No. 21 Nebraska softball leaned on its explosive offense to capture a Big Ten opening win at Ohio State, 9-5, Friday in Columbus, Ohio. The win was the Cornhuskers’ seventh straight.
For the 10th time this season, the Huskers (20-6, 1-0 B1G) hit three home runs. Jordy Bahl hit a solo round-tripper in the third to tie the game at one. After the Buckeyes (18-6-1, 0-1 B1G) scored a pair in the bottom of the third, a two-run home run by Hannah Camenzind tied the game. Two batters later, Ava Bredwell homered to give Nebraska the lead for good.
A two-run double by Hannah Camenzind pushed the lead to 6-3. Then in the seventh, Bella Bacon drove in a run with a squeeze bunt for a single, then Lauren Camenzind hammered a two-run homer to push the lead to 9-3. OSU scored two in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded with two outs, but Bahl struck out Morgan Frye to end the game.
Bahl (11-3) had a season-high 12 strikeouts while allowing six walks and five runs, three earned, in a complete game victory. Bahl has a five-decision winning streak. Lorin Boutte (9-4) took the loss for Ohio State, giving up four earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched.
Hannah Camenzind paced the Husker offense, hitting 3-for-4 with four RBI, a home run and a double. Bacon was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Bahl was also 2-for-4 with an RBI and a homer.
Nebraska seeks to clinch a series win tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Columbus, Ohio. The start time was moved up due to expected bad weather tomorrow afternoon in Ohio.