Huskers Host Hawkeyes in Tuesday Doubleheader

The Nebraska softball team will play at home for the first time in more than two weeks Tuesday when the Huskers host the Iowa Hawkeyes for a doubleheader at Bowlin Stadium.

First pitch for game one is at 4 p.m. with game two set to start 30 minutes following game one. Tickets for Tuesday’s game can be purchased at huskers.com/softball, calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED or at the Bowlin Stadium ticket office beginning one hour prior to first pitch. 

Fans can also watch both games of the doubleheader live on the Big Ten Network or the Fox Sports app. A free radio broadcast of Tuesday’s doubleheader - and every game this season - will be available on Huskers.com or the official Huskers app. 

The Huskers are coming off a 2-4 road trip that included a series win at Rutgers and a winless series at Michigan last weekend. NU has lost three straight games, just the second time this season Nebraska has lost more than two games in a row.

Two of Nebraska’s three losses at Michigan last week were one-run defeats. Close games have been a common theme for the Huskers in conference play even with three run-rule victories. Four of Nebraska’s eight Big Ten losses have been by a single run while seven of the Huskers’ 14 conference contests have been one-run games (3-4 record). Nebraska has also played five extra-inning games in Big Ten play (3-2 record), with at least one game going to extra innings in each of the Huskers’ first five conference series. 

Leading Off

• Six of Nebraska’s 24 players (25 percent of the roster) are out for the season with an injury.
• NU is 3rd nationally with 27 double plays.
• Seven of Nebraska’s 14 Big Ten games have been one-run games (3-4 record).
• Only 18 players in the 14-team Big Ten Conference have 20 extra-base hits, and three of those players are Huskers.
• Nebraska has won four games when trailing after six innings this season, its most such wins in a season this century.
• The Huskers have won eight of the nine Big Ten meetings against Iowa in Lincoln.
• Eight of the last 10 games in the series have been played in Iowa City.
• NU is No. 49 in this week’s NCAA RPI.
• Billie Andrews is two home runs shy of becoming the sixth player in Big Ten history with 60 career home runs.
• Billie Andrews is expected to make her 200th career start - all at shortstop - in game one on Tuesday.
• Billie Andrews and Sydney Gray are the only players to win multiple Big Ten Player of the Week awards this season.
• Katelyn Caneda is expected to make her 100th career start - all at second base - in game one on Tuesday.

Offense Ranks Highly in School History
Nebraska boasts one of the top offenses in school history this season. The Huskers rank sixth nationally in doubles per game, 30th in home runs per game and 35th in scoring.

• Nebraska’s 80 doubles already rank sixth in school history. The Huskers are on pace for 96 doubles, which would break the school record of 94 doubles set in 1995 and matched in 2023.
• Nebraska owns a .482 slugging percentage that is on pace to rank fifth in school history.
• The Huskers are averaging 5.9 runs per game. That currently ranks as the third-highest scoring average in school history. Only twice in program history has Nebraska averaged 6.0 runs per game: 2015 (6.9 runs per game) and 2022 (6.0 runs per game).
• Nebraska has totaled 133 extra-base hits and is on pace for 160 extra-base hits this season. That extra-base hit total would rank fourth in school history. 

Huskers Showing Comeback Ability in 2024
Nebraska has shown a knack for coming from behind this season. The Huskers have trailed in 15 of their 25 wins, including nine times when Nebraska came back from a multi-run deficit.

• The Huskers have won four times when trailing after six innings this season. Nebraska is 4-11 when trailing after six innings in 2024 after a 3-74 record in the previous five seasons.
• Nebraska’s four wins this season when trailing after six innings match the 2016 team for the most wins when trailing after six innings since at least 2000.

Nebraska Ranks Second In the Big Ten in Extra-base Hits
Nebraska has hit 80 doubles, five triples and 48 home runs for a total of 133 extra-base hits this season. Individually, a pair of Huskers rank in the top 10 in the conference in extra-base hits.

• Nebraska is second in the Big Ten with 133 extra-base hits. Penn State, which has played three more conference games than Nebraska to this point, leads the Big Ten with 139 extra-base hits.
• Individually, Billie Andrews ranks third in the Big Ten with 26 extra-base hits. Ava Bredwell is tied for eighth in the Big Ten with 22 extra-base hits.
• Sydney Gray has 10 doubles and 10 home runs and is one of only six Big Ten players with at least 10 doubles and 10 home runs.
• A total of 18 Big Ten players have 20 extra-base hits, and three of those players are Huskers.

Kinney Shouldering a Big Workload in the Circle
Kaylin Kinney has pitched in 33 of Nebraska’s 44 games (75 percent), ranking 17th nationally in appearances. Kinney has pitched in 15 of Nebraska’s last 17 games and in 12 of the Huskers’ 14 Big Ten Conference games. She has started 15 games and thrown 130.2 innings this season after combining for 14 starts and 114.1 innings in her first three seasons.

• Kinney is 15-12 this season with four saves. She has earned either the win of the save in 19 of Nebraska’s 25 victories. Kinney has been involved in the decision in 14 of Nebraska’s last 16 games, posting a 7-4 record with three saves during that stretch.
• Kinney is one of only eight Division I pitchers with at least 15 wins and four saves this season.

Scouting Iowa (16-21, 4-11 Big Ten)
Iowa is 16-21 on the season, and the Hawkeyes sit in 12th place in the Big Ten standings with a 4-11 conference record. Iowa has lost nine consecutive games. The Hawkeyes have played three conference series this month and were swept at Purdue, at Michigan and last weekend at home against Indiana.

Nebraska and Iowa share four common opponents this season in Michigan, Sacramento State, Utah and Wisconsin. The Huskers posted a 5-4 record against that group while the Hawkeyes went 4-5.

Iowa is batting .256 as a team while averaging 3.6 runs per game. Defensively, the Hawkeyes rank fifth in the Big Ten with a 3.15 ERA and are allowing 3.8 runs per game with a .964 fielding percentage.

• Rylie Moss leads Iowa with a .376 batting average and 44 hits. She has two doubles and eight RBIs on the season.
• Jena Young is hitting .360 and leads the Hawkeyes with four home runs, 11 extra-base hits, a .550 slugging percentage and .433 on-base percentage while tying for the team lead with five doubles.
• Soo-Jin Berry is the third Hawkeye starter hitting above .300. Berry owns a .324 average and leads the team with three triples, 22 runs and 25 RBIs while tying Young for the team lead with five doubles.
• In the circle, Jalen Adams has thrown more than half of Iowa’s innings this season. Adams is 9-10, having earned the decision in 19 of Iowa’s 37 games. She boasts a 2.47 ERA in 124.2 innings. Adams pitches to contact as she has only 41 strikeouts in her 124.2 innings, but opponents are hitting only .255 against her.
• Devyn Greer has seen the most action behind Adams. Greer is 2-5 with a 2.54 ERA in 41.1 innings.
• Jaylee Ojo has thrown 38.0 innings and is 3-3 with one save and a 4.05 ERA.
• Haley Downe (1-1, 1 save, 4.82 ERA in 20.1 IP), Andrea Jaskowiak (1-0, 3.28 ERA in 10.2 IP), Maren Judisch (0-2, 1 save, 8.84 ERA in 6.1 IP) and Kelsey Winters (0-0, 7.00 ERA in 1.0 IP) round out the Hawkeye staff.
• Renee Gillispie is in her sixth season as Iowa’s head coach. She owns a 134-134 record at Iowa entering Tuesday’s doubleheader.
• Gillispie is 963-713-3 in 30 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Prior to Iowa, Gillispie guided UCF to a 625-403-1 record in 17 seasons from 2002 to 2018. From 1996 to 1999, Gillispie went 118-123-1 as Texas Tech’s head coach. Gillispie began her head coaching career at Bradley, leading the Braves to a 86-53-1 record in three seasons from 1993 to 1995.