The No. 9 Nebraska softball team allowed just one run and six hits as the Cornhuskers swept Michigan State in a three-game series. Nebraska (24-5, 6-0 Big Ten) finished the sweep with wins of 13-0 in six innings and 4-1 Saturday in a doubleheader in East Lansing, Mich. The victories stretched the Huskers’ winning streak to 13 games. Nebraska has won 20 of its last 21 games.
In game one, the Huskers took control in the top of the second inning. With one out, Ava Kuszak homered to center to get Nebraska on the board. Hannah Coor followed with a triple to right-center, then scored when Kacie Hoffmann singled up the middle. Hoffmann’s pinch runner, Lauren Camenzind, scored later in the inning when Samantha Bland singled to center, pushing the lead to 3-0. Bland drove in a run with a double to center in the fourth inning to push the lead to four. Then in the top of the fifth, Alexis Jensen clubbed a two-run homer to center. NU scored its seventh run on a Spartans (13-16, 0-6 Big Ten) error. The Huskers tacked on six runs to bring the run-rule into play.
Jensen was dominant in the circle. In her first complete game shutout, Jensen allowed just one hit while walking four and striking out seven. Jensen also contributed at the plate, hitting 2-for-4 with three RBI, a double and a home run. Jordy Frahm reached base four times and was 2-for-3 with a three-run home run plus two walks. Hoffmann was 4-for-4 with two RBI.
In the second game, Nebraska took the lead on three straight hits and a groundout to second by Hoffmann, scoring Jensen. Michigan State answered with its first run in the series in the bottom of the second. But then in the third, Farrell lined a two-out, solo homer to center to give the lead back to the Huskers. After singles by Jensen and Kuszak, Coor beat out an infield single, scoring Jensen to push the lead to 3-1.
Kylee Magee and Frahm made it hold up. Magee (1-0) threw a season-high four innings, allowing one run and two hits. Frahm threw the final three innings, allowing two hits and no runs while earning her seventh save, tying Rhonda Revelle’s single-season record for saves in a season from 1983.
Coor was 4-for-4 with an RBI, while Kuszak was 3-for-4 with an RBI to pace the Huskers offense.
Nebraska now prepares to host No. 7 UCLA in a three-game series that features the best two teams in the Big Ten. First pitch is slated for 8 p.m. Friday night at Bowlin Stadium.