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Nebraska Softball Run-Rules Penn State, Advances to Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

Jordy Bahl struck out nine and scored the winning run to help the Huskers advance in the Big Ten Softball Tournament.

Kaleb Henry

Nebraska pitcher Jordy Bahl prepares to deliver.
Nebraska pitcher Jordy Bahl prepares to deliver. / Nebraska Athletics

Danger in the first inning didn't lead to a meltdown Thursday from the Big Red in West Lafayette.

No. 3 seed Nebraska softball put on a dominant effort to beat No. 11 seed Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals by run-rule in five innings, 9-1. The Huskers advance to the semifinal round Thursday.

NU improves to 39-12 while PSU ends the season at 25-27.

The Nittany Lions got on the board first, taking advantage of Husker errors. Bahl hit the leadoff batter with a pitch, who was able to advance to second on a ground out and then to third on a wild pitch. That runner scored, before Bahl was able to end the inning with a strikeout.

From there, the Big Red defense didn't allow another hit, let alone another run.

Bahl walked the leadoff hitter in the second inning before striking out the next three. The Huskers retired 12 consecutive Nittany Lion batters to remove any chances of a comeback.

The Husker pitcher finished with nine strikeouts, allowing one run on two hits, to improve to 23-5 on the year.

At the plate, Nebraska wasted no time answering the initial deficit in the opening frame. After Bahl and Samantha Bland got out, the Huskers rallied to score five runs. Those RBI hits included an Abbie Squier triple and an Ava Bredwell single.

The Huskers tacked on two more runs in the second inning before adding a pair in the fifth to end the game on Ava Kuszak's single up the middle.

Six Huskers tallied hits against Penn State, led by the 3-for-3 effort from Bredwell, who had three RBIs.

Nebraska advances to the semifinals Friday. The Huskers will play at 4 p.m. CDT against the 2-seed UCLA. The Bruins walked-off the 10-seed Indiana 5-4 Thursday.

Nebraska shortstop Ava Kuszak slides safely into third base against Penn State during the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Nebraska shortstop Ava Kuszak slides safely into third base against Penn State during the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals in West Lafayette. / Nebraska Athletics

Postgame Notes | Box Score

  • Samantha Bland started the 100th game in her career.
  • NU now has a 10-9 record in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • The Huskers advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the sixth time in program history.
  • After its five-run first inning, Nebraska has scored 4+ runs in 40 innings this season, and 5+ in 22 innings.
  • Today marked the Huskers’ 23rd run-rule win of the season, which is the most in program history.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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