Clutch Hitting Drives Huskers Past Aztecs, 5-3

Nebraska  5 3 San diego state
Box Score

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Nebraska	0	2	0	3	0	0	0		5	11	4
SDSU	2	0	0	1	0	0	0		3	5	0

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - O. Ferrell (1-0)	4.1	4	3	2	1	5
L -  J. McDonald (1-1)	3.2	9	5	5	1	2
S - K. Jablonski (1)	2.2	1	0	0	0	1

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	HR
T. Otte	4	1	3	4	0	1
T. Edwards	4	0	2	0	0	0

Game Notes

Nebraska scored all of its five runs with two outs. The Huskers hit 7-for-13 (.538) with two outs.  Olivia Ferrell retired nine straight batters over a three-inning span.  Olivia Ferrell earned her first career win against the Aztecs. Taylor Otte had a career-high four RBIs against SDSU, including three in a three-run homer. Taylor Otte also had a career-high three hits.  Kaylan Jablonski has had at least one hit in all four games this season, after recording one against SDSU.  Kaylan Jablonski earned her first save of the season.

Tempe, Ariz. --- The Nebraska softball team hit 7-for-13 with two outs and scored all of its runs with two outs in a 5-3 victory over San Diego State on Saturday afternoon. It was the second win of the day for the Huskers as they beat Utah, 5-0, earlier this morning as part of the Kajikawa Classic. 

Olivia Ferrell got her first collegiate win against the Aztecs, pitching 4.1 innings. She allowed just two earned runs and recorded five strikeouts. Kaylan Jablonski earned the save, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings and giving up only one hit. 

Offensively, Nebraska was clutch against the Aztecs, scoring all of its runs with two outs. Taylor Otte led the way with career-high hits (three), including one homer, and a career-best four RBIs. Tristen Edwards and Gina Metzler also had two hits for the Huskers. Madi Unzicker, Jablonski, Simmons and Ferrell each had one hit as well.  

The Aztecs put pressure on the Huskers right away and scored two runs in the first inning. SDSU put runners on first and second with no outs after a walk and a single. A Husker error allowed the next batter to reach first and meanwhile a run scored to give SDSU a 1-0 lead. Another single gave the Aztecs a 2-0 lead. The Husker defense limited the damage though after one batter hit into a double play and another grounded out to second base. 

In the top of the second, leadoff hitter Alyvia Simmons doubled to center field to put a runner in scoring position with no outs. The Aztecs retired the next two batters, but Ferrell kept the inning alive by drawing a walk. Then, Metzler hit a two-out single to the left side to bring home Simmons and give NU a run. Next, Otte singled to center field and brought home Ferrell to tie the game, but Metzler was thrown out while trying to advance to third to end the inning. 

Nebraska took the lead in the top of the fourth. For the second consecutive inning, Ferrell kept the inning alive for the Huskers after hitting a two-out single. Gina Metzler followed with another single and Otte hit a three-run homer to give the Huskers a 5-2 lead. Edwards kept the offense going, singling down the middle, but the next batter flew out to second to end the inning. 

In the bottom of the fourth, SDSU added one run after a single and a pair of errors put runners on the corners and a sacrifice fly brought one run in.

The Huskers got in a bit of trouble in the bottom of the fifth. The Aztecs put runners on first and second with one out after a Husker error and a single. Jablonski came into pitch for Ferrell and the Huskers got the second out after Simmons caught a fly ball in foul territory on the right side, but both runners advanced when the Huskers failed to cover the infield. With the tying run on second base, Jablonski came in with a big strikeout to get the Huskers out of the inning. 

Jablonski pitched the final two innings, earning her first save of the season.

The Huskers play their final two games of the Kajikawa Classic tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT (Cal State Northridge) and 12:30 p.m. CT (Seattle). A radio stream for both games courtesy of the Husker Sports Network can be found on Huskers.com. 

Box Score 2018 Nebraska Softball Nebraska vs San Diego State Feb 10, 2018 at Tempe, Ariz. (Tempe Sports Complex)

Nebraska 5 (3-1)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Taylor Otte cf........... 4 1 3 4 0 0 1 0 0 Tristen Edwards ss....... 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 4 1 Madi Unzicker 1b......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 9 0 1 Kaylan Jablonski dp/p.... 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 Alyvia Simmons rf........ 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 Lexey Kneib 3b........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 Bri Cassidy c............ 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 Olivia Ferrell p/dp...... 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 Gina Metzler lf.......... 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Laura Barrow 2b/pr....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 Totals................... 31 5 11 5 1 3 21 10 6

San Diego State 3 (1-4)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ WRIGHT, Kiera cf......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 1 0 BYRD, Katie 2b........... 4 1 2 0 0 1 3 1 0 STURDIVANT, Molly c...... 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 ADAMS, Taylor 1b......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 6 0 2 MUNOZ, Kelsey 3b......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 THOMPSON, Shelby ss...... 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 STEWART, Taylor dp....... 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 JUSAY, Janina pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MESHACK, Zaria lf........ 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 FICK, Jordyn rf.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 SMITH, Megan ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MCDONALD, Julie p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 FORMBY, Alex p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals................... 27 3 5 2 1 6 21 8 5

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 020 300 0 - 5 11 4 San Diego State..... 200 100 0 - 3 5 0 -----------------------------------------

E - Edwards 4(5). DP - Huskers 1. LOB - Huskers 6; Aztecs 5. 2B - Simmons(1). HR - Otte(1). SF - STEWART(1).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Olivia Ferrell...... 4.1 4 3 2 1 5 18 20 81 Kaylan Jablonski.... 2.2 1 0 0 0 1 9 9 35

San Diego State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- MCDONALD, Julie..... 3.2 9 5 5 1 2 19 20 63 FORMBY, Alex........ 3.1 2 0 0 0 1 12 12 39

Win - Ferrell (1-0). Loss - MCDONALD, J. (1-1). Save - Jablonski (1). WP - Ferrell(1). Pitches/strikes: Ferrell 81/55; Jablonski 35/25; MCDONALD, J. 63/43; FORMBY 39/25. Umpires - HP: Megan Rabin 1B: Brett Higgins 3B: Fred Barker Start: 3:09 CT Time: 2:!5 Attendance: Weather: sunny Game: NEB4