The No. 11 Nebraska softball team used a three-run fourth inning to take the lead over No. 1 Texas Tech and never looked back, downing the Red Raiders, 3-2, on Sunday in Clearwater, Fla.

With the win, the Huskers improved to 6-4 on the season with three wins coming over ranked foes, including a pair of wins over the No. 1 team. Texas Tech fell to 11-1, as NU gave the Red Raiders their first loss of the year.

Alexis Jensen (3-1) tossed the first four innings for the Big Red and claimed the win in the circle. She allowed two runs, one earned, with five hits and seven strikeouts. Jordy Frahm threw the last three innings, retired all nine batters she faced, and grabbed her third save of the year. Frahm also registered four strikeouts.

Offensively, Hannah Camenzind was 2-for-3 with a double and Jesse Farrell added a game-tying two-run home run. Hannah Coor contributed a game-winning RBI, as she drove in the eventual winning run. 

NiJaree Canady (4-1) took the loss. The reigning two-time national pitcher of the year allowed three runs in 4.2 innings.

Texas Tech scored a run apiece in the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the fourth, H. Camenzind hit a leadoff double before Farrell knocked a two-run homer to tie the score at 2-2. NU took the 3-2 lead as Carlie Muhlbach walked, pinch runner Dakota Carter stole second and crossed the plate on a clutch Coor two-out single.

Frahm came in to pitch the final three innings and retired nine straight batters to close out the win for the Huskers.

The Huskers are set to travel to the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, where they’ll open play against No. 16 South Carolina on Friday, Feb. 20. The game is set to start at 12 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on FloSports and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.

Notes

• Today marked the Huskers’ fifth win over a No. 1 team in school history and the second this season.

• This is the first time NU has beat two No. 1-ranked teams in the same season in program history. Nebraska downed then-No. 1 Texas on Feb. 7 in San Antonio. 

• Today was the Huskers' third top-15 win of the season.

• According to ESPN, Hannah Camenzind’s double and Jesse Farrell’s home run in the fourth inning were the first back-to-back extra-base hits that Nijaree Canady has allowed in her career.

• Nebraska handed Texas Tech its first loss of the season. 

• Jordy Frahm grabbed her third save of the year, which already surpasses her total from last season.

• Alexis Jensen became the second Husker freshman pitcher to earn a win over the No. 1 team. Emily Lockman threw a shutout in a 1-0 win at Oklahoma in her freshman season of 2013.

• In Nebraska's two wins over the No. 1 team this season, Frahm is 1-0 with one save and has thrown 7.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts, allowing only three hits.

• Jesse Farrell’s home run was her fourth of the season. Farrell finished with five extra-base hits in five games at the Clearwater Invitational with a pair of home runs.

• Today was the first time NU beat Texas Tech since Feb. 7, 2015.

Jesske, Blachowicz Lead Huskers Past GCU

Will Jesske’s early home run and a strong outing from Gavin Blachowicz led Nebraska to a 9-1 win against Grand Canyon on Sunday night at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz.

Nebraska (3-0) recorded nine runs on 14 hits, while GCU totaled a run, four hits and an error.

Jesske had a 3-for-3 night with a homer, two runs driven in and three runs scored. Jett Buck drove in three runs with a 2-for-4 performance, while Joshua Overbeek was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Case Sanderson and Dylan Carey had a double and two hits apiece, and Miken Miller, Max Buettenback and Devin Nunez recorded one hit each.

Gavin Blachowicz had a career outing in his first career start, pitching a career-high 4.2 innings with a career-high five punchouts. The sophomore surrendered one run on two hits and a pair of walks.

Chase Olson improved to 1-0 on the season after dealing 1.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts in his Husker debut. J’Shawn Unger threw two shutout innings with two strikeouts and a walk, while Jace Ziola entered the ninth and tossed a scoreless inning in his Husker debut.

Jesske broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the third with a 405-foot solo blast beyond the GCU bullpen in left field to give the Huskers a 1-0 lead.

The Husker offense added three more runs in the fourth inning to stretch the lead to 4-0. Buettenback was hit by the pitch to start the inning, and Nunez ripped a single back up the middle and advanced to second on the throw to put runners on second and third with one out.

A wild pitch allowed Nunez to jog on home from third base, while an RBI single up the middle off the bat of Jesske plated the Big Red’s second run in the inning. Buck lifted a sacrifice fly to deep left field to score Jesske and make it a 4-0 game.

The GCU offense threatened for the first time in the bottom of the fourth inning, picking up their first hit of the evening with consecutive singles to open the inning. A walk loaded the bases for the Lopes with no outs, before a sacrifice fly to deep left field plated GCU’s first run of the evening.

Blachowicz struck out the next two batters to strand the two baserunners and keep NU’s lead at 4-1 through four innings.

Holding a 4-1 lead after the seventh, the NU offense erupted for five runs on five hits in the top of eighth to blow the game open at 9-1.

A leadoff walk to Mac Moyer, followed by Jesske’s third hit of the night had runners on first and second with no outs. An errant throw on a failed pickoff attempt moved the duo to second and third, setting up Buck’s two-RBI single through the left side.

Sanderson followed Buck with a ground-rule double, while Overbeek laced a two-RBI single through the left side to make it an 8-1 game. Carey capped the scoring with a first-pitch RBI double to left field that brought home Overbeek.

Unger worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth, and Ziola kept the Lopes off the board in the bottom of the ninth to preserve Nebraska’s 9-1 victory.

Nebraska wraps up opening weekend action in Arizona tomorrow afternoon, as the Huskers take on Stanford at Salt Rivers Field at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz. First pitch between the Big Red and Cardinal is set for 2 p.m. CT on MLB.com.

Huskers Wrap Conference Action With Win Over Indiana, 34-5

Behind three tech. falls and a major decision, the No. 5 Nebraska wrestling team defeated the No. 20 Hoosiers, 34-5, on Sunday to close out conference competition. Indiana fell to 8-5 (3-4 Big Ten) as the Big Red claimed nine consecutive bouts. 

The Huskers (11-6, 5-3 Big Ten) come off the double-dual weekend with two wins and now carry a three-dual win streak heading into Friday’s regular season finale. Nebraska concluded conference action at 5-3 in the Big Ten. Antrell Taylor led the way going 8-0 in conference duals, while AJ Ferrari and Camden McDanel each posted 7-1 records. 

Starting at 125, No. 17 Jacob Moran defeated Kael Lauridsen by tech. fall, 19-4. At 133, No. 9 Jacob Van Dee answered against Gavin Jendreas. Van Dee opened with back-to-back takedowns and a four-point nearfall. The junior added another takedown in the second, along with an escape and a second four-point nearfall, to claim the 18-1 tech. fall. 

At 141, No. 4 Brock Hardy faced No. 25 Henry Porter. Hardy tallied two first-period takedowns and carried the momentum into the second. With three more takedowns and an escape, the senior added one final takedown to secure the 20-4 tech. fall, his second of the weekend and sixth of the season. 

On the mat at 149, No. 20 Chance Lamer opened against Joey Buttler. Lamer secured an early takedown and added an escape in the second period. Buttler answered with a takedown in the third, but Lamer held on with riding time for the 5-3 decision.

At 157, Antrell Taylor put a stamp on the first period against Bryce Lowery. Taylor built a 15-4 first-period lead with five takedowns, while Lowery recorded escapes. The Nebraska native added two more takedowns in the second to win by tech. fall, 21-5. 

In another ranked matchup at 165, No. 7 LJ Araujo faced No. 18 Tyler Lillard. The pair were scoreless through the first period before Araujo scored two takedowns and an escape in the second. Lillard responded with an early third-period reversal and added two takedowns, but the redshirt freshman held on for the 10-8 decision. 

With the Huskers leading 21-5, No. 4 Christopher Minto met No. 28 Derek Gilcher at 174. Minto scored two first-period takedowns and added an escape in the third. Gilcher managed just two escapes and a penalty point as Minto secured the 7-3 decision. 

No. 6 Silas Allred secured his second major decision of the season against No. 19 Sam Goin. Allred tallied a takedown in the first period, then added an escape and another takedown in the second to build a 7-0 lead. Goin’s two escapes weren’t enough as the senior secured a third takedown and riding time to win 11-2. 

At 197, No. 9 Camden McDanel took on No. 22 Gabe Sollars. The pair were scoreless through the first period before McDanel recorded a reversal, followed by an escape by Sollars. Sollars secured another escape to even it at 2-2 in the third, but McDanel tallied a takedown to hold the lead and win by decision, 5-3. 

The conference dual closed at heavyweight with No. 4 AJ Ferrari and Matt Kowalski. Ferrari opened the first period with a takedown, followed by an escape by Kowalski. An escape and a penalty point gave Ferrari a 5-1 lead heading into the third period. Ferrari collected another takedown and secured riding time for the 9-3 decision victory and a 34-5 Husker win. 

Up Next
The Huskers remain on the road to face Utah Valley in their final regular season dual. The matchup is set for 8 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on FloWrestling, with live stats available on Trackwrestling. 

No. 5 Nebraska 34, No. 20 Indiana 5
125: #17 Jacob Moran tech. fall Kael Lauridsen 19-4 (5:41) (IND 5, NEB 0)
133: #9 Jacob Van Dee tech. fall Gavin Jendreas 18-1 (3:30) (IND 5, NEB 5)
141: #4 Brock Hardy tech. fall #25 Henry Porter 20-4 (6:38) (NEB 10, IND 5)
149: #20 Chance Lamer dec. Joey Buttler 5-3 (NEB 13, IND 5)
157: #3 Antrell Taylor tech. fall Bryce Lowery 21-5 (4:26) (NEB 18, IND 5)
165: #7 LJ Araujo dec. #18 Tyler Lillard 10-8 (NEB 21, IND 5)
174: #4 Christopher Minto dec. #28 Derek Gilcher 7-3 (NEB 24, IND 5)
184: #6 Silas Allred major dec. #19 Sam Goin 11-2 (NEB 28, IND 5) 
197: #9 Camden McDanel dec. #22 Gabe Sollars 5-3 (NEB 31, IND 5)
HWT: #4 AJ Ferrari dec. Matt Kowalski 8-3 (NEB 34, IND 5)