Behind a grand slam and five RBIs from Olivia DiNardo and a 13-strikeout, one-hit shutout from Jordyn Bahl, the No. 20 Nebraska softball team defeated the Omaha Mavericks 5-0 on Wednesday night at Maverick Park. 

DiNardo knocked the grand slam in the top of the first to give Bahl all the run support she would need. DiNardo totaled five RBIs on the day, which tied her career high. The junior added an RBI double in the fifth inning. Ava Bredwell also added two hits, as NU out-hit Omaha, 7-1.

Bahl (13-3) grabbed the win in the circle, logging a season-high 13 strikeouts, nine of which were swinging. She allowed only one hit and two base runners in the shutout and retired the final 17 batters of the game.

Bahl's counterpart - fellow All-America Maddia Groff (11-4) - took the loss for the Mavericks, who moved to 20-8 on the season. 

The win, which was the Huskers’ fourth straight, put Nebraska at 24-8 on the season.

Ava Kuszak kicked the game off with a leadoff walk and advanced to second when Hannah Camenzind walked. Bredwell singled to load the bases, and Olivia DiNardo cleared them on a grand slam as the Huskers grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

NU extended the lead to 5-0 in the top of the fifth, as Bredwell notched a two-out single and scored on a DiNardo RBI double.

Meanwhile Bahl retired the final 17 batters of the game, as the last Omaha batter to reach base was Sammy Schmidt on a one-out double in the second inning, the Mavs' lone hit of the game.

NU will host Purdue for a three-game conference series starting on Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m. (CT). That game will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network. 

Postgame Notes

  • Olivia DiNardo’s grand slam in the top of the first was the Huskers’ fourth grand slam of the season. 
  • Olivia DiNardo tied her career high with five RBIs and is now at 100 in her career. 
  • Jordyn Bahl struck out 13 batters, and 12 of them struck out swinging. Today was her fourth double-digit strikeout game of the year. 
  • Bahl’s 13 strikeouts were a season high.
  • Today’s game was the Huskers’ fifth shutout of the year. Bahl has tossed a one-hit shutout in each of her last two starts.