Never overlook a blood rival.
Fine, Nebraska and Creighton aren’t exactly blood rivals. And let’s face it, that breed of Creighton fan who thirsts for football has some scarlet and cream in their closet which comes out in the fall; all beware of Jayskers in the wild, we share bleachers and barstools on Saturdays.
But when it comes to things like basketball (for both genders), volleyball and the diamond sports, the competition runs strong and true. Currently, the Huskers have pulled ahead in all, but
Creighton has certainly had their periods of the upper hand in all but volleyball.
And one thing fans of both know for sure is you look past any Nebraska-Creighton matchup at your own peril.
Well, guess what – after 5 innings this late afternoon/early evening, the national RPI #2 Nebraska found themselves clinging to a 3-2 lead against the #151 Bluejays. They had jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when their first four batters reached base with the last two, Hannah Camenzind and Ava Kuszak, each driving in a run.
But in the bottom of the second inning, spot starter Kylee Magee ran into familiar trouble bookending a pair of walks around a 2-run homer into the stiff 15-20mph winds and, all of the sudden, what had started looking like a rout, had become a 2-2 tie and would remain so through the fourth. After giving up a hit, another walk and a hard line drive out, Magee’s day was over and Coach Rhonda Revelle would call upon freshman sensation Alexis Jensen to try and take further scoring off the table for Creighton.
She did her job, Jordy Frahm style, by tossing 4 scoreless 1-hit innings while striking out 7 and walking no one on the way to her 14th win of the season. Now it was up to the offense to end the threat, as a loss to someone so far down the RPI sheet as Creighton could do some significant damage to the #2 ranking Nebraska had just achieved with a series win over #7 UCLA.
The bell was answered when they grabbed the lead back with a run in the top of the fifth.
Then, they finally ran Bluejays starter Audrey Gilman who, after the game-starting run by the Huskers, had pitched a gutsy 5 innings against the Big Ten’s highest ranked team. The Huskers began the top of the sixth with 3 straight hits and Gilman was relieved by Landrie Harris who fared no better. Jordy Frahm and Ava Kuszak each sac-flied runs home around a Hannah Coor RBI single to put Nebraska up 7-2. In the top of the seventh, Kacie Hoffman would blast an insurance shot to make it 8-2, which would be final score for the second straight year.
The Huskers banged out 13 hits on the day, 5 for extra bases, and six of their lineup would collect 2 apiece. In the bottom of the fifth, catcher Jesse Farrell would suffer a possible injury (foot/ankle/knee) and would leave the game with hopes it would not be of the long-term variety. If there was a bright spot, it was that freshman Carlie Muhlbach came in to replace her, her first appearance since injuring her back against UNO after replacing Farrell on that day, who had been concussed by a foul tip to the mask.
The Huskers, who have had a recent issue bringing home runners in scoring position, stranded 8 more Tuesday evening, which is both concerning but also shines a light on the potential for their offense, especially if some of those lined shots finding leather the past couple of weeks start finding Kentucky bluegrass instead.
Nebraska takes a couple of days off from competition before welcoming Rutgers to Bowlin Stadium on Friday evening at 5pm CST. The game will be aired on the B1G Network and, as always, will be broadcast on the Husker Radio Network.
