Timely hitting lifted Omaha to a 5-2 victory over the Nebraska softball team Wednesday at Bowlin Stadium. 

Nebraska was just 3-for-14 with runners on base in the game. The Huskers had two runners on base with one or no outs in the third, fifth and sixth innings but managed only one run in those three frames.

Ava Bredwell led the Husker offense with a 3-for-3 day that included a home run. Katelyn Caneda went 2-for-3 while Broooke Andrews was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Kaylin Kinney (10-8) took the loss for Nebraska (16-13). Kinney allowed five runs in 3.0 innings. Sarah Harness pitched well in relief, tossing 4.0 shutout innings and giving up only two hits.

Kamryn Meyer (12-3) earned the win for Omaha (22-7), which won its 11th straight game. Meyer allowed only one run in 4.0 innings while Sydney Nuismer earned her second save of the season after allowing one run in 3.0 innings.

Omaha took a 1-0 lead one batter into the game when Lynsey Tucker led off the game with a solo home run. 

Bredwell tied the game when she led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run off the scoreboard in left field.

Omaha answered back with four runs in the top of the third. The Huskers committed two errors in the inning and twice failed to get an out on an infield ground ball, but the Mavericks also came up with five hits in the frame, including a pair of RBI singles.

In the bottom of the third, Bella Bacon and Caneda reached on back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs for the top of the order. But Meyer retired the top three hitters in the Husker lineup to preserve the 4-1 lead.

In the fourth inning, Bredwell led off with a single but was stranded there.

In the fifth, Bacon and Caneda reached to begin the inning before UNO turned a double play. Brooke Andrews then came through with an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2.

Nebraska had the tying run at the plate with one out and two on in the sixth inning but could not push a run across. The Huskers were then retired in order in the seventh.

Nebraska wraps up its 10-game homestand when it begins Big Ten Conference play by hosting Illinois in a three-game series this weekend.

Post-Game Notes

  • UNO's home run to begin the game was the first home run off Kaylin Kinney in 26.0 innings.
  • Ava Bredwell tied her career high with three hits.
  • Katelyn Caneda had hits in her first two at bats to stretch her streak to seven consecutive at bats with a hit and nine consecutive plate appearance reaching base safely
  • Billie Andrews went 0-for-4, snapping her streak of 23 consecutive games reaching base safely.

THREE HUSKERS NAMED TO ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS

Emma Spence, Sophia McClelland and Kinsey Davis were given All-Big Ten honors, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Spence was named a member of the All-Big Ten First Team, while McClelland and Davis were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. 

This marks Davis’ third all-conference honor, as she was tabbed a First-Team All-Big Ten member in 2022 and a Second-Team All-Big Ten member in 2023. Spence and McClelland both notched their second honor. Spence earned First-Team All-Conference honors and McClelland garnered Second-Team All-Conference honors in 2023.

So far this season, Spence, a Canada native, has earned career highs on vault (9.925), floor (9.950) and in the all-around (39.650), along with posting season highs of 9.900 or above in every event. She was named a Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week on Tuesday for her standout performance against Arkansas, where she tied career highs on floor and in the all-around. The junior has earned 13 event titles this season – one on vault, four on bars, one on beam, two on floor and five in the all-around. 

McClelland, a senior from Camarillo, Calif., has been a mainstay in the Huskers’ lineup this season, competing in every meet but one and claiming eight event titles along the way – five on beam, two on floor and one in the all-around. She’s earned career highs of 9.950 on beam and 9.925 on floor. 

Davis has been named a Big Ten Co-Event Specialist of the Week twice this season, both times after earning a career-high 9.975 on bars. The senior from Huntersville, N.C., has grabbed three event titles on bars this season and has competed in the event in every meet this season, along with competing on vault in eight meets. 

Fourteen Huskers also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors – Katelyn Barth, Clara Colombo, Martina Comin, Kinsey Davis, Emalee Frost, Allie Gard, Genesis Gibson, Lauren Homecillo, Katie Kuenemann, Sophia McClelland, Halle Rourke, Emma Simpton, Emma Spence and Annie Worley. 

NU will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to compete in the Big Ten Championships this Saturday, March 23. The Huskers are one of six teams in Session I of the championships, which will start at 11 a.m. (CT) and will be streamed on the Big Ten Network.