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. 

4. 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.

The Big Red will take on Minnesota in the series finale tomorrow, March 23 at Noon (CT). The game will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network. 

Postgame Notes

• Jordyn Bahl extended her hitting streak to 14 games with a single in the bottom of the first. 
• Bahl also notched a save after she came in to pitch in the fifth inning. That marks the first save by any Husker pitcher this season. 
• Hannah Camenzind grabbed a new career high with seven strikeouts
• This is the first win of the season without a home run for the Huskers.