Huskers Clinch Series with 8-1 Win at Northwestern

NEBRASKA  8 1 northwestern
Box Score

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Nebraska	0	3	0	0	0	2	3		8	5	2
Northwestern	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		1	5	0

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Jablonski (6-5)	7.0	5	1	0	3	6
L - Ellis (6-6)	2.1	2	3	3	5	2
S - None	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	HR
Austen Urness	3	1	1	2	0	1
Laura Barrow	4	2	2	2	1	1

Game Notes

Nebraska clinched the series victory with the win...the Huskers drew a season-high 13 walks...Nebraska's first two hits of the game were home runs, giving the Huskers five home runs in their first six hits of the series...Austen Urness and Laura Barrow hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the second inning, marking the second time this season the Huskers have hit back-to-back homers...Kaylan Jablonski struck out the side in the first inning and her first strikeout was the 100th of her career...Gina Metzler had an RBI, her second of the season and the third of her career.

Evanston, Ill. - Behind back-to-back home runs and a season-high 13 walks, the Nebraska softball team clinched a series victory with an 8-1 win over Northwestern Saturday afternoon at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

The Huskers scored eight times on only five hits, as the hits were even at five apiece. Sophomores Austen Urness and Laura Barrow put Nebraska on the board with back-to-back home runs in Nebraska's three-run second inning.

After a pair of Husker errors led to a Northwestern run in the bottom of the fourth, Nebraska's patience at the plate began to pay off in the top of the sixth. Senior Dawna Tyson drew a leadoff walk to begin the sixth before Barrow lined a one-out double down the left field line. Sophomore pinch runner Taylor Otte then scored on a wild pitch, with Barrow moving to third base. Senior Kiki Stokes walked to put runners at the corner for Knighten, who drove in Barrow with an RBI double that pushed the Husker lead to 5-1. 

Nebraska added three more runs on only one hit in the top of the seventh. Senior Mattie Fowler began the frame with a single before Simmons and Otte both walked to load the bases. Sophomore Gina Metzler then drew a third straight walk to force in Fowler to give Nebraska a 6-1 lead. With the bases still loaded, Barrow hit a hard ground ball back up the middle that deflected off the pitcher. Northwestern was able to play the deflection and get a force out at second, but Simmons scored to make it 7-1. Stokes then drew another walk to load the bases again before Knighten was hit by a pitch to force in the third and final run of the inning.

Leading 8-1, Jablonski worked around a pair of base runners in the bottom of the seventh to wrap up the win. Jablonski (6-5) tossed a complete-game five-hitter and did not allow an earned run while striking out six.

Offensively, Barrow, Knighten and Urness all finished with two RBIs. Barrow was also the only Husker to finish with multiple hits, as she was 2-for-4 with a double and her second home run of the season. 

With the win, Nebraska improved to 27-14 on the season and moved ahead of Northwestern in the conference standings with an 8-5 record in league play. The Wildcats fell to 16-22 on the season and 7-6 in Big Ten play. Kenzie Ellis (6-6) took the loss, allowing three runs in 2.1 innings.

Nebraska and Northwestern wrap up their three-game series on Sunday at Noon.

 

Box Score

 

2016 Nebraska Softball Nebraska at Northwestern Apr 16, 2016 at Evanston, Ill. (Drysdale Field)

Nebraska 8 (27-14,8-5 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Stokes, Kiki cf.......... 2 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 Knighten, MJ 3b.......... 2 0 1 2 2 0 0 2 0 Armstrong, Alicia ss..... 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 Sjulin, Lotte pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Arthur, Rachel ss....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Jablonski, Kaylan p...... 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 Fowler, Mattie 1b........ 4 1 1 0 0 0 8 0 2 Simmons, Alyvia rf....... 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 2 Tyson, Dawna dp.......... 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Otte, Taylor pr......... 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 Urness, Austen lf........ 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 Metzler, Gina lf........ 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 Barrow, Laura 2b......... 4 2 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 Cassidy, Bri c........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 Totals................... 25 8 5 7 13 3 21 9 11

Northwestern 1 (16-22,7-6 Big Ten)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rabin, Sabrina cf........ 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 Nelson, Morgan 3b........ 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 1 0 Filler, Andrea ss........ 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 4 Letourneau, Amy dp....... 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Nettling, Sammy c........ 3 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 Boyd, Abbey pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bush, Alcy 1b............ 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 Marquez, Brooke 2b....... 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 3 4 Strub, Fran rf........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Williams, Krista lf...... 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 Ellis, Kenzie p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Winegarner, Kaley p..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bond, Nicole p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 26 1 5 0 3 6 21 7 8

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 030 002 3 - 8 5 2 Northwestern........ 000 100 0 - 1 5 0 -----------------------------------------

E - Knighten(10); Cassidy(2). LOB - Huskers 11; Wildcats 8. 2B - Knighten(7); Barrow(4); Nettling, S.(4). HR - Urness(3); Barrow(2). HBP - Knighten. SH - Jablonski(2); Rabin, S.(1). SB - Stokes(16); Knighten(3); Armstrong(3).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Jablonski, Kaylan... 7.0 5 1 0 3 6 26 30 105

Northwestern IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Ellis, Kenzie....... 2.1 2 3 3 5 2 9 15 75 Winegarner, Kaley... 4.2 3 4 4 6 1 16 23 90 Bond, Nicole........ 0.0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 8

Win - Jablonski (6-5). Loss - Ellis, K. (6-6). Save - None. WP - Winegarner(3). HBP - by Ellis, K. (Knighten). Pitches/strikes: Jablonski 105/72; Ellis, K. 75/37; Winegarner 90/45; Bond, N. 8/0. Umpires - HP: Tyler Barfuss 1B: Bob Selz 3B: Bubba Ewald Start: 1:12 pm Time: 2:39 Attendance: 440 Game: livegame