No. 19 Nebraska softball notched its 23rd mercy-rule win of the year with a 9-1 victory over Penn State Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten softball tournament in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Nittany Lions (25-2 7) scored one in the top of the first. But in the bottom of the first, the Cornhuskers (39-12) mounted a two-out rally. Ava Kuszak drew a walk. Olivia DiNardo hit a grounder to the shortstop that resulted in an error. Hannah Camenzind drew a walk to load the bases. With Abbie Squier at the plate, a wild pitch scored Kuszak to tie the game. Then Squier lined a two-run triple to right field, giving Nebraska a 3-1 lead. Bella Bacon drew a walk after that, then stole second. Ava Bredwell lined a single to left, scoring two to boost the lead to 5-1.
Then in the second, Jordy Bahl led off the inning with a walk. With one out, Kuszak drew a walk. A single by DiNardo scored Bahl and advanced Kuszak to third. Hannah Camenzind drove in Kuszak with a sacrifice fly to left, pushing the lead to 7-1.
By then, Bahl had found her stride in the circle. After a leadoff walk to Madison Seidel in the second inning, Bahl went on a streak of 12 batters retired, including eight by strikeout. The Huskers came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, and Bacon led off the inning with a double to right. Bredwell followed with a double to center, scoring Bacon. With one out, Bahl was intentionally walked. Then with two outs, Kuszak singled to center, scoring Bahl and ending the game early.
Bredwell paced the Nebraska offense, going 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Kuszak drew three walks and got an RBI single in four plate appearances. Bahl (23-5) struck out nine with just one walk as she earned the win.
The Huskers will now face UCLA, which came back to beat Indiana 5-4 Thursday. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 3:45 p.m. on 105.3 The Bone.