Huskers fighting to stay alive after first day of Pittsburgh Regional

Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Nebraska bowling team went 1-1 on the first day of the NCAA Pittsburgh Regional, defeating Duquesne in the first round 2-1 before falling to third-seeded Arkansas State 1-2 in round two.

 

 

In the first mega-match against Duquesne, the Huskers went 2-1 to claim victory and advance. In the traditional game to open the match, the Big Red started Brenna Hartzler, Abby Starkey, Kayla Starr, Karina Capron and Jillian Martin. After some back and forth, Duquesne came out on top, 1,033-1,015. Nebraska was led by Starr with 248 and Hartzler with 209. Martin shot 204 while Capron and Starkey rounded out the lineup with respective scores of 183 and 171.

 

For the five-game baker portion of the match, the Huskers substituted Lani Breedlove for Starkey. The Big Red won the first game handily, 245-159, striking a total of ten times. Game two was another Husker win, 206-180. The Big Red continued its dominance into game three, shooting 250-223 with nine strikes to make the match 701-562 in the Huskers' favor. They wrapped up with a 234-192 game four and a 227-165 game five to win 1,162-919 and force a best 4-of-7 baker match to determine the mega-match victor.

In the decisive 4-of-7 match, Haley Swindle checked in for Breedlove at the two spot. The Huskers took the first game, 225-173, but the Dukes battled back in game two to win 237-227 and even the series. Nebraska answered with a 246-174 score in game three that included a four-bagger to establish the Huskers' lead. Open frames in game four cost the Big Red as Duquesne capitalized, winning 215-175 to tie the series 2-2. Nebraska won a close game five 215-214, but would suffer from more open frames in the sixth game as Duquesne topped the Big Red, 186-160, to force the decisive game seven. That game would come down to a clutch tenth frame from Martin to put it away, 219-202, to help the Huskers win the mega-match, 2-1.

 

 

The Huskers advanced to the second round of the winners bracket, taking on third-seeded Arkansas State who had won their mega-match against Belmont Abbey 2-0. In the traditional match, NU retained their starting lineup from the end of the previous contest. The Scarlet and Cream jumped out in front early and never gave up control, cruising to a 1,045-957 win. Hartzler and Martin led the way with 235 and 220, Swindle shot 200, and Starr (199) and Capron (191) finished above the 190-mark. 

 

Going into the five-game baker match, the Huskers made no lineup changes. Open frames cost the Big Red a close game one, 187-193. They dropped game two 206-252 before finally winning game three 211-200. Down 604-645 and needing a breakthrough going into game four, the Huskers got it with a 244-220 score that featured seven-consecutive strikes. Having cut A-State's lead to 17 pins, NU wasn't able to get it done in game five. The Red Wolves claimed another victory, 217-181, to win the five-game baker 1,082-1,029 and force the best 4-of-7.

 

Keeping the same lineup, NU struck first with a 216-199 victory in game one. Desiree Buchert checked in for Nebraska in game two, but Arkansas State prevailed 201-182 to even the series. The Huskers took game three 216-194, but the Red Wolves answered 201-192 to tie the series back up 2-2. They claimed another game, 222-194, to come within a game of winning the match. The Big Red wasn't able to hold on as the Red Wolves sent them to the losers' bracket with a 197-192 nail-biter, taking the series 4-2 and the mega-match 2-1.

 

The Huskers will return to the lanes tomorrow at 8 a.m. (central) for an elimination mega-match against Duquesne, with the winner taking on Arkansas State at 1:30 p.m. (central).

 

Stay up to date with the action by following Nebraska Women's Bowling on X (@HuskerBowling), Instagram (@huskerbowling) and Facebook.