Four homers including two from Abbie Squier powered the Nebraska softball team (23-10, 4-1 Big Ten) past Iowa in game two of the Tuesday doubleheader in Iowa City. The Huskers ran past the Hawkeyes (21-13, 3-2 Big Ten), 9-3. 

Squier was one of five Huskers to record two hits in the second game as the junior finished with five RBI. Billie Andrews and Brooke Andrews each added solo home runs while Sydney Gray and Katelyn Caneda finished with two hits as well. 

Brylee Klosterman led the Hawkeye offense, finishing 2-for-3 on the day with one RBI, and Grace Banes added a solo homer for Iowa. 

Courtney Wallace moved to 15-6 on the season after pitching the final 4.0 innings, holding the Hawkeyes to two hits and no runs. 

Jalen Adams (4-8) earned the loss in the circle for Iowa. Adams pitched 3.0 innings, giving up six hits and four runs. 

The Huskers took the early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Billie Andrews led off with a single, advancing to second on a wild pitch. Caitlynn Neal was walked. Both runners advanced to second and third after a ground out. A ground out from Gray scored Andrews and gave NU the early one-run lead. 

The Hawkeyes evened the game in the bottom of the second. Denali Loecker led off with a single down the left field line. With two outs, Klosterman doubled to center, scoring Loecker, and tying the game at 1-1. 

A four-run fourth inning gave Nebraska the lead. Brooke Andrews led off with a homer to left field. Bredwell followed with a walk. Abbie Squier smashed the second homer of the inning with a two-run shot to right field. With one out, Billie Andrews was walked. Neal added a single to the pitcher. Gray drove in Andrews with a single to center field. The Huskers took the 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth. 

Iowa responded with two runs in the fourth inning. Banes led off with a solo homer. Two singles and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third. A fielder's choice scored the second run of the inning as the Hawkeyes cut into NU's lead, 5-3. 

Billie Andrews led off with a solo homer to center field, extending the Big Red lead to 6-3 in the top of the sixth. 

Nebraska added three more runs in the top of the seventh. Caneda led off with a double, and Bredwell reached first after a walk. Squier smashed a three-run homer, her second home run of the game, as NU ran past the Hawkeyes, 9-3. 

The Huskers return to action this weekend, March 31-April 2 for a three-game series against Michigan at Bowlin Stadium. The Huskers will face the Wolverines on Friday, March 31, at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, Nebraska and Michigan will face off at 4 p.m. with the final game set for Sunday at 12 p.m. 

Game Notes

• Nebraska's four homers tied for the most in a game this season. The Huskers also smashed four against No. 16 Arizona on March 4. 
• Brooke Andrews and Abbie Squier both hit homers in the fourth inning. This marked the first game this season where Nebraska recorded multiple homers in the same inning. 
• Squier's multi-homer game marked the second of her career. She also hit two homers against Rutgers last season (April 1, 2022). 
• Brooke Andrews has hit four homers in the last six games. 
• Brooke Andrews and Billie Andrews both hit homers in today's game, the second time this season the sisters have hit home runs in the same game. This also marked the fifth game in their careers that they both hit home runs in the same game.

Huskers Fall to Hawkeyes in Game One, 4-2

The Nebraska softball team (23-10, 3-1 Big Ten) fell to Iowa in game one of a doubleheader, 4-2. 

The Huskers tallied six hits including a two-run homer from Brooke Andrews while Mya Felder added two hits. 

The Hawkeyes (21-12, 3-1 Big Ten) recorded five hits. Sammy Diaz led the Iowa offense with two RBI. 

Courtney Wallace (14-6) recorded the loss for the Huskers, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing four runs (three earned). 

Breann Vasquez (10-2) earned the win in the circle for Iowa. Vasquez pitched 6.0 innings, giving up five hits, while Denali Loecker earned the save pitching the final inning.

The Huskers reached scoring position in the top of the second. With one out, Brooke Andrews reached first after a fielding error from Iowa's left fielder. Andrews stole second, but she was stranded, as NU was held scoreless for the second inning in a row. 

The Hawkeyes took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second. A leadoff walk put a runner at first. A fielder's choice got the lead runner out.  A single to right field gave Iowa runners at first and second. The second walk of the inning loaded the bases. A two-run single from Sammy Diaz gave Iowa the first two runs of the game as runners advanced to second and third on a throwing error. Anna Streff grounded out to third base, driving in the third run of the inning as the Hawkeyes took the early 3-0 advantage. 

Iowa threatened to add to its lead in the bottom of the fourth. A single to third gave the Hawkeyes a leadoff baserunner at first. A fielder's choice to second gave NU the first out. A wild pitch advanced a runner to second. A ground out allowed the runner to advance to third, but Nebraska recorded the third out with a ground out to shortstop to keep Iowa's lead at 3-0. 

Nebraska looked to score, loading the bases with no outs in the fifth inning. Brooke Andrews led the inning off with a double down the left line. Bredwell was walked and Squier was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Carter reached on a fielder's choice as the first out was at home. A pop up and a strikeout stranded three runners as NU remained scoreless. 

Brooke Andrews hit a two-run homer to left field in the top of the sixth to bring the Huskers within one. Felder led off with a double to left center. Alina Felix entered as the pinch runner for Felder, advancing to third after a one-out ground out. Andrews smashed her seventh homer of the season with a two-run shot. The Huskers went into the bottom of the sixth inning down, 3-2. 

The Hawkeyes added one in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out solo homer from Brylee Klosertman to extend the Iowa lead to 4-2. 

The Big Red looked to rally late as Billie Andrews hit a two-out double, but  NU was unable to capitalize, falling 4-2 in game to the Hawkeyes. 

The Huskers return to action at 4:16 p.m. to face Iowa in game two of a doubleheader. Fans can listen to the action live on the Huskers Radio Network and Huskers.com with the call from Nate Rohr. The game will also have live television coverage on the Big Ten Network.

Walker Selected for NABC – Reese’s All-Star Game

Nebraska forward Derrick Walker Jr. has been selected to play in the Reese's Division I College All-Star Game this weekend in Houston.

The game is set for Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at NRG Stadium in Houston and will be televised by CBS Sports Network. Walker is the seventh Husker to play or coach in the game and the first since James Palmer Jr. played in the 2019 event.

Walker, a 6-foot-9 forward, earned second-team All-Big Ten honors this season, leading Nebraska in scoring (13.6 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg), assists (3.9 apg), blocked shots (0.7 bpg) and field goal percentage (.584) in helping the Huskers to a 16-16 record. He became the first Husker to lead NU in scoring, rebounding and assists in a season, while he is one of two power conference players (also Penn State's Jalen Pickett) to top his team in all three categories. He totaled three double-doubles and had five 20-point games, including a career-high 23 points against Maryland and 22 in a win at Creighton.

Walker finished his three-year Husker career averaging 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 75 games, all starts, while his career .620 field goal percentage ranked second on the Huskers' career list.

Walker will be one of two Big Ten standouts playing for the East team and new Iona Coach Tobin Anderson. He is joined by Penn State's Seth Lundy, while Rutgers' Caleb McConnell will play for the West squad.  

Nebraska's NABC All-Star Game Participants
Year        Player, Position
1972       Chuck Jura, Center
1991       Rich King, Center
1994       Eric Piatkowski, Guard
2008       Aleks Maric, Center
2015       Tim Miles, Coach
2019       James Palmer Jr., Guard
2023       Derrick Walker, Forward

Christopulos Named 2023 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year

Taylor Christopulos was named the 2023 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, announced the conference on Tuesday afternoon. 

Christopulos who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades in 2021, finished the regular season ranked first nationally in the all-around (83.25), second on vault (14.85) and fifth on floor (14.65). The junior has tallied 12 individual event titles this season, including three all-around titles. He was named National Gymnast of the Week twice this season by the College Gymnastics Association (Feb. 8, Feb. 22). Christopulos was also named to the U.S. Senior National Team in February, the first Husker named to the national team since 1998. 

This marks Nebraska's first gymnast to receive Gymnast of the Year honors since Anton Stephenson received Co-Gymnast of the Year honors in 2019. Christopulos, who was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2021, is the first Husker to receive both honors. 

Michigan's Fred Richard was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Both awards were voted on by the conference coaches.

The Big Ten recognized the five men's gymnastics Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

2023 BIG TEN MEN'S GYMNASTICS INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
 
Gymnast of the Year: Taylor Christopulos, Jr., NEB
Freshman of the Year: FRED RICHARD, MICH
 
Unanimous selection in ALL CAPS
 
BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES
Connor McCool, ILL
Adam Wooten, MICH
Moritz Mueller, NEB
Luke Smigliani, OSU
Matt Cormier, PSU
 
More information about the honorees can be found on the Big Ten website. https://bigten.org/news/2023/3/27/general-2023-big-ten-mens-gymnastics-individual-honors-announced.aspx

The 2023 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships will be held on March 31-April 1 in Columbus, Ohio. Both days of competition will be broadcasted live on the Big Ten Network beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT. Fans can follow @NebraskaMensGym on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for live updates during the meet.