Husker Softball Weekend Recap

Huskers Dominate in Home Opener

A strong offense powered the No. 20 Nebraska softball team to a 14-1 five-inning victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday in the Huskers’ home opener at Bowlin Stadium.

Nebraska (16-6) scored in each of its four turns at bat, producing 12 hits including four doubles and three home runs. The 14 runs marked the 12th time this season that Nebraska has scored double-digit runs, while the Huskers posted their 12th run-rule victory of the year.

Jordyn Bahl, Samantha Bland, Olivia DiNardo and Hannah Camenzind each had two hits for the Big Red. Bahl, Bland and Abbie Squier all homered. Bahl finished 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs, while Bland was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Hannah Camenzind went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Squier also drove in three.

In the circle, Bahl (9-3) earned the win after tossing 3.0 scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing only one hit. Emmerson Cope allowed one run in 1.0 inning before Caitlin Olensky struck out two in a perfect fifth inning to wrap up the win.

Morgan Vertz (4-2) took the loss for Northern Iowa (10-6). 

The Huskers took a quick 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Ava Kuszak walked to kick off the inning and was sent home by a Bahl home run, which came in her first at bat at Bowlin Stadium. DiNardo then hit a double and Hannah Camenzind notched a double of her own to send DiNardo to the plate. A Panther error then scored Camenzind and capped the four-run frame.

NU extended its lead with a seven-run second inning, once again kicked off by a Kuszak walk. Bland and DiNardo followed with one-out singles to load the bases. Bredwell walked to score Kuszak and a Hannah Camenzind single scored Bland and pinch runner Katelyn Caneda. Bella Bacon hit an RBI single of her own to score Bredwell and advance H. Camenzind to second. A Squier home run scored herself, Bacon and H. Camenzind, and NU led 11-0 going into the third.

The Big Red added two in the bottom of the third to stretch its advantage to 13-0. Bahl doubled to right center and Bland knocked a two-run homer.

Northern Iowa hit a home run to get on the board in the top of the fourth, but the Huskers locked up the 14-1 run-rule victory, its 12th of the season, after Cope doubled, went to third on a Squier groundout and scored on a wild pitch.

Huskers Claim 13th Run Rule Win on Saturday

The No. 20 Nebraska softball team capped an undefeated Saturday with a 12-4 six-inning victory over Northern Colorado at Bowlin Stadium.

The Huskers (17-6) won their first two home games of the season on Saturday by a combined score of 26-5. Nebraska’s offense scored a run in nine of its 10 innings in the two games, producing 24 hits. Against Northern Colorado, the Huskers had 12 hits, including five doubles and two homers.

Nebraska’s 12-4 victory marked the Huskers’ 13th run-rule win of the season and the 13th time NU has scored double-digit runs through the season’s first 23 games. Ava Kuszak, Jordyn Bahl and Olivia DiNardo each had two hits for the Big Red. Kuszak was 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI, Bahl finished 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs and DiNardo went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.

In the circle, Hannah Camenzind (2-2) earned the win after allowing just one unearned run in 2.0 innings of relief. Kylee Magee started and did not allow an earned run in 2.0 innings, and Bahl closed out the game with 2.0 perfect innings that included four strikeouts.

Isabelle DiNapoli (5-3) took the loss for Northern Colorado (7-11).

The Bears loaded the bases in the top of the first, but Magee retired three straight to keep them scoreless. 

NU made the score 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Bahl drew a one-out walk and scored on a two-run homer from DiNardo.

Northern Colorado came back with a four-run third inning to take a 4-2 lead. All four runs were unearned and each run scored with two outs.

The Huskers pulled within one at 4-3 in the bottom of the third. Kuszak doubled and scored on a Bahl double. 

Nebraska then exploded for six runs in the fourth inning. Kacie Hoffman got things started with a one-out single. Abbie Squier followed with a two-out single before Hannah Camenzind ripped an RBI double down the left field line to tie the game. Kuszak was then hit by a pitch before Bahl delivered a two-run single that gave Nebraska a 6-4 lead. Samantha Bland added an RBI double and DiNardo followed with an RBI single as Nebraska grabbed a 9-4 lead.

The Huskers added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Lauren Camenzind homered with one out to make it 10-4. Squier followed with a walk and scored on a two-out RBI double from Kuszak.

Nebraska wrapped up the run-rule victory with a single run in the bottom of the sixth. Bella Bacon was hit by a pitch with one out, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on an RBI single from Alina Felix.

Nebraska Natives Power NU Past UNI

A strong effort from several Nebraska natives powered the No. 20 Husker softball team to a 9-1 five-inning victory over Northern Iowa on Sunday at Bowlin Stadium.

Hannah Camenzind, a Valley native, shined in the circle and at the plate for Nebraska (18-6). In the circle, Camenzind (3-2) fired a five-hitter, allowing only one run in her first complete game of the season. At the plate, she was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs.

Lincoln native Abbie Squier and Papillion native Jordyn Bahl each homered for the Huskers, while Elkhorn product Kacie Hoffman went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.

Anna Wischnowski (5-4) took the loss for Northern Iowa, which fell to 11-8 on the season.

UNI grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, converting a leadoff double from Skylar Benesh into a two-out RBI single from Drew Henrichs.

Nebraska tied the game with help from a UNI error in the bottom of the second. Olivia DiNardo led off with a single, and Kennadi Williams came on to pinch run. An error then put Huskers on first and third with no outs, and Williams scored the tying run on an RBI ground out from Hannah Camenzind.

The Huskers then took a 5-1 lead with a four-run third inning. Squier led off the inning with a solo home run to give Nebraska its first lead. Ava Kuszak followed with a single, Bahl walked and Samantha Bland reached on an error to load the bases with no outs. UNI then turned a double play, but both Kuszak and Bahl scored on the play to make it a 4-1 lead. Nebraska tacked on a final run in the inning when Hoffmann tripled and Hannah Camenzind delivered an RBI double.

Nebraska stretched the lead to 9-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Ava Bredwell drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a one-out double from Kuszak. Bahl then launched the first pitch she saw over the wall in center for a three-run homer. Nebraska tacked on another run when Bland reached on an error and scored on an RBI single from Hoffmann.

Camenzind worked around a pair of base runners in the top of the fifth to close out the run-rule victory.

Huskers Earn Extra-Inning, Walk-Off Victory

Bella Bacon had a walk-off RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the No. 20 Nebraska softball team grab a 5-4, extra-inning victory over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Sunday night at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. The Huskers drew a crowd of 2,384 for their two games on Sunday, which is the fifth-highest in program history.

The game was a battle until the end, as there were four lead changes and two ties over the course of the nine innings. The Huskers (19-6) had eight hits to five for South Dakota State (9-13). The Jackrabbits had only three hits in the first seven innings, but two were home runs.

Ava Kuszak was 3-for-5 on the night to lead the Big Red at the plate, and Abbie Squier knocked the Huskers’ lone home run - a game-tying shot in the bottom of the eighth - while Olivia DiNardo added two RBIs. 

Jordyn Bahl (10-3) pitched a career-high 9.0 innings, struck out seven batters and allowed three earned runs en route to the win in the circle. Amanda Vacanti (1-4) also pitched a complete game and took the loss for the Jackrabbits. 

South Dakota State knocked a two-run homer in the top of the first to grab a 2-0 lead. 

A Jackrabbit error helped the Huskers to kick off the bottom of the fifth. Kuszak reached first on the error, Bahl singled and Samantha Bland walked to load the bases with one out. DiNardo hit a single to score Bahl and Kuszak and tie the score at 2-2 going into the sixth.

The Big Red grabbed the lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Squier walked to get to first and Kuszak singled to center field to advance Squier to third. A Bahl sacrifice fly sent Squier home and gave Nebraska a 3-2 advantage.

A South Dakota State two-out solo home run tied the score back at 3-3 going into the bottom of the seventh.

The Jackrabbits took a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth on a Husker error, but Squier tied it at 4-4 on a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Hannah Camenzind reached base on a fielder’s choice and Lauren Camenzind reached on an error, which also advanced H. Camenzind to third. Bacon hit a walk-off RBI fielder's choice to score H. Camenzind and clinch the 5-4, nine-inning win.

NU will open Big Ten play at Ohio State from March 14-16. Friday’s game will start at 5 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on B1G+. The game can also be heard across the Huskers Radio Network. The matchups on Friday and Saturday will count toward conference standings, while Sunday’s will not.