UCLA pitcher Kaitlyn Terry locked down Nebraska’s bats as the No. 19 Huskers (39-13) lost to the No. 9 Bruins (49-9), 4-2, Friday in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament in West Lafayette, Ind.
Terry struck out 13 Nebraska hitters while allowing just five hits, two walks and two earned runs. The Huskers only had multiple runners on base in one inning, the sixth, where after back-to-back singles by Samantha Bland and Ava Kuszak, Hannah Camenzind ripped a two-run triple to right that pulled Nebraska within one, 3-2.
But a home run by Kaniya Bragg off Jordy Bahl (24-5) in the bottom of the sixth gave UCLA some breathing room heading into the final innings, and Terry sat down the Huskers in order in the seventh.
The Bruins took the lead in the first when Savannah Pola singled off Bahl’s glove, then Jordan Woolery laced a double to center to drive in Pola. Then in the fourth, Bragg reached on an infield single ahead of Sofia Mujica, who drove a two-run home run over the fence in left field to push UCLA’s lead to three.
The Bruins will play for the Big Ten Tournament championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals that comes with it Saturday at 3 p.m., as the Bruins take on No. 8 seed Michigan in the championship game of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Nebraska will wait until Sunday, when the NCAA Regional field of 64 is announced starting at 6 p.m. during the NCAA’s selection show. Ranked 24th in the RPI entering play Friday, the Huskers will almost certainly be selected as an at-large team to the field.