NEBRASKA vs. RUTGERS
April 8-10, 2022
Hawks Field | Lincoln, Neb.
 
Friday, April 8 – 6:35 p.m.
Pitching: RHP Shay Schanaman (2-3) vs. RHP Jared Kollar (5-0)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App
 
Saturday, April 9 – 3:17 p.m.
Pitching: TBD vs. Nathan Florence (4-1)
TV/Streaming: BTN
Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App
 
Sunday, April 10 – 12:05 p.m.
Pitching: RHP Dawson McCarville (2-3) vs. LHP Justin Sinibaldi (1-0)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska hosts Rutgers in a three-game series this weekend at Hawks Field on Friday-Sunday, April 8-10.

First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m, while Saturday is set to start at 3:17 p.m. The Huskers and Scarlet Knights wrap up the series on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.
 
Friday and Sunday's game will be broadcast on B1G+, while Saturday's game can be seen on BTN, with Shane Sparks and Danan Hughes on the call. Fans can also listen to Nick Handley and Ben McLaughlin call all of the action on the Huskers Radio Network. All three games this weekend will be carried on KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln and KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha. Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and Android devices.
 
Last Time Out
Nebraska scored four runs in the eighth and loaded the bases in the ninth but couldn't plate the tying run in a 6-5 loss at Omaha on Wednesday night. Trailing 6-1, the Huskers scored a run on a Maverick error and Colby Gomes unleashed a three-run homer to left to make it a one-run game. Nebraska loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth, before the next two batters were retired on strikeouts with a full count to end the game.
 
Scouting the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• Rutgers enters the weekend with a 22-6 overall record and 5-1 mark in Big Ten play after a 9-4 win vs. Monmouth on Tuesday night.
• Nick Cimillo paces the Rutgers offense, hitting .423 with 12 doubles, seven home runs, 23 RBI and 35 runs. Danny DiGeorgio is hitting .369 at the plate, followed by Tony Santa Maria hitting .356 with 10 doubles, a triple, six homers and team-high 34 RBI.
• Jared Kollar is 5-0 on the season with a 2.66 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. Nathan Florence is 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA, while Justin Sinibaldi has a 4.34 ERA with a record of 1-0 this year.
• As a team, Rutgers is hitting .326 with 342 hits, 75 doubles, seven triples, 31 home runs and 254 runs through 26 games.
• The Scarlet Knight pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.08, while allowing 100 runs, 85 earned, and striking out 256 in 248 innings.
• Head coach Steve Owens is in his third season at Rutgers and has a record of 49-38 with the Scarlet Knights. Overall, Owens holds a career record of 963-521-3 in his 31st season as a head coach.
 
The Series
• Nebraska leads the all-time series over Rutgers, 11-6.
• The two teams met five times last season, with the Huskers winning two of five games against the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers swept the Big Red in Lincoln, while Nebraska went 2-0 against RU in Piscataway.
• Since the two teams joined the Big Ten, the series is an even 3-3 split in the six games played in Lincoln. Nebraska swept Rutgers in 2017, before the Scarlet Knights had a series sweep in 2021.

Freshmen Making an Impact
• 12 freshmen have made their collegiate debut this season for the Huskers.
• The six freshmen pitchers have combined for 36 appearances on the mound, including three starts, while the six other freshmen have totaled 97 games played, including 69 starts.
• The freshmen are responsible for 39.1 of the 231 innings pitched by the Husker pitching staff this season and 37 of the 224 strikeouts this season.
• At the plate, the freshmen have recorded 62 hits, 36 RBI and 34 runs through the first 27 games, which is 25.6 percent of Nebraska's offensive production in runs, hits and RBI this season.

Huskers Head East to Take on Spartans

The Nebraska softball team travels to East Lansing, Mich., to take on Michigan State in a three-game series, April 8-10. Fans can listen to the games on the Huskers Radio Network or Huskers.com with the call by Matt Coatney. All games will also be streamed live on BTN+ (subscription required). 
 
Nebraska has won its last 10 games with an offense that leads the Big Ten in numerous categories including runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, walks and on-base percentage. Sophomore Billie Andrews has been a force on offense, leading the conference in home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage and walks. Junior-transfer Mya Felder leads the Big Red with a .422 batting average, tallying 35 hits, five doubles, three homers and 20 RBIs. 
 
In the circle, seniors Olivia Ferrell and Courtney Wallace have been leaders through 34 games. Ferrell (13-4) holds a 2.11 ERA with 115 strikeouts through 102.2 innings. Wallace (11-4) has a 3.60 ERA through 95.1 innings and has tossed 67 strikeouts.  
 
Michigan State (20-17, 1-6 Big Ten) opened Big Ten Conference play against No. 11 Northwestern, dropping the series, 0-3. The Spartans hosted Ohio State in week two of conference play, picking up one win, but falling 1-2 in the series. In a midweek matchup, the Spartans faced in-state rival No. 21 Michigan. MSU fell to the Wolverines, 6-1. 
 

Nebraska Quick Hits

  • The Huskers (5-0) are the only undefeated team in conference play in the Big Ten. 
  • Nebraska ranks first in the conference in runs (221), hits (289), home runs (55), RBIs (204), total bases (512), slugging percentage (.555), walks (133) and on-base percentage (.407). 
  • NU also leads the conference in home runs per game with 1.62.
  • Nebraska travels to Michigan State for the first time since 2014. NU is 3-0 at MSU. 
  • The Big Red is looking for their 11th consecutive win. This would be the longest win streak since 2014 when NU tallied 11 at the beginning of conference play.
  • The Huskers currently average 6.5 runs per game which is on track for one of the highest averages in school history. The current record was set in 2015 when NU averaged 6.90 runs per game.
  • Nebraska's .973 fielding percentage is currently on pace to tie the school record of .973 set in 2006. 
  • Nebraska is 16-0 when hitting more than one homer in a game. 
  • Billie Andrews leads the Big Ten Conference in slugging percentage (.923), home runs (17), RBIs (38), runs scored (39) and walks (28).
  • Mya Felder is hitting .472 (17-for-36) with three doubles and two homers in 11 road games this season. 
  • Mya Felder has recorded a hit in the 11 games. She looks to extend her hitting streak this weekend. 
  • Olivia Ferrell is 5-2 with a 1.43 ERA in seven starts on the road. 

Talley, Steinforth Turn in Strong Performances

Alex Talley recorded the third-best hammer throw in school history and Till Steinforth recorded collegiate personal bests in five decathlon events as the Nebraska track and field team began a busy two days of action on Thursday.

Talley and three other men's hammer throwers competed at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. The senior finished fourth overall in the event with a mark of 216-0 (65.84m), which is the third-best throw in NU history. Henry Zimmerman placed ninth with a throw of 195-5 (59.56m). 

Steinforth and two other Husker decathletes took part in day one of the decathlon at the Jim Click Multis in Tucson, Ariz. Steinforth scored 3,961 points on day one thanks to personal bests in all five events - 100m (11.08), long jump (24-7), shot put (41-7), high jump (6-4) and 400m (50.35). The freshman is just 28 points out of first place.

Also for the Huskers, Matthias Algarin is in eighth place with 3,793 points, and Kolby Heinerikson is in 11th place with 3,674 points. Algarin and Heinerikson each set personal bests in three of the five events. 

The second day of the Jim Click Multis decathlon begins at 11:30 a.m. (CT) on Friday. 

The Huskers have a full squad set to compete at the John McDonnell Invitational on Friday beginning at 9:45 a.m.