It was supposed to be the start of a six-game road trip for the No. 19 Nebraska softball team.
But Mother Nature made her own decision, bringing winds and rain to the area, forcing Creighton and Nebraska to cancel the final game of their annual series. But the cancellation gave the Huskers a little more time to finish projects and papers for their classes. The younger Huskers have been fretting about playing so many games, along with practice and preparing for dead week and finals.
Nebraska will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to begin a three-game series with Michigan State on Friday. The Huskers then travel to Wisconsin for a doubleheader Wednesday. NU returns to Lincoln for its final home series against Indiana on May 2-4.
“We actually spent part of practice (Tuesday) just talking about — we’ve got a young team — talking about time management and just balancing it, trying to get some rest and making sure you get your priorities,” NU coach Rhonda Revelle said. “And they’re good at that, but you still want to reinforce it and revisit it. So that’s important this time of year.
“And then it’s great. We finish finals and go to the Big Ten Tournament and the rest of the year, we’re out of school. So there’s an easier day coming as far as the academics and balancing that student-athlete, but right now we’re sort of hunkered down and this is the grind academically. But everybody in the country is doing it, so it really is who can manage that section of the school year the best.”
The Huskers (33-13, 11-4) are in second place in the conference, behind Michigan and just ahead of Purdue. Michigan State is 4-13 in the Big Ten, tied for ninth with Indiana.
“We’re just trying to control what we can and take care of our business,” Revelle said.
Husker senior catcher Taylor Edwards isn’t worried about the long road trips.
“That’s what we came to do. I know it’s getting to be finals week and school being over, so we’re excited about that,” Edwards said. “We’re anxious and have anxieties about leaving, but you just got to go one day at a time. That’s what I’m trying to tell the freshmen who are all stressed out about finals and all that. ‘Hey, do what we have to today and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.’”
Briefly
Blair graduate Carly Nielsen is a junior outfielder/utility player for Michigan State. She pitched as a freshman, starting 20 games. As a sophomore, Nielsen had just one win on the mound.
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