Huskers Host Mavs on Wednesday

The two hottest teams in their respective conferences face off this week in Lincoln when the Nebraska softball team welcomes Omaha to Bowlin Stadium on Wednesday.

First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. as Nebraska continues its 10-game homestand. Tickets can be purchased by visiting huskers.com/softball, calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED or at the Bowlin Stadium ticket office beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Fans unable to make it out to Bowlin Stadium can listen to Nate Rohr call every game this season for free on Huskers.com or the official Huskers app. Fans can also watch Wednesday’s game with a subscription to Big Ten+, with subscriptions starting at $9.99 per month.

Nebraska brings a five-game winning streak into Wednesday’s in-state matchup while Omaha has won 10 consecutive games. The Huskers’ five-game winning streak is tied with Penn State for the longest winning streak among Big Ten teams, while Omaha’s 10-game winning streak is the top streak in the Summit League.

The Huskers and Mavericks are also two of the highest-rated Midwest teams in the most recent NCAA RPI rankings, released on Monday. Nebraska came in at No. 68 in the NCAA RPI while Omaha was two spots higher at No. 66. The Huskers are going for a season sweep of their in-state opponents after Nebraska defeated Creighton 9-0 in five innings last Saturday at Bowlin Stadium.

Leading Off

• Nebraska’s current 10-game homestand is the longest in Bowlin Stadium history.
• The Huskers rank third nationally with 56 doubles and are on pace for 106 doubles this season which would break the Nebraska record (94) and challenge the Big Ten record (110).
• NU ranks fourth nationally with 17 double plays this season.
• The Huskers have used a different batting order in all 28 games this year.
• Billie Andrews is tied with Taylor Edwards for the Nebraska all-time home run record. Andrews’ next home run will be the 55th of her career, an NU record.
• Billie Andrews is one of only 15 players nationally averaging 1.0 hit, 1.0 run and 1.0 RBI per game this season.
• Billie Andrews and Sydney Gray are the only players to win multiple Big Ten Player of the Week awards this season.
• Brooke Andrews went 5-for-5 in Nebraska’s last game against Northern Colorado, the first five-hit game for a Husker since the 2006 season.
• Emmerson Cope has two saves, one shy of the Nebraska freshman record.
• Caitlin Olensky has one shutout this season, the first shutout by a Husker freshman pitcher since 2019.

A Sister Act at the Top of the Lineup
The Andrews sisters have hit first and second in the Nebraska batting order each of the past 12 games with younger sister Billie Andrews leading off and older sister Brooke Andrews hitting second. The sisters have proven to be a productive combination at the top of the order.

• During the last 12 games when Billie has led off and Brooke has hit second, Nebraska has averaged 7.2 runs per game. In the first 16 games of the season, the Huskers averaged 4.7 runs per game.
• The duo have hit .410 collectively over the last 12 games while combining to average 2.8 hits per game, 2.7 runs per game and 2.0 RBIs per game.

Caneda Thrives as ‘Second’ Leadoff Hitter
With the Andrews sisters anchoring the top of the lineup, Nebraska has been searching for a strong No. 9 hitter who can act as a second leadoff hitter batting ahead of Billie Andrews. The Huskers may have found that hitter in Katelyn Caneda.

• Caneda has found her way at the plate of late after she posted the third-highest batting average (.366) by a freshman in program history last season. Caneda went 6-for-12 in four games at the Big Red Spring Classic last weekend with a .600 on-base percentage.
• As Caneda got hot with the bat, Rhonda Revelle chose to move Caneda down in the order to the No. 9 spot in the hopes that Caneda would get on base in front of Billie Andrews.
• Caneda batted ninth in Nebraska’s final two games last weekend. In those two games, Nebraska scored 21 runs in only 10 turns at bat.
• Caneda went 4-for-4 with two walks in her two games batting ninth, reaching base in all six of her plate appearances. Caneda scored five runs in the two games after scoring only four times in her first 25 games. By getting on base, Caneda helped Billie Andrews drive in seven runs in the two games Caneda hit ninth, as Andrews drove in Caneda four times in the two games.

Olensky Stepping Up in the Circle
With the season-ending injury to two-time first-team All-American Jordy Bahl, each of Nebraska’s pitchers has had to step up in Bahl’s absence. One pitcher who has emerged is freshman left-hander Caitlin Olensky.

• Olensky owns Nebraska’s lowest ERA this season, as her 3.37 ERA is a full run lower than any other Husker pitcher. She also leads Nebraska in strikeouts per seven innings (4.2) and opponent batting average (.269).
• Olensky has improved throughout the year which culminated with her best week of the season last week. Olensky pitched in four of Nebraska’s six games last week and went 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA in a team-high 17.2 innings. In her lone start of the week, Olensky threw a 5.0-inning shutout against Creighton for her first career shutout and complete game.
• Olensky has seen her workload increase this month. Nebraska played 14 games in February and the Huskers have played 14 games in March. Olensky threw just 13.2 innings in February and posted a 4.10 ERA. This month, she has thrown 32.0 innings and posted a 3.06 ERA.

Billie Andrews Ties Husker Home Run Record
Billie Andrews ranks fifth nationally in home runs and fourth in home runs per game with 11 homers in 24 games. Andrews has tied the Nebraska record with 54 career home runs.

• In her last game, Andrews hit her 54th career home run. That tied the Nebraska record first set by two-time All-American Taylor Edwards, who played from 2011 to 2014.
• Andrews has also tied another home run record. She has seven games with multiple homers in her career, tying Tristen Edwards (2017-21) for the most multi-homer games in NU history.
• Andrews ranks 15th among all active Division I players with 54 career home runs. She has played at least nine fewer games than each of the 14 players ranked ahead of her on the active home run chart, with the exception of Wichita State’s Addison Barnard.

Billie Andrews Moving Into Big Ten Record Book
Billie Andrews’ production at the plate is beginning to leave its mark in the Big Ten record book. Andrews is on pace to potentially threaten the Big Ten season home record this spring, and she already finds herself on the all-time Big Ten home runs list.

• Andrews’ 54 career home runs rank in a tie for 10th place in Big Ten history. Andrews is on pace to finish her career with 65 home runs, a total that would rank third in Big Ten history.
• Andrews’ .692 slugging percentage currently ranks 10th in Big Ten history. Only eight players in Big Ten history have had a career slugging percentage of .700 or higher.
• Based on her current pace and accounting for the 25 games remaining on Nebraska’s regular-season schedule, Andrews is on pace to hit 22 home runs this season. The Big Ten record for home runs in a season is 24 by Illinois’ Angelena Mexicano in 2008.
• Although Andrews has not yet met the minimum of 100 at bats to be considered for Big Ten season records, her performance over the first half of the season has put her in position to challenge the conference’s slugging percentage record. Andrews owns a .954 slugging percentage this season. That would currently rank as the second-highest slugging percentage in Big Ten history, with the record being a 1.007 slugging percentage by Penn State’s Cassidy Bell in 2013.

Scouting Omaha (21-7)
Omaha is 21-7 entering Wednesday’s game, and the Mavericks have won 10 straight games. Omaha, which swept a three-game series at Purdue last weekend, has not lost since an 8-4 setback to James Madison on March 1. The Mavericks are 11-1 this month. During its 10-game winning streak, Omaha has outscored its opponents 52-13 with five shutouts.

The Mavs are 6-2 in true road games this season, including a 4-2 road mark against Big Ten and Pac-12 programs. Nebraska and Omaha share three common opponents in Northern Iowa, Long Beach State and Northern Colorado. The Huskers posted a 4-1 record against that trio while the Mavericks went 3-0.

Omaha is hitting .285 as a team and averaging 5.1 runs per game. Defensively, the Mavericks boast a 2.96 ERA and a .979 fielding percentage while allowing 3.3 runs per contest. UNO ranks eighth nationally in shutouts (9) and 13th in fielding percentage

• Maggie O’Brien leads the team with a .376 batting average as one of three Mavericks hitting above .350. She also leads Omaha in hits (35) and stolen bases (6).
• Sydney Ross is batting .371 and paces the Mavs with nine doubles, 26 RBIs and a .477 on-base percentage.
• Lynsey Tucker owns a .352 average and leads the team with two triples and 17 walks while adding seven doubles and three home runs.
• Sydney Thomason is hitting .287 and leads Omaha with seven homers, 13 extra-base hits and a .609 slugging percentage.
• In the circle, Omaha boasts one of the best 1-2 combinations in the country in Kamryn Meyer and Sydney Nuismer.
• Kamryn Meyer is 11-3 this season with a 2.56 ERA in a team-high 79.1 innings. Opponents are hitting just .229 against her, and Meyer leads the Mavericks in wins, strikeouts (107), appearances (17), complete games (7) and saves (2). She ranks fourth nationally in strikeouts and 10th in wins.
• A fifth-year pitcher, Meyer ranks in the top 30 among all active Division I pitchers in career strikeouts (2nd, 887), shutouts (6th, 24), saves (10th, 10), innings (11th, 626.0), appearances (12th, 130), wins (13th, 57), starts (16th, 91), complete games (17th, 57) and ERA (27th, 2.02).
• Meyer is 0-2 in her career against Nebraska with a 3.31 ERA in two starts. She has allowed only two extra-base hits in her 12.2 innings against the Huskers. Last season, Meyer tossed a complete game and allowed only two runs in a 2-1 Nebraska victory.
• Sydney Nuismer is 7-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 69.1 innings this season. She leads the Mavericks in ERA, starts (14) and shutouts (3), ranking ninth nationally in shutouts. Nuismer has pitched against Nebraska once in her career, taking the loss in game two last season after allowing 10 runs (nine earned) in 5.1 innings.
• Mike Heard is in his third season at Omaha, where he owns an 86-38 record. Heard led the Mavericks to the Summit League Tournament title and a berth in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Omaha’s first postseason appearance since moving to Division I.
• Heard previously posted a 152-96 record in six seasons at Midland, where he was named GPAC Coach of the Year three times. Heard is 238-134 in nine career seasons.