Rutgers comes to Lincoln Friday for their 3-game set against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Here’s the weekly info you need for this weekend’s games. Dress warmly and see you there.
Did You Know We Have a HUSKERS SOFTBALL Podcast?
That’s right – every Tuesday night at 8PM.
It’s called Husker Heat and we started our 3rd season two weeks ago. With my lovely daughter Mylie as my co-host (of course I’m biased – daughter), we cover the previous weekend, preview the coming games, talk about current storylines and likely find a couple of non-softball topics
to chatter about as well. We try to keep it around 45 minutes (try!) while still making sure you’re the best-informed softball fans in Nebraska.
There’s a section for comments, so please fire away with any thoughts or questions and if we don’t have answers on hand, we’ll try to have them for you by next week’s show. It broadcasts on Facebook Live, Twitter and YouTube Live.
Husker Heat – click the link above to check out this week’s show and join us next Tuesday!
RUTGERS WEEKEND – THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
- With a series win over #7 UCLA in the rear-view, the Huskers now begin their final 5-weekend Big 10 Conference stretch against opponents ranging from #47-#138 in RPI. That’s not great. First up is Rutgers who ranks 84th. Anything other than a sweep this weekend is not great.
- Just to give you an idea how it works, Nebraska moved up from #3 to #2 following the UCLA series. They then defeated #151 Creighton and dropped back to #3 despite winning 8-2.
- The toughest game currently left on their schedule prior to the Big 10 Tournament is against none other than the UNO Mavericks, a midweek battle on April 21st. The Mavs are currently #46 in the RPI.
- After Kelly Hoekstra (4-4 3.63 1.430 WHIP 70 K’s 23 BB’s), Rutgers pitching is brutal as the team ERA is 5.50 – the Huskers is 2.15. Nebraska also hits 42 points higher with a decided power advantage at the plate. The Huskers should feast on Knights pitching even with the wind blowing in.
HUSKER GAME INFO
Schedule: (All times CST)
April 3 – Rutgers 5 p.m.
April 4 – Rutgers 1 p.m.
April 5 – Rutgers 12 p.m.
Location: Bowlin Stadium, Lincoln, NE
Surface: Traditional Dirt “Skinned” Infield, Kentucky Bluegrass outfield
TV/Streaming: Friday’s game will be broadcast on the Big 10 Network. Saturday and Sunday’s games will stream on the B1G+ app.
Radio: Huskers Radio Network. You can listen for free at Husker Audio – University of Nebraska – Official Athletics Website huskers.com – Nate Rohr is on the call for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Weather: Friday evening’s game will be cold and overcast, with the sun perhaps poking through later, with temps around 43 throughout with winds from the NNW at 10-20mph. Saturday won’t feel much warmer under partly cloudy skies with temps around 45-50 and winds of 20-30mph blowing in from the NW. Sunday will be clear, sunny and warmer with temps of 55-60; it will again be windy but much lighter than Saturday blowing from the WNW around 10mph.
THE OPPONENT
Rutgers (18-18, 3-9 Big Ten 13th)
Rutgers is an even 18-18 on the season with a 3-9 mark in Big Ten play. The Huskers and Scarlet Knights have common opponents in Tennessee and UCLA. NU is 2-2 against those opponents, while Rutgers is 0-4. Head Coach Kristen Butler is in her eighth season at Rutgers and 12th overall as a head coach. She is 279-329 in her career and 175-207 with the Scarlet Knights.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Riley Hwang has a .365 batting average with five homers and seven doubles, along with 22 RBIs. Addie Osborne adds a team-high 29 RBIs with 16 extra-base hits on a .322 average, while Baileigh Burtis is 37-for-108 with 22 RBIs.
Kelsey Hoekstra has a team-low ERA of 3.52 and a record of 5-4 across 63.2 innings. She has struck out 76 and walked only 23.
HUSKERS LINEUPS (Best Guess)
P/1B #98 JORDY FRAHM
CF #23 HANNAH COOR
LFDP #9 HANNAH CAMENZIND
SS #7 AVA KUSZAK
C #25 JESSE FARRELL/CARLIE MUHLBACH
P/DP #99 ALEXIS JENSEN
RF #14 KACIE HOFFMANN
3B #29 SAMANTHA BLAND
1B #3 BELLA BACON (When Jordy pitches)
2B #2 LAURA CAMENZIND
LF #27 NATALIA HILL
STARTERS:
G1: ALEXIS JENSEN
G2: JORDY FRAHM
G3: HANNAH CAMENZIND (should be)/#31 KYLEE MAGEE (probably will be)
Farrell left Tuesday’s game early with a leg/foot injury, but Muhlbach returned to finish for her & will go this weekend if Farrell’s injury isn’t short-term. Bland will likely remain lower in the order with her 0-for-7 last weekend coupled with Coor’s hot streak. We could also see Hannah Cam DP’ing when Jensen pitches while defensive whiz Hill takes LF.
If everything goes as planned look for a spot starter Sunday. Hannah Camenzind, based on performance (4-0 1.00 ERA 1.107 WHIP), would be the obvious choice. But history suggests Kylee Magee (1-0 2.47 ERA 1.529 WHIP) will still get the nod after another shaky outing against Creighton.
