Huskers Dominate Bison, 11-1

The No. 16 Nebraska softball team earned its second run-rule victory of the day with an 11-1 win in five innings over the Howard Bison on Saturday night at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.

Balanced offense was the key for the Huskers (11-4), as 11 different players notched a hit. Jordyn Bahl had two, including a double. Ava Kuszak and Kacie Hoffmann notched a homer apiece, the second of the day for both.

NU was 8-for-20 (.400) with runners on base and 5-for-12 (.417) with runners in scoring position. 

Emmerson Cope (4-0) grabbed the win in the circle for NU. She pitched 3.1 scoreless innings and struck out two batters. Hannah Camenzind came in to finish out the fourth inning, and Caitlin Olensky pitched the fifth. Julia Holt (3-5) claimed the loss for the Bison (4-6). 

Abbie Squier reached first in the bottom of the third, and Bahl doubled to left center to send her to the plate. A Cope single then sent Bahl home and made the score 2-0. 

NU logged nine runs in the bottom of the fourth, tying the most runs it has scored in an inning this season. H. Camenzind and Ava Bredwell each reached first on a single, and Bredwell advanced to second and H. Camenzind advanced to third on a Bison error. Bredwell then got to third and H. Camenzind scored on a wild pitch. Bella Bacon singled, then Squier reached on a fielder’s choice, which sent Bredwell to the plate. Kuszak’s second home run of the day and 10th of the season scored herself, Squier and Bacon. Bahl and Samantha Bland both singled and Kacie Hoffmann notched a three-run homer to make the score 10-0. Lauren Camenzind singled and reached second on a wild pitch, then got to third on a Talia Tokheim single. A Bredwell sacrifice fly sent L. Camenzind home, and the Huskers led 11-0 going into the fifth. 

The Bison posted one run in the top of the fifth, but it wasn’t enough, and NU secured the 11-1 run-rule victory, its ninth of the season.

The Big Red will close out Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic action tomorrow, Feb. 23 against Utah at 1 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed on FloSoftball and can be heard for free across the Huskers Radio Network. 

Postgame Notes

• NU scored nine runs in the fourth inning. That tied for the Huskers’ highest-scoring inning of the season and was its second nine-run inning of the day. Nebraska has scored nine runs in an inning twice this year and eight or more runs in an inning four times.
• Both Kacie Hoffman and Ava Kuszak notched a homer in both games on Saturday. 
• Nebraska scored 11 runs, which marked the eighth time in 15 games the Huskers have scored 10 or more runs.
• Nebraska posted its ninth run-rule victory in the season’s first 15 games.
• The Huskers have outscored their opponents 124-19 in their 11 victories this season, including a 113-17 margin in their eight run-rule wins.
• Jordy Bahl went 2-for-3 with an RBI double in the game against Howard to mark her sixth straight game with at least one hit. She is 12-for-18 during the streak.