Nebraska Hosts Penn State This Weekend

Apr 4, 2024 / NU Athletics

Photo Credit: NU Athletic Communications

Two of the top teams in the Big Ten Conference meet at Bowlin Stadium this weekend when Nebraska hosts Penn State in a three-game series. First pitch on Friday is set for 5:30 p.m. with Saturday’s game scheduled for 1 p.m. and Sunday’s series finale at Noon. Saturday is "Bark at the Park" day where fans will be allowed to bring their dog inside Bowlin Stadium, provided it is leashed and remains on a leash.

Nebraska enters the weekend series with a 5-0 record in Big Ten play while Penn State is 5-1. The Huskers are tied with Michigan atop the Big Ten standings and the Nittany Lions are tied for third. Nebraska and Penn State are also two of the three Big Ten teams to have a top-50 ranking in the NCAA RPI, with the Nittany Lions having the highest ranking of any Big Ten team at No. 28 and Nebraska ranking third in the conference with an RPI of 47th.

Nebraska and Penn State boast two of the most powerful offenses in the Big Ten as both teams rank in the top 10 nationally in doubles. The Huskers lead the Big Ten with 108 extra-base hits while Penn State is second with 102 extra-base hits. Individually, only 10 Big Ten players have at least 17 extra-base hits. Six of those 10 will be on the field this weekend as Nebraska and Penn State each have three players with 17 or more extra-base hits.

Tickets for the weekend series can be purchased by visiting 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 all three games with a subscription to Big Ten+, with subscriptions starting at $9.99 per month. A free radio broadcast of every game of the series - and every game this season - will be available on Huskers.com or the official Huskers app.

Leading Off...

Nebraska is on a season-long six-game winning streak and has won 11 of its last 12 games.
Nebraska is averaging 6.0 runs per game this season. Only twice in program history (2015 and 2022) has a Husker team averaged 6.0 runs per game.
Nebraska ranks sixth nationally with 65 doubles while Penn State ranks seventh in the country with 64 doubles.
Penn State (26-7) ranks 20th nationally in winning percentage. Including the Nittany Lions, Nebraska has played five teams currently ranked in the top 20 nationally in winning percentage.
Nebraska leads the Big Ten with 108 extra-base hits while Penn State ranks second with 102 extra-base hits.
Nebraska has won four games when trailing after six innings this season, its most such wins in a season this century.
Only three players in the country have at least 13 wins and three saves, two of whom are Nebraska’s Kaylin Kinney and Penn State’s Bridget Nemeth.
Billie Andrews and Sydney Gray are the only players to win multiple Big Ten Player of the Week awards this season.
Brooke Andrews enters this weekend’s series with 99 career RBIs.

Huskers Showing Comeback Ability in 2024
Nebraska has shown a knack for coming from behind this season. The Huskers have trailed in 14 of their 22 wins, including eight times where Nebraska came back from a multi-run deficit.

The Huskers have won four times when trailing after six innings this season. Nebraska is 4-8 when trailing after six innings this season 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 in a season when trailing after six innings since at least 2000.

Nebraska Leading the Big Ten in Extra-base Hits
Nebraska has hit 65 doubles, four triples and 39 home runs for a total of 108 extra-base hits this season. That total leads the Big Ten and three Huskers rank in the top 10 in extra-base hits.

Nebraska leads the Big Ten with 108 extra-base hits. The Huskers also lead the conference with 65 doubles and rank second with 39 home runs.
Individually, Billie Andrews leads the Big Ten with 24 extra-base hits. Ava Bredwell is fourth in the Big Ten with 19 extra-base hits and Sydney Gray ranks eighth with 17 extra-base hits.

Scouting Penn State (26-7, 5-1 Big Ten)
Penn State brings the Big Ten’s best record to Bowlin Stadium this weekend. The Nittany Lions are 26-7 on the season, leading the conference and ranking 20th nationally in winning percentage. Penn State also leads the Big Ten with its 26 victories, a total that ranks 19th nationally.

In conference play, the Nittany Lions are third in the Big Ten standings with a 5-1 record. PSU opened Big Ten play with an impressive three-game sweep of Indiana. Last weekend, Penn State went 2-1 against Maryland with its only loss coming in nine innings.

Nebraska and Penn State share two common opponents this season in Kansas and Saint Francis. The Huskers went 2-1 against those two opponents while Penn State was 2-0. The Nittany Lions are just 1-6 in true road games this season. That includes an 0-5 record the first week of March against three quality opponents (then-No. 2 Texas, then-No. 19 Baylor and a 30-8 Texas State squad) when Penn State was without its ace pitcher.

The Nittany Lions bat .296 as a team while averaging 5.4 runs per game. Penn State ranks third nationally in triples per game and fourth in doubles per game. Defensively, the Nittany Lions boast a .961 fielding percentage and a 2.81 ERA that ranks fourth in the Big Ten.

Gaby Garcia, a first-year transfer from Stephen F. Austin, leads an impressive group of six Penn State starters hitting better than .300. Garcia leads the team with a .373 average, a .651 slugging percentage and a .505 on-base percentage. The Big Ten’s active career RBI leader, Garcia is tied for the team lead with 28 RBIs in 2024.
Kaitlyn Morrison is batting .355, leads the Nittany Lions with 15 walks and is tied for the team lead with four triples and 12 doubles.
Emily Maddock boasts a .349 average, and she leads Penn State with 37 hits and is tied for the team lead with four triples.
Maddie Gordon is hitting .330 and leads the team with six home runs, 32 runs and 11 stolen bases. Gordon is also tied for the team lead with 12 doubles.
Liana Jones (.309) and Haylie Brunson (.305) round out the .300 hitters. Jones is second on the team with nine stolen bases while Brunson is third with 17 extra-base hits.
In the circle, Penn State has utilized four pitchers this season, primarily relying on Bridget Nemeth and Mady Volpe, who have combined to throw more than 75 percent of the team’s innings.
A freshman, Nemeth has been the Big Ten’s best statistical pitcher this spring. She is 15-1 with three saves, 96 strikeouts and a 1.01 ERA in 96.2 innings. Nemeth has appeared in 20 games with eight starts. Opponents are batting just .192 against her with only 10 extra-base hits (nine doubles, one homer) in 359 at bats.
Nemeth leads the Big Ten in wins and ERA while ranking second in saves and third in opponent average. Nationally, Nemeth ranks third in wins, 13th in ERA, 25th in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 26th in saves.
Volpe is 7-3 on the year with one save and a 3.55 ERA in 77.0 innings. She leads Penn State with 26 appearances, 15 starts and one shutout. Volpe leads the Big Ten and ranks ninth nationally in appearances.
Paige Maynard (3-3, 5.66 ERA in 29.2 IP) and Lydia Spalding (1-0, 4.26 ERA in 23.0 IP) round out the Nittany Lion staff.
Clarisa Crowell is in her fourth season at Penn State, where she owns a 96-79 record. She is just four wins shy of leading the Nittany Lions to a third straight 30-win season after Penn State had totaled 30 wins only twice in the previous 13 seasons.
Crowell previously spent eight seasons as the head coach of Miami (Ohio) from 2013 to 2020. She compiled a 209-182 record with the Redhawks and has a 305-261 career record.