Will Walsh tossed seven scoreless innings and the Husker offense erupted for 13 runs, as No. 24 Nebraska recorded a 13-0 win vs. San Diego State at the MLB Desert Invitational on Sunday night at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz.

Nebraska (2-1) totaled 13 runs on 12 hits, while San Diego State (1-2) recorded seven hits and committed three errors.

Cayden Brumbaugh was 2-for-5 at the plate with a double, triple, two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Max Buettenback drove in a career-high four RBI with a 1-for-3 night and a two-run homer. Will Jesske and Riley Silva pieced together two-hit performances, while Dylan Carey, Gabe Swansen, Robby Bolin, Joshua Overbeek and Rhett Stokes tallied one hit apiece.

Will Walsh improved to 1-0 on the season, posting his fourth career start of at least seven innings. The southpaw tossed seven scoreless frames and struck out six Aztecs while surrendering five hits. Redshirt freshman Carson Jasa made his Husker debut and took the mound for the final two innings, allowing two hits and striking out a pair with one walk.

Brumbaugh began the bottom of the first with a triple to right field on the first pitch, while Buettenback lifted a sacrifice fly to center to give the Big Read a 1-0 lead.

The Huskers loaded the bases in the bottom of the second with no outs after three consecutive singles from Overbeek, Jesske and Silva. Brumbaugh added to the NU lead with a two-RBI double to left field, plating Overbeek and Jesske to make it a 3-0 game.

The NU offense added a pair of more runs in the inning after Buettenback’s RBI groundout brought home Silva, followed by a sacrifice fly from Carey to score Brumbaugh.

For the second consecutive inning, the Huskers loaded the bases after a walk to Cael Frost and a pair of hit-by-pitches to Overbeek and Jesske. The NU offense was only able to scratch across one run in the frame when Silva’s RBI groundout allowed Frost to cross the plate and grow the lead to six after three innings.

An infield single and stolen base placed Silva on second with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, setting the table for Buettenback’s two-run blast into the left-field berm for his first homer on the season.

Nebraska poured on five more runs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to blow the game open at 13-0. Swansen began the scoring with a two-RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded to plate Buettenback and Carey. The Huskers add three more runs in the frame with consecutive RBI singles by Bolin, Stokes and Jesske.

The Huskers will remain in Arizona an extra day, as Nebraska takes on Grand Canyon tomorrow afternoon at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark in Phoenix. First pitch between the Big Red and Lopes is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.

Huskers Dominate #21 Hoosiers 39-2 on Senior Sunday

In front of 3,761 fans at Nebraska wrestling’s final home dual of the season, the Big Red dominated on the mat, taking nine bouts wins and seven bonus-point victories, to defeat No. 21 Indiana, 39-2. 

Highlighting the day was NU senior starters Caleb Smith and Ridge Lovett notching wins in the Senior Sunday Big Ten dual as No. 5 Nebraska improved to 10-3 (5-2 Big Ten) and No. 21 Indiana fell to 7-5 (3-5 Big Ten). The 37-point difference posted the biggest dual win of the season for NU, while also handing Indiana its worst loss.

Starting off the dual at 125, No. 8 Caleb Smith took on Indiana’s No. 19 Jacob Moran. The two ranked competitors held a close match, but the Husker senior recorded two points with an escape and ride time to capture his 100th career victory and the 2-0 decision. 

Next on the mat was No. 16 Jacob Van Dee and No. 30 Angelo Rini at 133. Van Dee jumped on the board quickly with a takedown in the first period, and Rini responded with an escape of his own. Van Dee recorded an escape and another takedown in the second for the 8-4 decision, extending the NU lead to six.

At 141, No. 6 Brock Hardy wrestled No. 26 Henry Porter. Hardy had an impressive performance and used six takedowns to claim the 20-5 tech. fall victory, his fourth of the season. During a challenge from Indiana, the Hoosiers were penalized one team point for coach conduct. 

Up next, No. 4 Ridge Lovett faced Joey Buttler at 149. Senior Lovett found an early lead with two takedowns and near fall, holding the 9-1 advantage, before securing the first-period pin. Lovett earned his fifth fall of the season and 19th career in his final home match as a Husker, improving the team score to 17-0. 

On the mat at 157, No. 4 Antrell Taylor wrestled Indiana’s Ryan Garvick. Taylor recorded three takedowns and an escape, leading 10-7 at the end of the first period. The sophomore used five more takedowns to secure the 24-11 tech. fall in 5:12. The bonus-point win was Taylor’s tenth of the season and 20th career dual. 

After the break, No. 8 Christopher Minto faced No. 19 Tyler Lillard. Minto recorded a takedown and nearfall in the first period before securing an escape in the second on his way to the 10-0 major decision. 

At 174, No. 10 Lenny Pinto found No. 31 Roman Rogotzke on the mat with the Huskers leading 26-0. Pinto secured two takedowns in the first period. A four-point near fall gave Pinto the 12-1 lead heading into the third before he recorded a takedown and an escape to secure the 18-2 tech. fall.  

Next on the mat, No. 7 Silas Allred met No. 24 DJ Washington at 184. Allred led 4-3 at the end of the first period, tallying a reversal and securing two Indiana penalty points. In the final period, Allred scored three takedowns en route to the 17-6 major decision.    

With two matches left and the closest bout of the day by ranking, No. 20 Camden McDanel and No. 21 Gabe Sollars wrestled at 197. Entering the second period with a 3-1 lead, McDanel scored a pair of escapes and takedowns to increase the lead to 11-1. McDanel then earned the 17-4 major decision with two takedowns in the final period.

In the final match of the conference dual, heavyweights No. 21 Harley Andrews and No. 18 Jacob Bullock took the mat. Andrews trailed 3-1 after the opening two periods. He then scored an escape in the third, but it wasn’t enough as Bullock took the 6-2 decision. With the win, the Hoosier improved to 2-0 over Andrews.

The 39-2 win for NU concludes the home campaign for the Big Red, finishing 6-1 at the Devaney Center with an average home attendance of 3,380. 

Up Next
The Big Red will close out regular-season competition as they head to Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 23. The dual is set for 5:30 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on BTN. 

#5 Nebraska 39, #21 Indiana 2
125: No. 8  Caleb Smith dec. No. 19 Jacob Moran 2-0 (NEB 3, IND 0)
133: No. 16 Jacob Van Dee dec. No. 30 Angelo Rini 8-4 (NEB 6, IND 0)
141: No. 6 Brock Hardy tech. fall No. 26 Henry Porter (IND) 20-5 (2:07) (NEB 11, IND 0)
149: No. 4 Ridge Lovett pinned Joey Buttler (IND) (1:52) (NEB 17, IND 0)
157: No. 4 Antrell Taylor tech. fall Ryan Garvick (IND) 27-11 (5:12) (NEB 22, IND 0)
165: No. 8 Christopher Minto major dec. No. 19 Tyler Lillard (IND) 10-0 (NEB 26, IND 0)
174: No. 10 Lenny Pinto tech. fall No. 31 Roman Rogotzke (IND) 18-2 (5:00) (NEB 31, IND 0)
184: No. 7 Silas Allred major dec. No. 24 DJ Washington (IND) 17-6 (NEB 35, IND 0)
197: No. 20 Camden McDanel major dec. No. 21 Gabe Sollars (IND) 17-4 (NEB 39, IND 0)
HWT: No. 18 Jacob Bullock (IND) dec. No. 21 Harley Andrews 6-2 (NEB 39, IND 2)

Kuszak Shines in Huskers’ Fifth Straight Run-Rule Win

The No. 18 Nebraska softball team defeated the Montana Grizzlies 16-3 in five innings Sunday to post its fifth run-rule victory of the weekend at the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. 

As a team, NU (8-2) hit .446 in the 5-0 weekend with 20 home runs while outscoring its opponents 69-9. The Huskers scored at least 10 runs in all five games in New Mexico, marking the first time in program history that Nebraska has scored 10 or more runs in five consecutive games.

Ava Kuszak powered the offense on Sunday with three home runs, tying the school record for home runs in a game. Kuszak became the third Husker to homer three times in a game. She finished 4-for-4 with six RBIs while Jordyn Bahl, batting behind Kuszak in the lineup, also went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a triple. The duo of Kuszak and Bahl went 8-for-8 against Montana and notched two doubles, a triple, three home runs, seven runs and seven RBIs.

Emmerson Cope (3-0) claimed the win in the circle. She pitched two scoreless innings of relief and struck out two batters in the process. Caitlin Olensky started for NU and allowed three runs in 2.0 innings. Hannah Camenzind came in for the final inning of the game and notched two strikeouts and allowed only one hit. 

Kuszak put the Big Red on the board first with her fourth home run of the weekend to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Bahl notched the first triple of her career to follow and scored on an Olivia DiNardo groundout as NU took a 2-0 lead into the second inning.

Montana responded with a three-run second inning. The Grizzlies tied the score at 2-2 on an Anna Cockhill two-run home run before a Presley Jantzi homer gave Montana a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Nebraska regained a 4-3 edge. Abbie Squier singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch, then Kuszak's second homer of the day scored them both.

Lauren Camenzind and Samantha Bland walked in the bottom of the third and Ava Bredwell singled to load the bases for Hannah Camenzind. Hannah Camenzind singled to score Bland and Lauren Camenzind and make the Husker lead 6-3. Squier then walked to load the bases for Kuszak, who registered a two-run single as Bredwell and Hannah Camenzind crossed the plate. Bahl’s third hit of the day scored Squier to make it 9-3. A walk to Cope loaded the bases for the third time in the inning. Kacie Hoffmann doubled to bring Kuszak and Bahl home. An RBI single from Lauren Camenzind then scored Cope. Bland then had an RBI ground out to cap the nine-run inning and extend the Husker lead to 13-3. 

Kuszak continued the damage in the bottom of the fourth, knocking her third home run of the day, which tied the school record for most home runs in a game. Bahl then doubled and advanced to third, then home, on two errors by Montana. Cope singled and advanced to second after Alina Felix was hit by a pitch. Kennadi Williams then came in to pinch run for Cope, and Williams scored on another wild pitch to make the score 16-3.

Hannah Camenzind then closed out the run-rule victory with a scoreless fifth inning.

The Huskers will travel to Cathedral City, Calif., for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 20-23. NU will open the tournament with a matchup against No. 24 Baylor on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 4:30 p.m. (CT). All games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic will be streamed on FloSoftball and can be heard for free across the Huskers Radio Network. 

Postgame Notes

  • Nebraska has now scored 10 or more runs in five straight games for the first time in program history. 
  • The Huskers outscored their opponents 69-9 in five games on the weekend.
  • Ava Kuszak posted a new career high in home runs with three, which ties the school record for most home runs in a game. The most recent Husker to hit three home runs in a game was Kaylan Jablonski on March 17, 2018. Kuszak notched six home runs in five games at the Troy Cox Classic. 
  • Kuszak notched a new career high in RBIs with six and tied her career high with four hits. 
  • Kuszak and Jordyn Bahl, who are one and two in the batting order, went 8-for-8 with two doubles, a triple, three homers, seven runs and seven RBIs.
  • Bahl’s triple in the first inning was the first of her career, and her four hits marked a new career high.
  • The last time the Huskers started 8-2 through a season's first 10 games was the 2019 season.