No. 5 Oregon State belted a ballpark-record eight home runs, as the Huskers fell 16-5 in seven innings to the Beavers at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park on Saturday afternoon.

Nebraska (11-15) scored five runs on 12 hits, while Oregon State (20-5) totaled 16 runs and 12 hits.

Tyler Stone was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, followed by Devin Nunez with a 2-for-5 afternoon and an RBI. Cael Frost homered for the third consecutive game, while Gabe Swansen had a pinch-hit two-RBI single. Cayden Brumbaugh, Colin Cymbalista, Dylan Carey, Will Jesske, Max Buettenback and Joshua Overbeek tallied one hit apiece.

Ty Horn dropped to 0-4 on the year after giving up five runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk in three innings. Carson Jasa and Pryce Bender allowed a combined eight runs on four hits in two innings, while Colin Nowaczyk and Grant Cleavinger tossed an inning each.

The Beavers struck first in the opening frame with a one-out solo homer into the berm in left-center field off the bat of Aiva Arquette.

The NU offense threatened in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded and two outs, but a three-pitch strikeout put a halt to the Big Red’s threat.

Oregon State’s lead grew to three in the second inning after a leadoff double down the left-field line, followed by a two-run home run to right by Jacob Krieg.

A pair of solo home runs from Gavin Turley and Wilson Weber had the Beavers ahead 5-0 in the top of the third.

Nebraska had runners on first and second after Sanderson was hit by the pitch and a single from Brumbaugh. Stone laced an RBI double to the left-center alley to bring home Sanderson and plate NU’s first run of the afternoon. Carey drew a full-count walk to load the bases for the Huskers with one out, but the next two batters were retired to keep it a 5-1 game through three innings.

An RBI single, followed by Turley’s grand slam to center enlarged the lead to 9-1 in the fourth inning for the Beavers. Oregon State tacked on three more runs with Easton Talt’s three-run shot down the right-field line to give OSU a 12-1 advantage through five innings.

Turley opened the sixth inning with a solo home run to right, becoming the first NU opponent with a three-homer game since Arizona State’s Jeff Larish in the 2005 College World Series.

Frost drilled a first-pitch solo homer to right field to begin the bottom of the sixth inning for his third consecutive game with a home run this week. Buettenback reached on a two-out single, and Sanderson drew a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and second for the Big Red with two outs.

Nunez plated Buettenback from second with an RBI single through the left side to make it 14-3 through six innings.

Oregon State’s eighth homer of the afternoon was a two-run shot in the top of the seventh that gave the visitors a 16-3 advantage.

The Huskers began the bottom of the seventh inning with runners on second and third after Cymbalista’s single and a double from Carey. Swansen plated the pair with a pinch-hit two-RBI single through the right side.

Jesske and Overbeek reached on singles after Swansen to load the bases with one out, but the next two NU hitters were retired to clinch OSU’s 16-5 win in seven innings on Saturday.

Nebraska and Oregon State conclude the weekend series tomorrow at 12:02 p.m. CT at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Huskers Rout Boilermakers in Series Opener

Eight Huskers notched a hit as the No. 20 Nebraska softball team defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 13-1 in five innings on Saturday at Bowlin Stadium.

The Big Red moved to 25-8 on the season with a 5-1 mark in conference competition, while the Boilermakers fell to 17-15 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten.

As a team, NU out-hit Purdue 13-2. Eight of the Huskers’ hits came with runners in scoring position. Nebraska added three home runs, two from Kacie Hoffmann and one from Ava Kuszak. Kuszak was 2-for-3 with a double and a home run on the day, and Olivia DiNardo was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Hoffmann was also 3-for-3 and added four RBIs. 

Jordyn Bahl claimed the win in the circle and moved to 14-3 on the season. She threw 5.0 innings with no earned runs, eight strikeouts and only two infield singles. Madi Elish (6-5) took the loss for Purdue. 

The Big Red enjoyed a seven-run bottom of the second, kicked off by a DiNardo single. Abbie Squier pinch ran for DiNardo and advanced to second on a passed ball. Hoffmann singled to send Squier to third and Bella Bacon singled to load the bases. A Bland single scored Squier and advanced Bacon and Hoffmann. Kuszak doubled to send Bland to third and score Bacon and Hoffmann before Bahl singled to send Bland and Kuszak across the plate. Hannah Camenzind singled and Bahl went to third before an Ava Bredwell sacrifice fly scored Bahl. Olivia DiNardo singled to send H. Camenzind across the plate and gave the Huskers a 7-0 lead going into the third.

Hoffmann and Kuszak notched a solo home run apiece in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 9-0. 

In the bottom of the fourth, Bredwell singled to shortstop and stole second, before a DiNardo single sent her to the plate. Kennadi Williams came in to pinch run for DiNardo. Lauren Camenzind walked and Hoffmann knocked her second home run of the day to score herself, L. Camenzind and Williams. The Huskers led 13-0 going into the fifth inning.

The Gophers got on the board with the help of an error and a sacrifice fly, but it was not enough as the Huskers locked up the 13-1 run-rule win.

NU will face the Boilermakers again tomorrow, March 30 at 5 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network. 

Postgame Notes

  • NU has posted 11 innings this year with six or more runs after a seven-run second inning against Purdue.
  • Ava Kuszak’s home run in the bottom of the second was her first since she hit two against Wichita State on March 1.
  • Kacie Hoffmann had her second career multi-homer game. Her first came in 2024 against Mississippi State while she was an Arkansas Razorback.
  • Nebraska is now up to 16 run-rule victories this season. The most run-rule wins by a Husker team is 17 in 2015. 
  • NU has scored 10+ runs in 15 games this season.
  • Kacie Hoffmann tied her career highs in RBIs (4) and home runs (2) and earned a new career high in runs scored (3).