HUSKERS SOFTBALL Recap – Lex Brings One Home: #4 NEBRASKA 8 – Creighton 2

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.