Husker Softball Takes Three From Minnesota

Huskers Open Series With Dominant Win Friday 

Behind a balanced offense and a one-hit shutout from Jordyn Bahl, the No. 21 Nebraska softball team only took six innings to down the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 8-0, on Friday night at Bowlin Stadium.
Seven different athletes notched at least one hit for the Huskers (21-8, 2-1 Big Ten), including two from both Hannah and Lauren Camenzind and Kacie Hoffmann. Hoffmann’s came in the form of a three-run homer in the bottom of the third, her fifth home run of the season. 

Bahl claimed the win in the circle to move to 11-3 on the season. In 6.0 innings, she allowed only an infield single while striking out seven batters. Natalie Susa (1-1) took the loss for the Gophers, who moved to 13-16 on the season (2-3 Big Ten). 

NU had 10 hits on the day, including eight with runners on base. Bahl and the Husker defense held Minnesota to just 1-of-18 at the plate. 

The Big Red took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Ava Kuszak walked to open the inning and H. Camenzind reached first on a hit up the middle. Olivia DiNardo got to first, an error sent H. Camenzind to second and Kuszak went to third to load the bases. Kuszak got out on a throw home, but Hoffmann reached to keep runners on every base. A L. Camenzind single scored H. Camenzind and Hoffmann crossed the plate on a Gopher error.

Hoffmann knocked a three-run homer in the bottom of the third to score H. Camenzind, who walked, and Katelyn Caneda, who pinch ran for DiNardo. NU led 5-0 going into the fourth.
The Huskers extended the lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Hoffmann singled and Kennadi Williams came in to pinch run. She was then scored by a L. Camenzind double. A Bland groundout advanced L. Camenzind to third and a Bacon single sent her to the plate. 

Nebraska wrapped up the run-rule victory in the bottom of the sixth. Kuszak walked to get to first and advanced to third on a H. Camenzind double. DiNardo singled to center field to score Kuszak, and the Big Red clinched the 8-0, six-inning victory.

Huskers Clinch Series Victory on Saturday

Hannah Camenzind grabbed the pitching win and notched three RBIs to lead the No. 21 Nebraska softball team to an 8-3 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday at Bowlin Stadium. NU drew a crowd of 2,473, the fourth-largest in school history. 

H. Camenzind (4-2) pitched 4.2 innings and allowed three earned runs while striking out a career-high seven batters en route to the victory. Offensively, she was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Jordyn Bahl pitched 2.1 scoreless innings to pick up her first save of the season. Sydney Schwartz (4-9) took the loss for the Gophers. 

Ava Kuszak, Ava Bredwell and Samantha Bland also notched two hits apiece. As a team, NU grabbed 12 hits to the Gophers’ nine, including eight with runners on and four with runners in scoring position. 

The Huskers moved to 22-8 on the season with a 3-1 mark in conference competition, while Minnesota fell to 13-7 (2-4 Big Ten). 

Minnesota got on the board first in the top of the first on an RBI single.

NU evened the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third. Bahl reached first on a fielder’s choice, advanced to second on a H. Camenzind single and scored on an RBI single by Olivia DiNardo.  

Ava Bredwell singled to open the bottom of the fourth inning and a Bland single advanced her to second. Squier got to first on a fielder’s choice and Bredwell reached third. Kuszak logged a single to score Bredwell and send Squier to third. Kuszak stole second and Bahl walked to load the bases. H. Camenzind hit a three-run double to give NU a 5-1 lead going into the fifth inning. 

The Gophers cut the lead to 5-3 in the top of the fifth, but Nebraska continued its solid offensive day to extend the advantage to 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth. Emmerson Cope reached second on a fielding error that also scored Bland and Lauren Camenzind, who had both singled earlier in the inning. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Bahl walked and advanced to second when H. Camenzind walked. A DiNardo groundout sent Bahl to third and H. Camenzind to second. Bahl reached the plate on a Hoffmann single and made the lead 8-3 going into the final inning.

Bahl, who came in to pitch in the fifth inning, retired three straight in the top of the seventh to lock up the series victory for the Huskers.

Huskers Leverage Gopher Errors, Lock Up Series Sweep Sunday 

The No. 21 Nebraska softball took advantage of six errors to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 8-2, on Sunday afternoon at Bowlin Stadium.

Five of the Huskers’ eight runs came in the bottom of the third inning, which also consisted of five errors by the Gophers. The Big Red improved to 23-8 on the season with a 4-1 mark in conference competition, while Minnesota fell to 13-18 and 2-5 in Big Ten play.

Kylee Magee (3-2) claimed the win in the circle for Nebraska after allowing no hits in 3.0 scoreless innings. She also notched three strikeouts. Emmerson Cope started for NU and allowed only one run in 2.0 innings. Caitlin Olensky also threw 2.0 innings and allowed just one run on a wind-aided home run. 

Ava Bredwell was 3-for-3 on the day at the plate and notched a double and a pair of RBIs. Samantha Bland was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Ava Kuszak added two hits and two RBIs and Hannah and Lauren Camenzind logged a hit apiece. 

Minnesota opened up the scoring with an RBI double in the top of the first and a home run in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead.

NU took advantage of Gopher errors to notch a five-run third inning. Abbie Squier got on base on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third on two errors, which also sent Kacie Hoffmann to second. Lauren Camenzind reached on another error, Hoffmann advanced to third and Squier crossed the plate. L. Camenzind stole second and she and Hoffmann scored on a Bredwell double. Bland singled to send Bredwell to the plate. Bella Bacon reached on the final error of the inning and Bland went to third, and a Kuszak single scored the two as the Huskers took a 5-2 lead.

The Big Red stretched the lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the fifth, kicked off by a L. Camenind single. Bredwell followed her with another single, which advanced L. Camenzind to third. Bland got to first on a fielder’s choice, Bredwell was out at second and L. Camenzind scored. Bacon reached on a fielder’s choice and Bland went to third on a Minnesota error. Kuszak singled to score Bland, and a Bahl ground out sent Bacon home. 

NU will face off against the Omaha Mavericks in a midweek matchup on Wednesday, March 26 at 5 p.m. (CT). The game can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.