All Huskers

Nebraska Softball Smashes Iowa in Record-Setting Win

Samantha Bland powered Nebraska past Iowa with three home runs in a 14-1 blowout, marking a record-setting performance.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Nebraska's Samantha Bland poses as she approaches home plate after hitting one of her three home runs against Iowa on April 5, 2025.
Nebraska's Samantha Bland poses as she approaches home plate after hitting one of her three home runs against Iowa on April 5, 2025. | Nebraska Athletics

The No. 20 Nebraska Cornhuskers picked up where they left off Saturday afternoon and obliterated the Iowa Hawkeyes 14-1 in five innings.

Nebraska broke or tied four school records en route to the mercy-rule victory.

With six home runs on the day, NU tied the school record for the most home runs in a game which was set in 1996 against Creighton. The six homers gave the Huskers 76 on the season which ties the program record for home runs in a single season.

Individualy, Samantha Bland went off. Her three home runs tied the program record for home runs in a game.

Lastly, the Huskers turned in their 18th run-rule win of the season which is a new program record.

Bland went 3-for-3 with five runs batted in, one inside-the-park home run and two other that were absolutely crushed. Joining in on the home run fun were Ava Kuszak, Bella Bacon and Lauren Camenzind.

Olivia DiNardo also had three hits including two doubles. She also drove in two and scored once.

In the circle, Kylee Magee got the win for the Huskers. She pitched three innings, allowing only one run on one hit and four walks. She struck out four. Hannah Camenzind slammed the door on Iowa with two scoreless innings in relief. She struck out three and allowed one hit.

Bland got NU on the board in the top of the first inning with an inside-the-park home run. Iowa tied things up in the home half of the opening frame but couldn't keep up with the Huskers after that.

NU scored in every inning, adding three in the second, third and fourth before adding four in the fifth.

Lauren Camenzind's solo home run off the scoreboard pushed Nebraska ahead 2-1. Bahl walk and then Bland extended the lead to 4-1 with a two-run shot.

Bacon hit a three-run home run in the third inning that scored Kacie Hoffmann and Kennadi Williams. Bland and Kuszak bother homered in the fourth, giving the Huskers a 10-1 lead.

Nebraska sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth inning and scored four runs on three hits.

The Huskers will look to sweep the Hawkeyes Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.

Postgame Notes | Box Score

  • Today was Samantha Bland’s first multi-homer game, as she had home runs in the first, second and fourth innings.
  • Bland’s three home runs tied the school record for most home runs in a game. She is now tied with Ava Kuszak, who hit three home runs against Montana earlier this year, Kaylan Jablonski and Christie McCoy. Her three homers also tied the Big Ten record for home runs in a game.
  • Two Husker hitters have hit three home runs in a game this season. Before 2025, only two Huskers had ever hit three home runs in a game.
  • Bland grabbed career highs in home runs (3) and RBIs (5) and tied her career high in runs scored (3).
  • As a team, the Huskers – who were second in the nation in home runs per game coming into today – had six home runs, which ties the school record for home runs in a game.
  • Nebraska’s six home runs brought the season total to 76, which ties the school record for home runs in a season.
  • Today marked the Huskers’ 18th run-rule win of the season, which is the most in program history.
  • The Huskers totaled 10 extra-base hits on the day, which is the most they have had in a game this season.
  • Nebraska scored in every inning of the game. That is the second time this season that the Big Red has scored a run in every inning.
  • NU has scored 10+ runs in 17 games this season.
  • Olivia DiNardo tied her career high with two doubles.
  • Bella Bacon earned a new career high with three RBIs.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 and spent the 2023 season covering Husker Softball for Hail Varsity. In addition to All Huskers, she is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Sports Report.

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