Abbie Squier, who is out for the season – boast a collective .331 batting average in Las Cruces.

>> Billie Andrews has hit .351 in her 10 games at the NM State Softball Complex with five homers, seven extra-base hits and 11 RBIs.

>> Sydney Gray is 9-for-30 (.300) with four homers and 12 RBIs in 10 games in Las Cruces.

>> As freshmen last year in Las Cruces, Ashley Smetter (2-for-2, 2B), Talia Tokheim (2-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBIs), Caneda (5-for-10, 1 HR, 6 RBIs) and Alina Felix (2-for-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs) combined to go 11-for-20 (.550) with two doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs.

>> Ava Bredwell (.333) and Caitlynn Neal (.318) are also career .300 hitters in Las Cruces.

>> In the circle, Harness and Kinney are a combined 3-0 with one save and a 0.50 ERA at the NM State Softball Complex. The duo have combined to allow only two runs and just one extra-base hit (a double) in 25.0 career innings in Las Cruces.

Last season, Kinney and Harness threw 25 of Nebraska’s 31 innings in Las Cruces and combined to go 3-0 with a one save and a 0.28 ERA with 24 strikeouts and only three walks. Harness went 2-0 last season, allowing only one hit in 11.0 scoreless innings. She threw a seven-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts against New Mexico State. In what proved to be her final action of the 2023 season, Kinney went 1-0 in Las Cruces, allowing one run in 14.0 innings. She surrendered only one run in 6.0 innings against No. 4 Oklahoma State and finished the tournament with 12 strikeouts and no walks.

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New Mexico State opened its season with four home wins last weekend. The Aggies swept doubleheaders from Monmouth and Abilene Christian, outscoring their opponents 26-6. NMSU hit .308 as a team while averaging 6.5 runs per game. The Aggies allowed only 1.5 runs per game and posted a 0.81 ERA with a .967 fielding percentage.

Kayla Lunar led the way offensively last week batting .556 (5-for-9) with a triple and three RBIs. Devin Elam also hit .500 in the opening weekend, going 3-for-6 with a pair of RBIs. Riley Carley gave NMSU a third .400 hitter as she batted .444 (4-for-9) with five RBIs.

Desirae Spearman, the reigning Conference USA Freshman of the Week, hit .364 in the opening weekend with a triple, two homers and five RBIs.

Spearman was also the Aggies’ top pitcher last week, as New Mexico State used three primary pitchers in the opening weekend. Spearman threw half of the team’s innings, posting a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings en route to a 2-0 record. She struck out 14 and did not allow an extra-base hit while limiting opponents to a .213 average.

Emily Dix and Jaileen Mancha saw the most action behind Spearman. Dix went 2-0 with one save and a 0.84 ERA in 8.1 innings. Mancha was 1-0 last week with a 1.75 ERA in 4.0 innings. Laurali Patane (0-0, 10.50 ERA in 0.2 IP) rounds out the Aggie staff.

Kathy Rodolph is in her 21st season at New Mexico State, where she owns a 582-505 record. The Aggies’ all-time wins leader, Rodolph led NMSU to 10 total WAC conference championships before the Aggies moved to Conference USA this season.

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Montana went 2-3 in the opening weekend, winning its first two games before dropping its next three. The Griz defeated Louisiana-Monroe and then fell to Southeastern Louisiana, Eastern Illinois and Nicholls State. Montana hit .192 and averaged 3.2 runs per game last weekend while posting a 4.67 ERA and allowing 6.2 runs per game.

Presley Jantzi was the only Montana player to hit .300 last week. She went 6-for-16 (.375) with one double. Jocelyn Eisen (.286) and Riley Stockton (.273) were the only other Griz to hit above .200. Stockton tied for the team lead with three RBIs.

In the circle, Montana primarily relied on the combination of Grace Haegele and Emmalyn Brinka, as the duo combined to throw 26.1 of the team’s 33.0 innings last week. Haegele went 1-1 with a 3.59 ERA in 13.2 innings. Brinka was 1-2 with a 6.08 ERA in 12.2 innings.

Rylee Rehbein (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 3.1 IP) and Nyeala Herndon (0-0, 8.40 ERA in 3.1 IP) also saw action for the Griz in the opening weekend.

A Montana native, Melanie Meuchel is in her seventh season as the Griz head coach. She previously served as an assistant coach and has been with the program for each of its 10 years of existence, dating back to Montana’s first season in 2015. Meuchel owns a 113-170 record with the Griz and as a collegiate head coach.

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Sacramento State went 3-1 in the opening weekend. The Hornets lost a 1-0 decision to Cal Poly in their season opener before winning their next three games against San Jose State, Middle Tennessee and UC Davis by a combined score of 17-5. Sacramento State hit .356 last weekend while averaging 4.3 runs per game. Defensively, the Hornets committed only one error in four games while posting a 1.35 ERA and allowing just 1.5 runs per game.

Haley Hanson was impressive in the opening weekend, going 7-for-11 (.636) with three stolen bases. Lewa Day also hit above .500 last weekend, going 6-for-11 (.545). Day led the team with two doubles, one triple, two home runs and eight RBIs, as she slugged 1.455 and had five of Sacramento State’s seven total extra-base hits on the weekend.

Andrea Lira (.417), Alexis Parish (.364), Kennedy Echols (.364) and Gwen Ludwig (.333) all hit .333 or better in the opening weekend, giving the Hornets six .300 hitters in their starting lineup.

In the circle, Caroline Evans threw nearly half of the team’s innings last weekend. Evans went 2-0 with one shutout and a 0.58 ERA in 12.0 innings. She allowed just four singles, limiting opponents to a .103 average.

Marissa Bertuccio and Savannah Wahl split the innings behind Evans. Bertuccio went 0-1 with a 1.00 ERA, tossing a complete game in the loss to Cal Poly. Wahl went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 7.0 innings.

Liz Perez is in her 11th season at Sacramento State, where she owns a 253-226-2 record. Perez has led her alma mater to three Big Sky Conference championships, including a regular-season title last season.

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