Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2011, 2012)
Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Honor Roll (2011)
Nebraska Record Holder for RBIs in a game (7)
Nebraska Record Holder for Most Runs Scored in a Game (4)
Career Capsule Tatum Edwards has made major contributions in her first two seasons as a Husker, but she figures to play an even more prominent role in her junior campaign. For the third straight season, the versatile Edwards is the only player on the roster likely to both pitch and hit for the Huskers. She has handled her dual role with success thus far in her career, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors as a freshman and garnering third-team All-Big Ten accolades last season.
Edwards is the only one of Nebraska’s three pitchers who has thrown a pitch at the collegiate level. After serving as the Huskers’ No. 2 pitcher the past two seasons, Edwards will see an increased workload this spring. She owns a 16-5 career record and although Edwards has thrown only 10 complete games in her career, she has shut out the opponent five times in those 10 games. A hard-thrower with a heavy dropball and a stellar changeup, Edwards has focused on controlling her pitches, in addition to developing a riseball to challenge hitters by stretching the strike zone vertically.
At the plate, Edwards owns 21 home runs and 80 RBIs through her first two seasons, and her .548 career slugging percentage ranks seventh in school history entering this spring. In addition to her power, Edwards has been consistent in the middle of the lineup, posting a .293 career batting average. She has also improved her plate awareness and discipline, as she more than doubled her walk total from her freshman to sophomore season, while cutting her strikeouts nearly in half.
Sophomore Season [2012] Edwards followed up an outstanding freshman campaign with a second straight all-conference season in 2012. Edwards started a total of 54 games as a sophomore, earning 33 starts as the designated player, 16 starts in the circle, two in left field and one at first base. For her all-around efforts, Edwards earned a spot on the All-Big Ten third team as a utility player.
Offensively, Edwards batted .301 with a career-high nine doubles, seven homers and 38 RBIs. She tied for the team lead in home runs and ranked second in RBIs and third in slugging percentage (.506) and walks (26). She produced 12 multi-hit games, including six three-hit games. Edwards also added nine multi-RBI efforts, including a pair of games with five-or-more RBIs. She homered twice and tied the school record with seven RBIs at New Mexico State on Feb. 17. In addition to posting the highest batting average of her career, Edwards showed improved plate discipline, drawing a career-high 26 walks, 14 more than she recorded as a freshman. Edwards walked at least once in 20 of her 54 games, including two games where she walked in every plate appearance.
In the circle, Edwards battled an elbow injury all season long. The injury limited her availability for most of the month of March, but Edwards battled through it to post a 9-5 record on the season with a 2.88 ERA in 80.1 innings. Edwards tossed three shutouts among her seven complete games. Opponents batted only .213 against her and produced just eight extra-base hits in 301 at bats. In Big Ten play, Edwards posted a 4-3 record with a 2.92 ERA. She allowed one earned run or less in five of her final seven Big Ten starts. Overall, Edwards allowed one earned run or less in 13 of her 19 appearances as a sophomore, including 10 of her 16 starts. She tossed the only conference shutout of her career against Michigan State, and fired a complete-game, one-hitter in her final start of the year against Wisconsin. Her best outing of the season came against NCAA Regional finalist Northwestern, when she threw a complete-game five-hitter and did not allow an earned run.
Edwards was twice honored as the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week during her sophomore season.
Freshman Season [2011]
Edwards made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2011, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors while contributing at the plate, in the field and in the circle. Edwards made 52 starts, starting 40 games as the designated player, nine at pitcher, seven at first base and five in left field. Arguably Nebraska’s most versatile player, Edwards was the only Husker to earn starts at more than two positions in 2011, while she was also the only one of Nebraska’s three pitchers to record an at bat.
Offensively, Edwards batted .285 in her rookie season with eight doubles, 14 home runs and 42 RBIs. The 14 home runs marked the second-highest total ever by a Husker freshman and would have set the record had her twin sister Taylor not homered 18 times. Tatum’s 42 RBIs also tied for the fourth-highest total by a Husker freshman. In addition to finishing second on the team in home runs and RBIs, Edwards also ranked second in slugging percentage (.588), third in stolen bases (6) and fourth in runs scored (33). Edwards was Nebraska’s top hitter in conference play. During the league slate, Edwards led Nebraska with a .283 average, two doubles, five home runs, 11 RBIs, eight runs scored and a .604 slugging percentage.
Edwards produced 11 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI efforts on the season. She tied a school record with four runs scored at UTEP on March 22, when she went 3-for-3 with a double, a homer and four RBIs. The home run marked her fourth consecutive game with a home run, tying for the third-longest streak in NCAA history. Less than two weeks later, Edwards went 6-for-7 with a double, two homers, five RBIs and four runs scored in a two-game series at Kansas, setting a career high with a 4-for-4 effort in game two.
On the season, Edwards ranked sixth in the Big 12 and 55th nationally in home runs. Edwards drove in runs by producing in clutch situations, as she batted .400 with runners in scoring position and two outs.
In the circle, Edwards was a perfect 7-0 on the season. She quickly emerged as Nebraska’s No. 2 pitcher and posted a 2.40 ERA in 49.2 innings. She tossed a shutout in two of her three complete games and struck out 47 while holding opposing hitters to a .202 batting average. Edwards allowed one earned run or less in 12 of her final 14 outings, including a one-hit shutout against South Dakota State on April 27, when she allowed only one baserunner the entire game and struck out a career-high nine batters. Edwards also added a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in her third career start against Tennessee Tech on Feb. 20.
Defensively, Edwards was perfect in the field in 60 chances despite playing three different positions.
Before Nebraska Edwards had a decorated prep career for Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta, Calif. She earned a spot on the CalHiSports.com all-state underclass team, reserved for non-seniors, in each of her first three seasons and was a second-team All-California selection as a senior. She was a second-team all-state underclass selection as a freshman and sophomore and earned first-team honors as a junior. In addition to being named the 2007 California State Freshman of the Year, Edwards was also a four-time first-team selection for the All-CIF Southern Section Division II squad.
In her career, Edwards boasted a .403 average with 93 runs, 27 doubles, eight triples, 34 home runs, 133 RBIs, a .493 on-base percentage and an .817 slugging percentage. In the circle, she posted a 42-14 career record with 17 shutouts in 413.1 innings. She struck out 608 batters and held opposing hitters to a batting average under .160.
As a senior in 2010, Edwards excelled at the plate and in the circle. Edwards batted .511 with six doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBIs in only 29 games. She led the Broncos in average and ranked second to her twin sister Taylor in home runs and slugging percentage (.830). Edwards also reached base at a .566 clip. In the circle, Edwards battled through some control issues to post an 11-3 record with a 0.67 ERA. In 83.0 innings, she struck out 132 batters and opponents hit only .132 against her.
In 2009, Edwards went 11-3 with a 0.87 ERA in the circle, as opponents hit just .123 against her and struck out 144 times in only 88.2 innings. At the plate, Edwards batted .460 with nine doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 44 RBIs in only 87 at bats. She also coaxed 24 walks to post a .584 on-base percentage to go along with a .920 slugging percentage. According to reported statistics from MaxPreps.com, Edwards ranked sixth in all of the southern section in RBIs and 11th in home runs. Among all juniors in the state, Edwards ranked fourth in RBIs and seventh in homers.
As a sophomore, Edwards compiled a 14-3 record with a 0.93 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 105.0 innings. At the plate, Edwards hit .338 with a .443 on-base percentage and an .800 slugging percentage. She hit a team-high eight home runs, while also recording a team-high three triples and adding seven doubles and 30 RBIs in 30 games. She posted the sixth-highest home run total by a sophomore in the state.
As the California State Freshman of the Year in 2007, Edwards was also selected for the CalHiSports.com underclass all-state second team. She and her sister Taylor were among the only three freshmen selected to the first or second team. Tatum posted a 16-5 record as a freshman with a 1.38 ERA in 136.2 innings. She tossed six shutouts and struck out 186. Offensively, Edwards batted .292 with team-high totals of eight homers and three triples. In only 89 at bats, Edwards also produced 29 RBIs. She ranked 14th in the southern section in home runs, while ranking second among all California freshmen in homers, fifth in wins and strikeouts, 15th in RBIs and 19th in ERA.
Edwards played her travel ball for Marty Tyson and the Corona Angels. Coached by the father of Husker outfielder Tori Tyson, Edwards helped lead the Angels to a second-place finish at the 2008 ASA Gold National Tournament, as well as a pair of runner-up finishes at the 12- and 14-and-under national championships (2007) and another third-place finish at the 14-and-under national tournament (2006). For her efforts, Edwards and her sister, Taylor, were both selected to attend the 2007 adidas Futures Top 100 camp, which is an invitation-only event designed for the top high school softball prospects in the nation.
Personal Tatum Roxanne Edwards was born on April 26, 1992, in Fountain Valley, Calif. The daughter of Brian and Denise Edwards, Tatum has one brother, Tyler (26), a twin sister Taylor (20) who is also a junior for the Huskers, and a sister Tristen (14). Tatum is an elementary education major.
