Baton Rouge, La. – The Nebraska softball team fought to the very end with No. 5 national seed LSU on the Tigers’ home field, but the Huskers came up just short in a season-ending 3-2, 10-inning loss on Saturday night.

Both teams plated a single run in the fourth inning and LSU scored twice in the top of the 10th inning. The Huskers answered with one run in the bottom of the 10th inning and had the tying and winning runs on base with one out, but NU could not complete the rally.

Junior right-hander Emily Lockman (18-14) was the hard-luck loser in one of the best outings of her career. Lockman went more than 7.0 innings for the first time in her career, allowing only two earned runs in 10.0 innings.

With the loss, Nebraska ended its season with a 35-23 record. LSU (46-12) will need to defeat No. 23 Arizona State twice on Sunday to advance to the NCAA Super Regional.

Offense was hard to come by all night long. A Husker error helped LSU take a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Bianka Bell reached on an error and then scored on a two-out, RBI single from Sandra Simmons.

Nebraska answered right back to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Kiki Stokes led off with a single before sophomore MJ Knighten laid down a bunt just in front of home plate. LSU catcher Kellsi Kloss waited to see if the ball would roll foul but it stayed fair and not only did Knighten wind up safe at first with a bunt single, but Stokes went all the way to third on the play. With runners at the corners and none out, junior Alicia Armstrong scored Stokes with a sacrifice fly to left. Nebraska had a chance to take the lead with runners at first and second and one out, but the Huskers grounded into an inning-ending double play for the second time in three innings.

LSU threatened again in the top of the fifth. A leadoff walk was followed by a one-out single. Bailey Landry then hit a deep fly ball to left field where sophomore Kat Woolman made a great catch while dealing with the wall and a strong breeze that was pushing the ball away from her. Nebraska then intentionally walked Bell to load the bases before Lockman escaped the jam by coaxing a ground ball back to the circle.

In the sixth inning, LSU was unable to convert a one-out double in the top of the frame, and the Huskers could do nothing with a two-out bunt single from Armstrong in the bottom of the inning.

Neither team got another runner into scoring position until the bottom of the ninth, when Armstrong reached on a two-out infield single and stole second before a strikeout sent the game to the 10th inning.

LSU put a runner into scoring position in the top of the 10th on a one-out walk and a fielder’s choice where no out was recorded. Kloss then delivered an RBI single to give the Tigers the lead and Sahvannah Jaquish added a two-out, RBI single to put LSU in front 3-1.

In the bottom of the frame, sophomore Cassie McClure led off with her second single of the game. Freshman Madi Unzicker then delivered a pinch-hit single through the right side. A fielder’s choice left runners at first and third with one out before freshman Laura Barrow blooped an RBI single to shallow left field. With the lead cut to 3-2 and runners on first and second, LSU went to the bullpen and called on Carly Hoover. Facing Nebraska’s two .400 hitters, Hoover coaxed a pop out from Stokes and a fly out from Knighten to earn her third save of the year.

Allie Walljasper (14-5) earned the win for LSU, allowing two runs on eight hits in 9.1 innings. Nebraska out-hit LSU, 8-7.

Champaign, Ill. – The Nebraska baseball team held a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when rain put the game into a delay at 3:16 p.m. The teams waited for nearly two hours for the weather to clear, but at 5:07 p.m. the game was called. Since the fifth inning had not been completed, it’s like the game had never been played. The game will not be finished and the Huskers end the regular season with a 34-21 overall record, including a 9-14 Big Ten record.

With the regular season in the books, the Huskers now head to Minneapolis where they will complete in the Big Ten Tournament. The No. 8 seed Huskers will practice at Target Field on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and then will play No. 1 seed Illinois on Wednesday at 5:05 p.m.

Illinois took an early lead with a run in the first and an unearned run in the second. Trailing 2-0, freshman Elijah Dilday got the Huskers doing with a leadoff double in the third and then the Huskers had runners on the corners following a bunt single by Jake Placzek. Ryan Boldt drove in Dilday with sacrifice fly to cut Illinois’ lead in half. Placzek quickly moved to third when he stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Jason Goldstein. With a runner on third and one out, the Huskers couldn’t even the game, as John Kravetz got a shallow pop out from Jake Schleppenbach and a warning-track fly out from Tanner Lubach to end the inning.

Just like the third, the Huskers got a double to start the fourth with Blake Headley delivering a two-bagger. Two batters later Alvarado drove in Headley with a one-out single and Alvarado moved to second on a groundout by Austin Christensen. Dilday came calling again and the freshman stroked a two-out RBI single that gave NU its first lead of the day at 3-2. Placzek followed with another two-out single before Kravetz struck out Boldt looking to end the Husker rally.

Derek Burkamper took the mound in the bottom of the fourth and had a full-count on leadoff batter David Kerian when the game was put into a delay.

2015 Big 10 Baseball Tournament Bracket

Champaign, Ill. – Four unearned runs on three errors in the bottom of the fourth came back to haunt the Nebraska baseball team (34-21, 9-14 Big Ten) on Friday night at Illinois Field, as the No. 5 Illinois Fighting Illini (45-6-1, 21-1 Big Ten) ran their nation-leading win streak to 26 games with a 10-9 victory. The Huskers scored the game’s final five runs and had the tying run in scoring position with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Tyler Jay closed the door for his 12^thsave of the season. Saturday’s game was scheduled for 6 p.m., but first pitch was delayed until 8:40 p.m. because of rain and lightning.

With a loss by Minnesota earlier in the day to Michigan State, the Huskers clinched a bid to the Big Ten Tournament next week in Minneapolis at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. Also, following a sweep of Ohio State by Indiana the Huskers were locked into the No. 8 seed and will face No. 1 Illinois on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Nebraska had one of its best offensive games in quite some time with nine runs on 14 hits, including home runs from Luis Alvarado and Tanner Lubach, but the offensive output was unable to overcome a season-high four errors. NU got four runs (three earned) on nine hits off Illini starter Drasen Johnson, but the senior right hander improved to 9-2 on the year in the win. Illinois was just as leathal at the plate with 13 hits, including home runs from Ryan Nagle, Reid Roper, David Kerian and Will Krug.

Senior Kyle Kubat lasted only 3.0 innings after working into the sixth in each of his last four starts. On the night he gave up six runs, but only three were earned.

Trailing 10-7 going into the ninth, the Huskers loaded the bases with a leadoff walk by Lubach, a single by Blake Headley and walk by Jake Meyers. Jay then struck out Alvarado and Ben Miller before pinch hitter Taylor Fish plated two runs with a single to right field. With Meyers on second base, Jake Placzek stepped to the plate and Jay got him to pop out to shallow right field to end the game.

After the teams matched each other run-for-run in the first two innings, the Huskers scored again in the third, but this time put up a pair of runs to take a 4-2 lead. After Austin Christensen reached on a two-out bloop single to left field, Alvarado picked up his third extra-base hit of the series with a two-run homer to left field, his first home run as a Husker. Alvarado fouled off three pitches before taking Johnson deep over the left-field wall. Miller then laced a ball to right field, but right at Casey Fletcher to end the top of the frame. The Illini also recorded a home run in the third, as Roper blasted a solo shot to center for his ninth of the season, but Kubat limited the damage to the homer and the Huskers held a 4-3 lead after three.

For the first time in the game the Huskers didn’t score in the fourth. Nebraska had runners on the corners with one out, but the Illini turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the NU threat. NU’s defense fell apart behind Kubat in the bottom of the frame and Illini took advantage. The Illini scored four runs, all unearned, on two hits and three errors. The Huskers should have been out of the inning without any damage, but instead the Illini got a run on a fielder’s choice that would have ended the inning and two batters later Nagle blasted a three-run homer to left field off reliever Jeff Chesnut.

The Illini took the lead and kept adding to it with three more in the fifth on back-to-back home runs from Kerian and Krug that pushed the lead to 10-4.

The Huskers kept fighting and after Max Knutson tossed a scoreless sixth, NU scored three runs in the seventh. Ryan Boldt started the frame with a walk and Jake Schleppenbach followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Lubach stepped in against reliever J.D. Nielsen and launched a three-run home run to left field for his fourth homer of the year. Nielsen responded with a strikeout before Scott Schreiber recorded a pinch-hit single. Nielsen then came back with two straight strikeouts, but the Huskers cut the Illini lead to three at 10-7.

Knutson kept the Huskers in the game by throwing three innings of scoreless relief, but NU came up two runs short of a comeback and fell to 0-5 in Big Ten games decided by one run.

The Huskers and Illini wrap up their series tomorrow with the 2015 regular-season finale at 2 p.m. The game will be carried nationwide on the Big Ten Network.

Baton Rouge, La. – Arizona State scored five unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a 5-2 victory over the Nebraska softball team on Friday in a game that saw two weather delays in Baton Rouge, La.

The first bout of inclement weather delayed the start of the game for one hour. Nebraska had just scored the game’s first run to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning before lightning was spotted, delaying the game for another 57 minutes. Nebraska came right back to take a 2-0 lead following the delay, only to see Arizona State score five times in the bottom of the frame.

With the win, the 23rd-ranked Sun Devils (35-20) advanced to play the winner of Friday’s second game between LSU and Texas Southern. With the loss, Nebraska (34-22) will play an elimination game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against the loser of the LSU-Texas Southern contest.

While there was plenty of offense late, runs were at a premium prior to the second weather delay.

Arizona State loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first inning on three walks, including one intentional walk. But Emily Lockman recorded a key strikeout of Haley Steele – the Sun Devils’ RBI leader – before coaxing a ground out to third.

The Sun Devils loaded the bases again with one out in the fifth on three consecutive walks, but Lockman once again escaped the jam without any damage.

Nebraska didn’t get its first runner to second base until the top of the sixth. Freshman Laura Barrow led off with a single before junior Kiki Stokes followed with her second single of the game. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, before junior Alicia Armstrong brought Barrow home with a sacrifice fly to left field. Stokes still stood at second base with two outs and following the 57-minute weather delay, senior Steph Pasquale grounded an RBI single up the middle to score Stokes and give Nebraska a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the frame, Lockman recorded a quick out before issuing a walk. Elizabeth Caporuscio then hit a ground ball to short. Armstrong bobbled the ball and still had a chance to throw out the runner at second, but her throw sailed into right field allow a run to score and Caporuscio to advance to third base. Nebraska still led 2-1 and Lockman then recorded the second out. A hit batter and a walk then loaded the bases, before Arizona State broke through with a three-run double and an RBI single to take a 5-2 lead.

Nebraska got a leadoff single from sophomore Cassie McClure to start the bottom of the seventh inning, but a fielder’s choice and a double play ended the comeback effort.

The Huskers out-hit the Sun Devils, 6-4, but Arizona State drew 10 walks and was hit by a pitch. Lockman (18-13) took the loss, but did not allow an earned run and surrendered just three hits in 5.2 innings. McClure recorded the final out of the bottom of the sixth inning after allowing an infield single.

Offensively, Stokes was 2-for-3 and scored a run, while Armstrong and Pasquale each produced an RBI.

2014 Missouri Valley Player of the Year Joins Big Red

Lincoln – Kyndal Clark, the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and a 2015 member of the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team, will join the Nebraska women’s basketball team as a fifth-year senior transfer for 2015-16, Coach Connie Yori announced on Thursday.

Clark, who will officially graduate from Drake on Saturday, averaged 19.3 points per game while knocking down a Missouri Valley Conference-record 116 three-pointers as a junior for the Bulldogs in 2013-14. Clark hit 41.1 percent of her threes on the season, including a scorching 45.3 percent (78-172) in MVC play.

The Webb City, Mo., native started all 98 games of her Drake career, including the season opener against South Dakota in 2014-15, when she scored 17 points in 37 minutes before suffering a season-ending injury.

Clark will have one season of eligibility at Nebraska and will be eligible to play for the Huskers immediately. She produced 1,418 points, 422 rebounds, 270 assists and 171 steals in 98 career games at Drake, while earning All-MVC honors in each of her first three seasons.

“We are thrilled to add a player of Kyndal Clark’s caliber to our program, even if it is for just one season,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “We recruited Kyndal out of Webb City High School, and we are excited to finally get a chance to coach her. She is coming off a pretty significant injury, but when she is healthy she is a talented player. She also can add a lot of leadership to our program.”

Clark was a preseason first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a senior, before earning a spot on the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team in 2015. She will receiver her bachelor’s degree from Drake on Saturday after majoring in information systems.

As a junior, she averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals on her way to Jackie Stiles Missouri Valley Conference Player-of-the-Year honors. She also was named the Drake University Howlett Female Athlete of the Year across all sports.

Her huge junior season included a career-high 41 points against Northern Iowa on March 2. She added 38 points against Missouri State on Feb. 16, 2014. She pumped in 36 points, including a school-record 10 three-pointers in a win over Loyola, while contributing 35 points against SIU-Edwardsville.

Clark claimed second-team All-MVC honors while starting every game as a sophomore. She finished with 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals while capturing a spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team.

She opened her collegiate career by starting all 34 games for then-Drake head coach Amy Stephens. As a true freshman in 2011-12, Clark averaged 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Clark also earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team.

Clark was recruited to Drake by Stephens, now an assistant coach at Nebraska, out of Webb City High School. As a senior, Clark earned first-team All-Missouri honors from the AP and the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. She led Webb City to the Missouri Class 4 state title as a junior and a third-place finish in Class 5 in 2011.

A tremendous outside shooter, Clark set a Missouri state record by burying six three-pointers in the third quarter against Joplin on Dec. 14, 2010.

Nebraska also officially added senior volleyball player Alicia Ostrander to its women’s basketball roster on Friday. Ostrander, a 6-3 outside hitter for Coach John Cook’s volleyball team, will complete her fifth season as a volleyball player for the Huskers in the fall of 2015, before turning her full attention to basketball for the start of 2016 Big Ten Conference action. The native of Gordon, Neb., will have just one season of women’s basketball eligibility with the Huskers. Ostrander is one of the top rebounders in Nebraska high school history. The two-time Class C-1 all-stater pulled down 20 or more rebounds on 10 occasions at Gordon-Rushville High School, including a school-record 30 boards in a game as a senior. She also had single-game highs of 43 points and 15 blocked shots as a prep player.