Nebraska softball sweeps Iowa in Friday doubleheader
Nebraska softball (39-6, 19-1) won both games of a doubleheader against Iowa (25-24, 6-14) on Friday. The Huskers entertained a record-breaking crowd of 3,396 at Bowlin Stadium ahead of senior day on Saturday.
Nebraska dominated the series opener in a 9-1 run-rule victory and controlled the second game 5-2.
Here is a recap from Friday’s doubleheader, along with a pair of takeaways:
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Huskers roll in run-rule victory
Iowa jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first game. Jordy Frahm hit the leadoff batter before Tory Bennett doubled, giving the Hawkeyes some early juice. However, it was all Nebraska from there on out.
The Huskers responded with three runs in the bottom of the first and blew it open in the second. Two singles and a throwing error put runners at the corners with one out. Hannah Camenzind capitalized.
She singled to drive home two runs, but was thrown out while gunning for second base. However, Hannah Coor ran all the way home from first, beating a tag at the plate to make it a 3-RBI single for Camenzind.
“[That] was actually something that we’d worked on in practice this week,” Rhonda Revelle said of Coor scoring from first. “Seeing that we might have an opening there and knowing that [Camenzind’s] lead runner is a really crafty base runner in Hannah Coor.”
After giving up one run in the first, Frahm retired the next 12 batters and didn’t allow another hit. She finished with 11 strikeouts and threw just 76 pitches.
Kacie Hoffmann hit an RBI double in the third, extending the lead to 7-1, before Nebraska had two scoreless frames. Four singles in the bottom of the sixth scored two more runs, ending the game on a run-rule. The Huskers were excellent with runners on base, hitting .474, and were 4-of-5 from the leadoff spot.
Jensen stifles Hawkeyes to finish off sweep
Iowa started hot in game two as well, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first. Once again, the Huskers wasted no time responding.
Frahm singled through the left side — her first hit of the day — before Coor singled to put runners at the corners. An RBI groundout and a sacrifice bunt tied the game, 2-2.
In the bottom of the second, Felix led off with a single up the middle and scored from first on a Hoffmann double, narrowly beating the tag at home. Hannah Camenzind reached on a fielding error, beating the throw to first and scoring another run.
Kacie Hoffmann hit an RBI single in the third, but the Husker offense stalled from there. They hit just .182 with runners in scoring position and .278 with runners on base in the second game.
LHP Alexis Jensen retired 11 straight batters after a slow start, and stranded two in the top of the seventh to finish off the 5-2 win.
“[Frahm and Jensen] both ended up having really solid, really good games,” Revelle said. “A big reason for it was they both had their off-speed pitches, so they were able to really disrupt the hitters’ timing, and that I think was kind of the tale of the tape for both of them.”
Hannah Camenzind has a day
Nebraska finished with 12 RBI over both games on Friday evening. Six of them came from Hannah Camenzind.
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The senior tallied Nebraska’s first run of the day with a first-inning single. That foreshadowed the dominance to come.
“I don’t think people are talking about [Camenzind] a lot because she just goes about her business and she just does it and she’s steady,” Revelle said. “When we need a clutch hit, she comes up with a clutch hit, but she does it without a lot of fanfare. It’s pretty special honestly.”
She blew the first game open with a 3-RBI single in the second, and went on to finish 4-for-4 at the plate with three singles, a double and 4 RBI.
Camenzind picked up where she left off in game two. She brought home Nebraska’s first run once again, this time on an RBI groundout to first base. Putting the ball in play paid off in the second inning, too. She reached on a fielding error that brought Hoffmann home.
Seven of Camenzind’s eight plate appearances on Friday resulted in either a hit or an RBI.
Husker defense responds to slow starts
Iowa’s only offensive production came early in each game. In the opener, the Hawkeyes’ lone hit came in the top of the first. They had just one batter reach base over the next five innings.
“Iowa came out swinging,” Revelle said. “And I would probably do the same thing if we’re playing against our pitching staff because if you look at our walk-to-strikeout ratio, that’s a good strategy. They did a nice job and we had to make some adjustments because of it. And both pitchers did a terrific job making some really nice adjustments.”
Frahm dialed in, striking out 11 in the win and retiring 12 straight batters over the middle innings.
The second game featured much of the same. Alexis Jensen walked the second batter she faced, before a fielding error and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position. Mariah Myers capitalized, singling through the left side to bring two runs home and give Iowa another early lead.
Jensen bounced back as well. She gave up just two hits and no runs over the next four innings, retiring 11 in a row. Five of Iowa’s 10 total base runners came in the first innings on Friday night.
