C4 Friday, May 24, 2024 Omaha World-Herald SPORTS JACKSON REYES World-Herald Staff Rick Heller watched the play 20 times. still coach said about the play that led to his ejection and helped eliminate his team from the Big Ten tournament in a 4-2 loss to Illinois. With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 10th, Iowa ran into controversy after Michael Seegers hit into a field- choice. Davis Cop initially scored from third, but Kyle Huckshorf was called for interfer- ence sliding into second. That resulted in a second out and Cop had to return to third base.
Heller was ejected after shar- ing his frustration with the um- pires after replay confirmed the call. still even know what they saw on the double Heller said. He saw shortstop off the bag as the throw to first was made, and Heller thought the call being reversed would be an easy decision. situation that I saw in the video, I just I know where they come up with Heller said. In the second elimination game of the tournament, the No.
1 seed Illini struck first af- ter three scoreless innings. Iowa starting pitcher Cade Obermueller allowed a double and two walks to load the bases. Cal Hejza drew the third walk of the inning to bring in a run, giving Illinois a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Obermueller finished his outing with seven strikeouts and one earned run in five in- nings. Illinois added a second run in the sixth after Coltin Quagliano hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
The Hawkeyes started to click in the bottom of the sixth, though. Iowa, which lost its first game of the tournament 3-2 in 10 in- nings to Michigan, put runners at second and third after a sin- gle and a throwing error. Gable Mitchell singled to right field to score one run and Cade Moss bunted to tie the game at 2-2. Jacob Schroeder sin- gled with one out in the top of the 10th. Harding followed with a double down the right-field line, putting the runners in scoring position.
Quagliano singled through the left field side to score both and give Illinois a 4-2 lead. The Hawkeyes failed to re- spond. And run in the Big Ten tournament ended. Illinois advanced to play Fri- day. Heller, Hawkeyes like late ruling, replay of All-America pitcher Jordy Bahl, whose ACL injury in the season opener altered the course of the year.
Without Bahl, Ne- braska still had four healthy pitchers. By the end of the sea- son, NU had one. Freshman Caitlin Olensky threw 46.2 innings before a sea- son-ending injury in late March. An arm issue kept freshman Emmerson Cope from pitching in final seven games. Senior Kaylin Kinney, who stepped up as main starter in absence, began feeling the effects of the work- load.
Battling knee and hip dis- comfort, the final innings of the season against Minnesota were Revelle said. And Revelle said Kinney is one of the toughest athletes she has ever coached. That meant that in Nebras- final regular-season series and the Big Ten tournament, senior Sarah Harness was the only available pitcher with out- fielder Caitlynn Neal serving as an emergency option. were like, you go to the We have a bullpen to go Revelle said. fact that we stayed in there and we were competitive until the end is something that really proud But the injuries and missed opportunities are now in the past as Nebraska enters a month of self-reflection.
The Huskers recently held a team meeting with return- ing players before NU coaches began one-on-one meetings. Later this month, the coaching staff will also evaluate all as- pects of the program with one specific goal in mind. message is that time to get off the Revelle said. going to take a lot of sacrifice and a lot of intentional work to go from the bubble to deeply into the tournament. what excellence requires, and the state of Nebraska and the fans of the Huskers deserve us having a mission like It has now been over a de- cade since Nebraska last made the College World Se- ries in 2013 and advanced to a super regional in 2014.
As such, Revelle has a three-pronged approach for the offseason that she hopes will get the Huskers back into national con- tention. Nebraska will work to elevate players currently on the roster, develop the freshmen who will join in the fall and add impact players via the transfer portal. As for the current roster, eight Huskers went through Senior Day celebrations last month. Outfielder Abbie Squier is re- turning for 2025 while decision on whether to utilize an additional year of eligibility will depend on her health. plenty to like about returning talent, too.
Multiyear starter Ava Bred- well will be back at catcher while Bella Bacon, Samantha Bland and Cope are expected to be key hitters in the middle of the order. Bahl and Olensky are a pair of high-level returning pitchers, but the 2024 season proved that Nebraska will need more depth. Pitching reinforcements be coming from an incoming freshman class but the new Huskers bring other talents. Natalia Hill and Nessa Mc- Millen could play either infield or outfield next season, Revelle said, while Macie Vickers will add depth at catcher. Utility player Kennadi Williams will not be available for the fall af- ter injuring her ACL, but the three-sport standout from Lin- coln Southwest could factor into spring plans.
That leaves the transfer por- tal, which officially opens Sun- day. Many players have already entered the portal while a sec- ond wave will do so after the WCWS ends in June. The Ne- braska coaching staff will eval- uate its transfer options daily, building scouting reports and placing calls as the summer stretches on. Nebraska may seek a short- stop in the portal to replace the graduating Billie Andrews, with pitching being its other focus. After adding three transfers a year ago, NU could be looking at three or four transfer com- mitments this summer, Revelle said.
aspire to take some ma- jor steps and what seen from other programs around the country is that used the portal impactfully to take those major Revelle said. NU let a losing streak grow be- yond two games and never past three. The team dropped seven midweek games but was 5-2 in its follow-up chances. NU is consistently resilient (12 win- ning weekend series in 14 tries) if not ruthless (three three-game sweeps). have to earn it every coach Will Bolt said.
it sounds it sounds sim- ple. But hard to do in this day and age when there are so many distractions and pulling guys in different directions. say this: What our team has, I think, is pretty rare in terms of the resolve and the toughness. Are we perfect? No. said it time and time again.
no perfect team out there, win reminded that the Huskers, at their best, are pesky. Starter Brett Sears tossed a quality start with command of none of his pitches except a di- minished fastball. Gabe Swansen sparked a key four-run second inning by drawing a 12-pitch walk. Sanderson and his black eye batting .447 in May pelted Purdue pitching atop the lineup. think just staying con- sistent each and every Sanderson said.
(Tues- day) I had a bad day you just gotta learn to flush it and move on from that. I think been a big part of what my success is this year is been able to move on from it and just stay present in the no coincidence that most Husker interviews include sim- ilar thoughts of remaining even keel. Bolt delivers the message to his team daily and before games. As for that dominant bounce- back gene? Nebraska has had chances to show it this spring after a vari- ety of circ*mstances spanning bullpen meltdowns and forget- table offensive production. Bolt said rarely has the team needed to rebound from playing poorly run-rule defeat to Ohio State was an exception, he added and often the Huskers handle the moving-on process themselves.
the time of year where the players have to lead from the Bolt said. gotta lead on the field, gotta lead with their words, gotta lead with their actions and holding each other to a pretty high standard to try to win a championship. what encouraged them to do as well. Especially this time of year, where it really mat- Second-seeded Nebraska (35- 20) figures to be a tough out at 2 p.m. Friday in another elimina- tion tilt against seventh-seeded Ohio State (29-25).
Normal No. 2 starter Mason McConnaughey will go on full rest with a chance to help the squad move into a Saturday semifinal needing to win twice against third-seeded Indiana (32-22-1) to reach its first title round since 2019. The Buckeyes used five pitch- ers including multiple start- ing candidates and top reliever Blaine Wynk and threw 193 pitches in 14-7 loss to the Hoosiers. While coach Bill Mosiello declined to announce a starter, the most likely possibil- ity is senior right-hander Colin Purcell, a nine-game starter who would go on a full week of rest. Purcell and McConnaughey both pitched in an April 6 game the Huskers won 7-3 in Lincoln.
Purcell tossed three relief innings while allowing four hits and a run. McConnaughey started and yielded two runs in 6.1 frames with three walks and five strikeouts. Purcell also started against the Huskers in April 2023 while with Texas Christi he lasted 3.2 innings that day with six hits and seven runs one earned allowed with four pun- chouts. Mosiello joked he would like matchup better if OSU could bring back ace Landon Beidelschies. The Buckeyes have no such luxury.
love to get a bad version of them but got great Mosiello said of Nebraska. been a really consistent club and super well coached. What else could you want for an opportunity to knock them off in their own home park but, boy, what happened the other day, be nothing. If anything, infuriated by In seven previous Big Ten tournaments in the eight-team format, no school that lost its first game advanced to the final. Nebraska is as equipped to buck the trend as any as the far-and-away leader in ERA.
A potential Saturday starting candidate is Will Walsh, who pitched a four-hit shutout at last conference tourney and has been a weekend starter at times this spring. Most of the high-leverage arms are also ready with off day and only Drew Christo throwing in relief Wednesday. The Huskers practiced Thurs- day at Anderson Field and plan to stick around town a few more days if possible. With their tournament in the past, the focus, as usual, is on the present. guys are better when not calm and collected, to be honest with Bolt said.
riled up and they embrace the intensity it takes to win, very, very good. We want them to ride that fine line that Probable starters: NU Mason McConnaughey (7-3, 3.10 ERA) vs. TBA NU softball From C1 BIG TEN BASEBALL NU baseball From C1 CHRIS MACHIAN, THE Mason McConnaughey, the regular No. 2 starter, is expected to get the start Friday on full rest. memorable journey for the Mavs.
UNO won more than 30 games in a season since 2014 be- fore the Mavs won 32 in first season in 2022. Then they reached the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, finishing this campaign 43-15. But Heard knows next lineup will have a very different look. The backbone was the eight seniors who played in- strumental roles in the postsea- son run. was special because of the players who were on the field had been here all three said Heard, referring to his tenure as coach.
a lot of hard work over three years and to see it cul- minate like that was cool to It will be a big change around the infield. Four seniors catcher Sydney Ross, first baseman Jaelle John- son, second baseman Lynsey Tucker and third baseman Olivia Aden were multiyear starters. And the top pitchers were se- niors, too. Kamryn Meyer was the Sum- mit League pitcher of the year who finished 27-5 with a 1.62 ERA. That included a scoreless streak of 64 innings that started in early April.
In the Summit tournament, she had a 14-inning 1-0 win over UMKC when she struck out 21. She had complete-game re- gional wins over Missouri and Washington. Meyer also shattered the pro- career strikeout record, finishing with 1,029. And in Sydney final two starts, she threw a shutout in an elimination game at the Summit tournament then she shut out Missouri for eight in- nings in the regional final before the Tigers scored with two outs in the ninth. UNO will return other mul- tiyear starters like shortstop Maggie and outfielders Ava Rongisch and Marra Cramer.
Sydney Thomason, who led the Mavs in homers in her first year, also will be back. To fill some of those other spots, Heard said the staff has been busy working the transfer portal this week. And after the regional showing, potential re- cruits have learned more about his program. year we noticed it a lit- tle Heard said. year, definitely noticed it more sig- nificantly in terms of the level of players who are willing to listen to Heard is looking to not only bring in talented players, but players who fit into the program.
He said team culture was an es- sential ingredient of this success. think culture is slightly new and slightly unique every Heard said. if you only add three or four new players, culture is unique. The foundation is in place, a big part of 402-444- 1038, twitter.com/GeneOWH UNO softball From C1.
