Huskers Softball Splits

The Nebraska softball team split a doubleheader with Northern Iowa at a warm and sunny Bowlin Stadium on Wednesday. Senior Amanda Duran went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Huskers to a 7-2 victory in the first game. In game two, Nebraska committed a season-high five errors leading to four unearned runs that allowed Northern Iowa to rally from a three-run deficit and post a 6-3 victory.
Duran’s big day included her team-leading ninth double of the season, while her three RBIs tied her career high. It also highlighted a balanced day from the Husker offense, as NU pounded out nine hits, including multi-hit games from Duran, fellow senior Meghan Mullin and junior Whitney Barrett. Mullin finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk and an RBI while Barrett went 2-for-2 with a run scored. Senior Crystal Carwile added a homer as part of a 1-for-3 day.
In the circle, senior right-hander Molly Hill earned the complete-game victory to improve to 21-9 on the season. Hill allowed only one earned run on just six hits while striking out six and walking just one.
In the second game, Nebraska scored three runs over the first three innings to jump out to a 3-0 lead before the Panthers rallied. Northern Iowa scored one run in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and two more in the seventh. The Huskers’ defensive struggles fueled the rally as two errors led to both fifth-inning runs that tied the game at 3-3. Two more errors keyed a two-run seventh inning that turned a one-run Northern Iowa advantage into a 6-3 lead heading into the final half inning.
The Huskers were then retired in order in the bottom of the seventh, as Northern Iowa managed a split in the doubleheader while improving to 31-18 on the season. Nebraska, which allowed more than four runs for the first time in 26 games, fell to 31-14 with the loss.
Nebraska wraps up its regular-season home schedule this weekend when the Huskers host Texas Tech on Saturday and Sunday at Bowlin Stadium.