Husker Softball Goes 3-2 At Wichita State Tournament
Friday - 8-5 Win vs South Dakota State
Friday - 1-0 Loss vs Oklahoma State
Saturday - 7-1 loss vs Missouri
Saturday - 15-0 win vs Whichita State
Sunday - 10-9 win vs Missiouri
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Behind two home runs from Emmerson Cope, the No. 18 Nebraska softball team claimed an 8-5 eight-inning win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the first of two games Friday in Wichita, Kan.
Cope led the offense, going 3-for-4 with her two home runs, including a game-tying solo home run with Nebraska down to its final out in the top of the seventh inning. Cope added a career-high four RBIs. Ava Kuszak and Jordyn Bahl both went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
Bahl (6-2) grabbed the win in the circle after entering in a tied seventh inning. She pitched 2.0 shutout innings with three strikeouts. Hannah Camenzind threw the first 4.2 innings for the Huskers (13-4) and allowed three earned runs. Kylee Magee pitched 0.1 innings and Cope came in for the sixth inning. Cope and Magee each allowed one earned run. Madi Mangulis (1-3) took the loss for South Dakota State (5-10).
The Huskers struck first in a two-run first inning. Kuszak reached on a Jackrabbit error and Bahl singled to center field. Olivia DiNardo was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and a Cope single sent Kuszak and Bahl to the plate.
Nebraska notched another run in the top of the fourth, as Lauren Camenzind got on base with a single, advanced to second on a Hannah Camenzind sacrifice bunt and scored by an Abbie Squier RBI single up the middle.
In the top of the fifth, Cope knocked a home run to center field for her second hit of the day to make the lead 4-0.
South Dakota State logged a four-run bottom of the fifth to tie the score at 4-4 with all four runs scoring with two outs.
The Jackrabbits scored again in the bottom of the sixth off an Akayla Banard homer that gave SDSU a 5-4 lead.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Cope sent a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right field for her second home run of the day to tie the game at 5-5. The game-tying blast marked Cope's first career multi-homer game.
In the top of the eighth, Hannah Camenzind opened the inning with a double, then proceeded to advance to third on a wild pitch. A Kuszak double sent Camenzind to the plate and gave the Big Red a 6-5 lead. Bahl then doubled to score Kuszak, and Bahl went to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI ground out from Samantha Bland.
Leading 8-5, Bahl retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of strikeouts.
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The No. 18 Nebraska softball team fell to the No. 16 Oklahoma State Cowgirls in a gritty 1-0 game on Friday afternoon at the Shocker Invitational in Wichita, Kan.
A lone home run from Oklahoma State (11-4) was the difference in the game, as both teams were limited to two hits apiece.
Jordyn Bahl (6-3) took the loss in the circle, despite striking out eight batters and allowing only one run. Ruby Meylan (6-0) claimed the shutout win for Oklahoma State.
Bahl and Emmerson Cope each notched a hit for the Big Red (13-5).
Oklahoma State produced the game's lone run in the top of the fifth with a Megan Bloodworth home run.
It remained 1-0 when Nebraska mounted a threat in the bottom of the seventh. Bahl led off with a single before Samantha Bland laid down a sacrifice bunt. An error on the bunt gave the Huskers runners at first and third with no outs. Bland then moved up to second on a ground out but the Huskers were unable to take advantage of having the tying runner at third base and the winning run at second with only one out.
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The No. 18 Nebraska softball team suffered its second defeat of the weekend, falling 7-1 to the Missouri Tigers on Saturday afternoon at the Shocker Invitational in Wichita, Kan.
Hannah Camenzind (1-2) pitched a season-high 5.0 innings, but took the loss in the circle. She allowed three earned runs and seven hits. Emmerson Cope came in and pitched two scoreless innings in the sixth and the seventh. Marissa McCann (4-3) claimed the win after allowing four hits and one run.
Ava Bredwell was a bright spot for the Husker offense, as she went 2-for-2 with an RBI. Overall, the Tigers (11-9) had 10 hits, while Nebraska (13-6) was limited to four hits.
Missouri opened up the scoring with a six-run fourth inning with two RBI singles, a two-run double, an error and a fielder’s choice.
The Huskers got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after Jordyn Bahl doubled to center field and was sent home by a Bredwell pinch-hit single. The score stood at 6-1 going into the fifth inning.
The Tigers notched another run in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 7-1.
Neither team scored for the remainder of the game, and Missouri nabbed the victory.
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Behind a 12-run fourth inning, the No. 18 Nebraska softball team overpowered the Wichita State Shockers and grabbed a 15-0, five-inning victory at the Shocker Invitational in Wichita, Kan., on Saturday evening.
The Huskers’ (14-6) offense was balanced all night, as nine players had a hit and 16 notched an at bat. As a team, NU had 14 hits and posted a .467, which was its highest percentage of the season. Half of the Big Red's 14 hits came with a runner in scoring position.
Ava Kuszak continued her strong start offensively, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. Tonight was Kuszak’s second multi-homer game of the season. Abbie Squier was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Jordyn Bahl and Bella Bacon added two hits apiece. Hannah Camenzind and Alina Felix each knocked a home run.
Nebraska used 20 players total, whether at the plate, in the circle or on base.
Bahl (7-3) grabbed the win in the circle after pitching four shutout innings and allowing only one hit while striking out six batters. Kylee Magee came in to close out the game and also allowed no runs, along with no hits. Ryley Nihart (0-2) took the loss for the Shockers (10-8).
The Big Red held Wichita State to just one hit in the shutout performance.
The Huskers struck first in the top of the second inning. Olivia DiNardo kicked off the inning with a walk, and Natalia Hill came in to pinch run for her. Lauren Camenzind hit a sac bunt to advance Hill to second, and Bella Bacon reached on an error, which also scored Hill and gave NU a 1-0 lead.
Bahl opened the top of the third with a single, and Samantha Bland then singled and Bahl went to second. Ava Bredwell reached on a fielder’s choice and Bland advanced to second, but Bahl was out at third. DiNardo logged her first hit of the game to score Bland and make the score 2-0.
The Big Red enjoyed a 12-run top of the fourth, led off by Hannah Camenzind’s first home run with Nebraska. Squier singled to center field and was sent home by a Kuszak home run. Bahl singled to shortstop and advanced to second and third and scored on three wild pitches. Bland walked, and Bredwell reached on a Shocker error, before the two went to second and third, respectively, on a wild pitch. DiNardo walked to load the bases, and Lauren Camenzind walked to send Bland to the plate. Williams pinch ran for DiNardo and Nessa McMillen pinch ran for Bredwell. Hannah Camenzind walked to score McMillen and Bacon singled to score Kennadi Williams and advance Lauren Camenzind to third and Hannah Camenzind to second. Squier doubled down the right field line to score the Camenzind twins. Katelyn Caneda pinch ran for Squier and Kuszak’s second home run of the inning scored Bacon and Caneda. NU led 14-0 going into the fifth.
Alina Felix knocked her third career home run in the top of the fifth to add a run to the Big Red’s total.
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The No. 18 Nebraska softball team battled and claimed a 10-9 victory over Missouri on Sunday afternoon at the Shocker Invitational in Wichita, Kan., avenging its loss to the Tigers on Saturday.
The Huskers’ (15-6) win secured a 4-2 record at the Shocker Invitational, and NU now has earned a winning record at every tournament so far this season.
Jordyn Bahl (8-3) pitched her eighth complete game of the year and grabbed the win in the circle. Bahl battled all game, allowing seven earned runs but striking out nine batters and retiring the heart of Missouri’s order in the bottom of the seventh. Bahl also contributed a three-run homer in the second inning and posted three RBIs, which tied her career high. Nathalie Touchet (0-1) took the loss for the Tigers (11-10).
The Big Red hit .345 (10-for-29) against Missouri, including .385 (5-for-13) with runners on base. Olivia DiNardo and Hannah Camenzind, along with Bahl, each knocked a home run. DiNardo also added three RBIs.
Missouri opened the scoring quickly in the bottom of the first, notching a two-run homer and scoring on a Husker error to take a 3-0 lead.
NU bounced back in the top of the second, as Lauren Camenzind walked and Hannah Camenzind knocked a home run to left field to cut the Tiger advantage to 3-2. Bella Bacon singled to reach base and Kuszak then reached on a fielder’s choice. Both were sent to the plate by a Jordy Bahl home run, her seventh of the season, and Nebraska led 5-3 after the inning.
Missouri cut the lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the third with a Kara Daly home run.
In the top of the fifth, Bland and Bredwell singled to put two runners on base for Olivia DiNardo, who hit a home run to extend the NU lead to 8-4.
The Tigers tied the score at 8-8 after hitting a one-out grand slam in the bottom of the fifth.
Abbie Squier kicked off the top of the sixth with a walk and Ava Kuszak was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Bahl singled to load the bases, and Squier scored on a Samantha Bland sacrifice fly. A Bredwell sacrifice fly sent Kuszak to the plate, and NU led 10-8.
Missouri’s fourth home run of the game brought the Tigers within one at 10-9 going into the seventh.
Bahl retired three straight batters in the bottom of the seventh to lock up the 10-9 victory and winning weekend.
The Huskers will make their home debut at the Big Red Spring Fling on Thursday, March 6 at 2:30 p.m. (CT) against Northern Colorado. All of Nebraska’s games at the tournament will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network. Tickets are available for purchase here.