Husker Softball Takes The First Two Over Purdue
Huskers Rout Boilermakers in Series Opener Saturday
Eight Huskers notched a hit as the No. 20 Nebraska softball team defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 13-1 in five innings on Saturday at Bowlin Stadium.
The Big Red moved to 25-8 on the season with a 5-1 mark in conference competition, while the Boilermakers fell to 17-15 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten.
As a team, NU out-hit Purdue 13-2. Eight of the Huskers’ hits came with runners in scoring position. Nebraska added three home runs, two from Kacie Hoffmann and one from Ava Kuszak. Kuszak was 2-for-3 with a double and a home run on the day, and Olivia DiNardo was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Hoffmann was also 3-for-3 and added four RBIs. Jordyn Bahl claimed the win in the circle and moved to 14-3 on the season. She threw 5.0 innings with no earned runs, eight strikeouts and only two infield singles. Madi Elish (6-5) took the loss for Purdue.
The Big Red enjoyed a seven-run bottom of the second, kicked off by a DiNardo single. Abbie Squier pinch ran for DiNardo and advanced to second on a passed ball. Hoffmann singled to send Squier to third and Bella Bacon singled to load the bases. A Bland single scored Squier and advanced Bacon and Hoffmann. Kuszak doubled to send Bland to third and score Bacon and Hoffmann before Bahl singled to send Bland and Kuszak across the plate. Hannah Camenzind singled and Bahl went to third before an Ava Bredwell sacrifice fly scored Bahl. Olivia DiNardo singled to send H. Camenzind across the plate and gave the Huskers a 7-0 lead going into the third. Hoffmann and Kuszak notched a solo home run apiece in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 9-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Bredwell singled to shortstop and stole second, before a DiNardo single sent her to the plate. Kennadi Williams came in to pinch run for DiNardo. Lauren Camenzind walked and Hoffmann knocked her second home run of the day to score herself, L. Camenzind and Williams. The Huskers led 13-0 going into the fifth inning.
The Boilermakers got on the board with the help of an error and a sacrifice fly, but it was not enough as the Huskers locked up the 13-1 run-rule win.
Husker Softball Blanks Boilermakers Sunday Night, 6-0
Box Score - HERE
The No. 20 Nebraska softball team enjoyed a five-run sixth inning and downed the Purdue Boilermakers 6-0 on Sunday night at Bowlin Stadium. The Huskers moved to 26-8 on the season with a 6-1 record in Big Ten competition, while Purdue fell to 17-15 (2-7 Big Ten).
As a team, NU out-hit the Boilermakers 10-2. Seven of those 10 hits came with runners on base. Olivia DiNardo and Samantha Bland notched two RBIs apiece for the Big Red, and DiNardo and Ava Kuszak had two hits each.
Hannah Camenzind (5-2) pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and allowed only two hits en route to claiming the win in the circle. Jordyn Bahl grabbed the save, as she threw the final two innings of the game and did not allow a hit while striking out five batters. Julia Gossett (5-5) took the loss for Purdue.
The Big Red got on the board and took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when a DiNardo RBI single sent Kuszak, who had earlier singled herself and advanced to second on a groundout, to the plate.
Ava Bredwell opened the bottom of the sixth inning with a leadoff triple and scored on a DiNardo single. Kennadi Williams came in to pinch run for DiNardo and Kacie Hoffmann hit a single to send Williams to third. Katelyn Caneda pinch ran for Hoffmann and advanced to second on a Lauren Camenzind single that also scored Williams. Bland then doubled to score L. Camenzind and Caneda. Bland capped the inning by scoring on a Bahl single.
NU will close the series with Purdue tomorrow, March 31 at 4 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.