| Softball |
|---|
| UCLA — 1 |
| Nebraska — 4 |
Some games end in wins.
Others end in lessons.
Nebraska taught a good one to the Bruins.
Closing out the second half of their two-week road trip, the No. 7 UCLA softball team (28-4, 9-1 Big Ten) lost its 22-game win streak Friday night after a loss against No. 9 Nebraska (25-5, 7-0 Big Ten) during a Top-Ten series opener at the Bowler Stadium.
The first inning set a slow tone for the game.
In the first inning, senior right fielder Megan Grant fouled out to right field and senior first baseman Jordan Woolery hit a pop fly to left field. Nebraska struck out looking, lined out and grounded out, resulting in zero runs for both teams.
Things did not pick up for a while. Throughout the second inning, UCLA managed to reach first base, and Nebraska reached second base. However, there were no runs or hits.
Predictions for the rest of the game looked unclear at the pace at which the innings were going.
Grant accounted for UCLA’s lone rone in the fourth inning, after extending her hit streak to 17 games. She singled to right field, later advanced to third after Woolery lined out to right, and headed home as freshman third baseman Bri Alejandre singled up the middle.
Nebraska did not only match UCLA’s energy.
They doubled it in the bottom of the fifth.
Nebraska’s Jordy Frahm was hit by a pitch and sat on first base. Not long after, Hannah Camenzind hit a home run to left field. Both Frahm and Camenzind ran straight to home. This play pushed Nebraska into the lead with a score of 2-1.
Carrying that momentum into the bottom of the sixth, Nebraska added two more runs to pad its lead. Kacie Hoffmann drove in one with a single, and Camenzind brought home another after drawing a bases-loaded walk, leaving the Cornhuskers in front heading into the seventh.
UCLA struck out swinging during the top of the seventh inning to close out the game and end their winning streak.
Despite the sudden loss, the Bruins are hopeful to make a comeback in the second game of the series against Nebraska on Saturday, March 28 at 12 p.m. PST.
