SEARS SHUTOUT SEALS SERIES OPENER AGAINST OHIO STATE
Brett Sears tossed a two-hit complete-game shutout, as the 24th-ranked Huskers opened the weekend series vs. Ohio State with a 3-0 win on Friday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska (21-6, 4-0 Big Ten) scored three runs on seven hits, while Ohio State (12-13, 2-2 Big Ten) totaled zero runs on two hits.
Sears improved to 6-0 this season with the complete-game shutout, the first by a Husker since Will Walsh in the Big Ten Tournament last season. Sears limited the Buckeyes to just two hits, the fewest in a complete game by a Nebraska pitcher since Matt Waldron against Michigan State in 2019.
SATURDAY HUSKER BASEBALL MOVED UP
Because of forecasted weather today, Nebraska’s Saturday baseball game has been moved up. First pich is now set for 12:05 tomorrow.
Pregame coverage starts at 11:30AM on 1340 KGFW, 96.1 FM, on the free KGFW Mobile app, and online at KGFW.com.
NEBRASKA SOFTBALL DROPS SERIES OPENER TO PENN STATE, 3-0
A late home run powered Penn State to a 2-1 win over the Nebraska softball team Friday at Bowlin Stadium.
Penn State improved to 27-7 on the year and moved ahead of Nebraska in the Big Ten standings with a 6-1 conference record. The Huskers saw their six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 22-14 on the year and 5-1 in Big Ten play.
Nebraska and Penn State continue their three-game series with game two Saturday at 1 p.m.
TOMINAGA SCORES 14 IN ALL STAR GAME:
Keisei Tominaga closed his college career by helping the West team to an 87-75 win in the Reese’s NABC College All-Star Game Friday afternoon.
Tominaga came off the bench and had nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and three rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. The West squad out-scored the East, 48-31, after trailing by five at halftime.
Tominaga became the seventh Husker to participate in the event, joining Chuck Jura (1972), Rich King (1991), Eric Piatkowski (1994), Aleks Maric (2008), James Palmer Jr. (2019) and Derrick Walker (2023).
Friday’s performance capped a busy 24 hours for Tominaga, who won two events at the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships on Thursday.
NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL’S MURRAY HAD LATE WEEK DUI:
Husker Outside Hitter Harper Murray was cited for a DUI early Friday Morning, according to the Lincoln Police Department.
Murray’s blood-alcohol content was .169, which is double Nebraska’s legal limit. She was cited at 12:45AM near Antelope Valley Parkway and S Street.
Murray was also cited for reckless driving, obstruction of a peace officer, minor in possession and carrying a false ID.
A university spokesperson said: “The Nebraska Athletic Department is aware of the incident. We are awaiting more information and will have no additional comment at this time”
Murray is the reigning Big Ten freshman of the year after hitting .237 and having 291 kills for the Big Red. Earlier this week, she was named to the USA Volleyball U21 National Team.
KEARNEY HIGH GOLF WINS INVITE
Kearney High won its home invite at Meadowlark Hills Friday.
The Bearcats shot a team score of 311 at the par 72 Meadowlark Hills course. Individually, Owen Bartee lead the Berarcats with a 76 to take 4th, and Cooper Feddersen shot 77 for 5th.
Jackson Hinze of York won the event with an individual score of 73.
LOPER SOFTBALL SPLITS DOUBLEHEADER AGAINST EMPORIA STATE:
Sophomore Madeline Janssen scattered nine hits over 6.2 innings and Nebraska-Kearney struck for four runs in the sixth to win game two over Emporia State, 8-6, Friday evening at Patriot Park. The Lopers dropped game one, 4-3.
The Lopers host Central Missouri (18-18, 7-8) and Newman (15-23, 3-9) next weekend.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SET: IOWA VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
Caitlin Clark eventually found a way.
Completely shut down in the first half, the most exciting player in women’s college basketball now has one game left in her storied career at Iowa. She’ll try to cap it off by bringing the Hawkeyes their first national championship.
Clark scored 21 points and made three momentum-turning 3-pointers in the second half to rally Iowa past Paige Bueckers and UConn 71-69 in the women’s Final Four on Friday night.
Meanwhile, dominance was nothing new for South Carolina.
With All-America center Kamilla Cardoso scoring 22 points, the Gamecocks emphatically kept their unbeaten season going, advancing to the championship game of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 78-59 victory over North Carolina State on Friday night.
The talented and tenacious Gamecocks (37-0) led by just one at halftime before putting their full arsenal on display in the third quarter. They clamped down on defense, started knocking down 3-pointers and outscored the Wolfpack 29-6 to turn what had been a tense matchup into another one of their blowouts.
The Hawkeyes and Gamecocks will play for all the marbles tomorrow at 2PM. The game will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN.
LEVINSON RETURNS TO KEARNEY
Everything in yesterday morning’s press conference was full circle for Marty Levinson. The former Loper basketball player from 2003-2005 was introduced to be the head coach for Loper Basketball this morning in the Health and Sports Center.
Levinson went 27-8 this past season at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas. He inherits a Loper program that went 5-22 this past year.
Levinson has goals to return the Lopers to the level of success that he was a part of.
Levinson signed a three year contract to be the next coach for UNK Mens Basketball.
HOIBERG TAKES COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS:
University of Nebraska men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg was chosen as the recipient of the 2024 Jim Phelan National Coach-of-the-Year award Thursday afternoon.
The Jim Phelan Award is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I coach.
Hoiberg guided the Huskers to one of the most successful seasons in program history in 2023-24, as Nebraska went 23-11 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. The 23 wins were the most since Nebraska won a school-record 26 games in 1990-91, while going 12-8 in the Big Ten. The Huskers’ third-place finish in the Big Ten Conference was the best since joining the conference in 2011-12 and the program’s best conference finish since the 1992-93 season.
Hoiberg is the second Husker men’s basketball coach to earn the honor, as Tim Miles was the 2014 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.
GARY, WILLIAMS ANNOUNCE RETURN TO LINCOLN:
Nebraska’s Juwan Gary and Brice Williams announced today they will return to Nebraska for their final season of eligibility.
This is welcomed news for Fred Hoiberg’s program after the roster attrition has dominated much of the talk surrounding the team this offseason. There have been six scholarship Huskers from this season’s roster to enter the portal, including guards CJ Wilcher, Jamarques Lawrence, Eli Rice, Ramel Lloyd Jr. and centers Blaise Keita and Matar Diop.
The third member of that core, Rienk Mast, has yet to announce his plans for the 2024-25 season. Like Williams and Gary, Mast has one season of eligibility remaining but it weighing playing professionally overseas.
KEARNEY BASEBALL TAKES GISH TRIANGULAR:
Ryder Park turned friendly for the visiting Kearney Bearcats baseball team on Thursday, taking two games at the home of the Islanders with a win over Norfolk and Grand Island in the GISH Triangular.
The Bearcats (7-6) left with a winning record after taking down Norfolk scoring nine runs on six hits with two errors. Kearney then took down Grand Island with seven runs on seven hits and two errors, as the Islanders (7-3) dropped scoring four runs on nine hits with two errors.
Game recaps, broadcast replays, and more can be found at KGFW and Central Nebraska Today for more from Thursday’s action. Kearney returns to action on Saturday at a double-dual against Lincoln High and Lincoln North Star.
NSAA APPROVES SHOT CLOCK FOR ALL CLASSES, SECOND CLASS OF GIRLS WRESTLING:
The state of Nebraska will now have shot clocks from Sidney to South Sioux City, Chadron to Falls City, Valentine to Alma, and everywhere in between.
The NSAA Board of Directors met on Thursday morning and voted to approve the 35 second shot clock for all classes for boys and girls high school basketball. The vote was approved from a 6-2 majority.
Later in their meeting, the NSAA approved the addition of a second girls wrestling class per a unanimous vote 8-0. 168 high school girls wrestling teams competed throughout the state this past year.
NCAA MEN’S, WOMEN’S FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE/SCORES:
WOMEN’S FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE – FRIDAY:
No. 1 South Carolina v. No. 3 NC State – SOUTH CAROLINA 78-59
No. 1 Iowa v. No. 3 UConn – IOWA 71-69
MEN’S FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE – TODAY:
No. 1 Purdue v. No. 11 NC State – 5:09 PM (TBS/TNT/truTV)
No. 1 UConn v. No. 4 Alabama – 7:49 PM (TBS/TNT/truTV)
KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Nebraska Baseball v. Ohio State (11:30 AM – 4:30 PM)
