Thursday Afternoon Sports – Husker Softball Wins Over Nittany Lions; Advances to Semifinals, Nebraska Baseball’s Everitt Named Academic All-District, Woodhead Advances to US Open Qualifying Round, Loper Softball’s Liesch Named All-Region Team, Local Sports Schedule

HUSKER SOFTBALL WINS OVER NITTANY LIONS, ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS:

The Nebraska softball team (38-14) advanced to the semifinals in the Big Ten Tournament after claiming a 3-1 victory over Penn State (32-22). 

Courtney Wallace (16-6) pitched the complete game for the Huskers and earned the win. Wallace held the Nittany Lions to three hits while striking out four.

Nebraska returns to action tomorrow, May 13, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament and will face the winner of Ohio State and Illinois. The game is set to start at 1 p.m. (CT) and will be broadcasted live on the Big Ten Network.

Nebraska tied a season-high with four doubles in today’s game. The Huskers also recorded four doubles against Central Florida and Kansas. 

NEBRASKA BASEBALL’S EVERITT NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT:

Nebraska catcher Griffin Everitt was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 baseball team on Thursday morning. As a first-team all-district honoree, Everitt will now advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot.

The lone catcher on the District 7 list, Everitt is tied for the team lead with seven home runs this season, while leading the Husker offense with 12 doubles and 37 RBI. Everitt has posted 12 multi-RBI games and 12 multi-hit games, including a pair of four-hit games.

WOODHEAD ADVANCES TO US OPEN QUALIFYING ROUND:

Five golfers, including a former NFL running back, are advancing to U.S. Open final qualifying after a challenging local qualifying round at Omaha Country Club on Wednesday.

North Platte native and 10-year NFL running back Danny Woodhead was among those finishing in the top five, giving himself an opportunity to play in the field for the 2022 U.S. Open.

The former Chadron State star and two-time Harlon Hill Trophy-winner now resides in Elkhorn and was playing for his current home club. He carded an even-par 71 to finish tied for third.

The five qualifiers will play next at one of 10 Final Qualifying sites, most of which will take place on June 6. Top finishers from those sites will advance to the 122nd U.S. Open, June 16-19 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

KEARNEY HIGH BASEBALL TAKES ON MILLARD WEST IN STATE TOURNAMENT:

After falling in their District Semifinal to Lincoln North Star, Kearney Baseball’s prayers were answered as they corralled the #8 seed and advanced to the NSAA Baseball State Tournament. The Bearcats will battle #1 Millard West at 10 AM from Werner Park in Omaha. Both teams faced each other on April 2 in a double dual in Millard. The Wildcats won the first matchup 5-3.  

Pregame coverage begins at 9:45 AM from Werner Park with Austin Jacobsen on the call.

LOPER SOFTBALL’S LIESCH NAMED TO ALL-CENTRAL TEAM:

Nebraska-Kearney senior right fielder Carlee Liesch has been named to the 2022 Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) All-Central Region team.

The squad is voted upon by sports information directors from the Central Region which is made up of the MIAA, Great American Conf. (GAC) and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conf. (NSIC). First-team selections advanced to the national ballot where they could earn All-American status. Of the 29 players that made up the All-Region team, 13 came from the NSIC with eight apiece from the MIAA and GAC.

Liesch (Lincoln Pius X) made the second-team and was one of just two MIAA outfielders to be selected, joining Jacee Minter of Central Oklahoma (first-team). The four-year starter becomes just the seventh Loper in the D2 era (1991-present) to earn multiple All-Region honors in a career.

A two-time first-team All-MIAA selection, Liesch batted a team-high .351 with 10 doubles, five triples two home runs and 28 RBI’s this spring. She led UNK in batting average and hits (60) while also scoring 28 runs, stealing six bases and posting a .974 fielding percentage.

FORMER HUSKER VOLLEYBALL STANDOUTS ADDED TO VNL ROSTER:

USA Volleyball has announced the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 25-athlete roster for Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2022. Former Husker volleyball standouts Kelsey Robinson and Justine Wong-Orantes are two of the 25 players on the roster. 

The U.S. Women are the three-time defending VNL champions as well as the 2020 Olympic gold medalists and the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Fourteen players from the long list will be chosen for each week’s travel roster. The U.S. Women’s first preliminary VNL round will be May 31-June 5 at Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, La.

They will move on to play preliminary rounds in Quezon City, Philippines and Calgary, Canada. The finals will be July 13-17 in Ankara, Turkey.

UNK MENS BASKETBALL ADDS DIVISION ONE TRANSFER:

Nebraska-Kearney head men’s basketball coach Kevin Lofton announced today that wing Skylar Wilson will suit up for the Lopers next season.

Wilson (6-7, 180 lbs.) joins forward Ryder Kirsch (6-7 forward/Rapid City, S.D.) and guard Jamison Gruber (6-1 guard/Council Bluffs, Ia.) as recent additions to the 2022-23 roster.

​The Colorado native took a redshirt season this past winter at Division I Portland (Oreg.) after prepping at Eaglecrest High in Centennial, Colo., and Southern California Academy. He helped the Eaglecrest Raptors make a pair of trips to the Sweet 16 of the Class 5A state tourney.

As a senior in 2019-20, Wilson earned second-team all-conference honors after averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while knocking down 41 threes and making over half his two-point shots.

EIGHT HUSKERS HONORED BY BIG TEN SOFTBALL:

Freshman catcher Ava Bredwell was named the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year on Wednesday, when the conference announced its postseason awards. Bredwell was one of seven Huskers to earn recognition on an All-Big Ten team, tying Northwestern for the most selections in the league. 

Bredwell is the first Husker to receive conference Freshman of the Year honors since Ali Viola was named the 1995 Big Eight Freshman of the Year. Bredwell is only the third catcher to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year since the award began in 1985. Bredwell also earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. 

In addition to Bredwell, Nebraska was well represented on the All-Big Ten first and second teams, in addition to the Big Ten All-Defensive team.

Abbie Squier (outfield) and Cam Ybarra (second base) were both named to the All-Big Ten first team. Earning second-team All-Big Ten honors were Mya Felder (first base), Billie Andrews (shortstop) and Olivia Ferrell (pitcher). This marks the first All-Big Ten honor for Squier, Ybarra, Felder and Ferrell while Andrews earned all-conference accolades for the second straight season. Nebraska’s five All-Big Ten selections marked its most since the 2014 Big Ten champion Husker had six players earn All-Big Ten recognition.

McGOWENS INVITED TO NBA COMBINE:

Nebraska guard Bryce McGowens earned an invitation to the Microsoft Surface NBA Draft Combine 2022 next week in Chicago.

McGowens is one of 76 players invited to the combine, which will take place May 18-22. He is the first Husker to participate in the event since Isaiah Roby in 2019, as McGowens will look to become the third Husker draft pick in the last four years.

McGowens, who was named the Big Ten Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press, averaged a team-high 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game during the 2021-22 season en route to third-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and the media.

HUSKER BASEBALL PREPARES FOR FINAL ROAD WEEKEND AT ILLINOIS:

Nebraska is set to travel for its final road series in Big Ten play this season, as the Huskers venture to Champaign, Ill., for a three-game series at Illinois on Friday-Sunday, May 13-15.

First pitch for the series opener on Friday is set for 6 p.m. The Huskers and Fighting Illini continue the series with game two scheduled for a 3 p.m. start on Saturday. Nebraska and Illinois wrap up the series on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Two of the three games this weekend will be televised nationally, with Friday’s game on ESPNU and Sunday’s series finale set to air on ESPN2. All games can also be heard on KGFW. 

Illinois comes into the weekend with a 26-19 overall record and 12-6 mark in Big Ten play after sweeping a non-conference series vs. Miami (OH) last weekend.

HUSKER T&F HEADS TO MINNESOTA FOR BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS:

The Nebraska track and field team will compete at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., this weekend. The three-day meet begins on Friday at Noon, Saturday at 10 a.m., and Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Husker men finished fourth at last year’s Big Ten Outdoor Championships, while the women were ninth. Both squads will be looking to improve on those finishes this outdoor season after the men finished third and the women seventh at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in February. 

NBA PLAYOFFS SCORES:

WEDNESDAY RESULTS:

Milwaukee Bucks 110 – 107 Boston Celtics (MIL 3-2)

Memphis Grizzlies 134 – 95 Golden State Warriors (GSW 3-2)

THURSDAY SCHEDULE:

Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers – 6 PM (MIA 3-2)

Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 PM (PHX 3-2)

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
• • GIRLS TENNIS: @ Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament
    • KHS = 4th place
    • #1 Singles = Olivia Flood, 3rd Place
    • #2 Singles = Emma Heacock, 4th Place
    • #1 Doubles = Meghan Dahlke/Cecilia Henning, 6th Place
    • #2 Doubles = Paige Moffett/Emilee Anderson, 4th Place

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Awarii Dunes Invite – 8:30 AM 
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Awarii Dunes Invite – 8:30 AM
  • GIRLS TENNIS: v. Gothenburg Dual – 4 PM
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • BASEBALL: State Tournament v. #1 Millard West – 10 AM
    • KGFW Pregame at 9:45 AM
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Norfolk Invite – 9 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • BASEBALL: State Tournament v. #1 Millard West – 10 AM
    • KGFW Pregame at 9:45 AM
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Concordia Twilight Meet – 2 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: @ Concordia Twilight Meet – 2 PM

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: v. Loper Twilight Meet – 3 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: v. Loper Twilight Meet – 3 PM