Purdue evened the series with a walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Nebraska suffered a 5-4 setback to the Boilermakers on Friday night at Alexander Field in West Lafayette, Ind.

Nebraska (27-27, 14-15 Big Ten) scored four runs on 10 hits and four errors, while Purdue (31-22, 11-18 Big Ten) recorded five runs on nine hits.

Dylan Carey led the Big Red at the plate, going 3-for-4. Robby Bolin went 2-for-4 with a double, and Devin Nunez had a 1-for-4 day with a two-run home run. Cayden Brumbaugh, Gabe Swansen, Case Sanderson and Hogan Helligso posted one hit apiece.

Ty Horn allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits across five innings of work. Will Walsh tossed 1.1 innings in relief, surrendering an unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts and a pair of walks.

Casey Daiss allowed a run on two hits with two punchouts in two innings of action. Jalen Worthley dropped to 2-1 on the year while giving up a run on one hit with one out recorded.

Riley Silva was hit by the pitch on an 0-1 count to begin the game, before Brumbaugh’s one-out bunt single had runners on first and second in the top of the first.

Swansen lined an RBI single through the left side to score Silva from second base and give the Big Red a 1-0 advantage in the opening frame.

The Boilermakers led off the bottom of the third inning with a single down the right-field line, but a pair of errant throws from the NU fielders on the play advanced the runner to third with no outs. A sacrifice fly lifted down the left-field line allowed the Boilermakers to tie the game at one in the bottom of the third.

Purdue grabbed a 2-1 lead with a leadoff solo homer to center to begin the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Huskers answered with a run on two hits in the top of the fifth to lock the game back up at two. Consecutive singles from Helligso and Bolin had runners on first and third with no outs, setting up Silva’s sacrifice fly to left field that allowed Helligso to tie the game at two apiece.

Nebraska plated a pair of runs on two hits in the seventh to take a 4-2 lead over the Boilermakers. Carey began the inning with a first-pitch single up the middle, before Nunez blasted a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center field for a 426-foot two-run homer that gave the Big Red the lead in the seventh inning.

A pair of leadoff walks and a throwing error had runners on first and third with no outs for the Boilermakers in the bottom of the seventh. Purdue trimmed NU’s lead in half with a sacrifice fly lifted to left field.

With runners on first and second and one out in the bottom of the seventh, the teams exited the field and the game went into a weather delay.

Following a delay of nearly two hours and 15 minutes, Daiss induced a pair of groundouts to send the Huskers into the eighth inning with a 4-3 lead.

Sanderson reached with a two-out triple to the wall in center field but was left stranded at third to keep NU’s lead at one. Daiss worked around a two-out single in the bottom half of the inning to preserve Nebraska’s 4-3 advantage through eight innings.

The Boilermakers had the tying run at second after a one-out double down the left-field line in the bottom of the ninth inning. A second flyout in the inning had Purdue down to their final out, before a first-pitch two-run homer was blasted over the left-center field wall to give the Boilermakers a 5-4 walk-off victory.

Nebraska and Purdue conclude the series tomorrow afternoon at Alexander Field. First pitch between the Big Red and Boilermakers is set for 1 p.m. CT on B1G+.

Bahl Knocks Two Homers in Huskers’ 10-2 Regional Win

Jordyn Bahl hit two home runs and tossed 3.0 hitless innings, and the No. 19 Nebraska softball team downed the UConn Huskies, 10-2, in six innings in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament in Baton Rouge on Friday. 

Bahl was 2-for-2 on the day with her two home runs, two walks and five RBIs, which put her at 21 home runs on the season and made her the fourth ever NCAA player to have 20+ wins in the circle and 20+ home runs at the plate in the same season. She also became the second Husker ever to record 60+ hits, runs and RBIs in a season. 

Ava Kuszak, Abbie Squier and Ava Bredwell all added two hits on the day, Olivia DiNardo added two RBIs and Bella Bacon contributed two runs.

Kylee Magee (8-4) grabbed the win in the circle after pitching 3.0 innings of relief and allowing two runs. Payton Kinney (15-6) took the loss for UConn. 

The Huskers moved to 40-13 on the season, while the Huskies fell to 35-18. 

After leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, NU loaded the bases again in the bottom of the second, as Bacon walked, Bredwell singled and Lauren Camenzind was hit by a pitch. Bahl walked to send Bacon across the plate and Bredwell scored on a Kuszak groundout. DiNardo singled to score L. Camenzind and Bahl, and DiNardo went to second on a throwing error. NU led 4-0 going into the third.

Squier hit a leadoff single to open the bottom of the third. Bacon was hit by a pitch and Katelyn Caneda pinch ran for her. Bahl knocked a three-run homer, her 20th of the season, to send Squier and Caneda home and extend the lead to 7-0. 

UConn got on the board in the top of the fourth with a two-run home run.

Bahl hit a solo homer, her second home run of the day, to make the score 8-2. 

Squier reached on an infield single, Bacon walked and Squier scored on a Bredwell single to stretch the lead to 9-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Bacon crossed the plate on a wild pitch to lock up the 10-2, six-inning win. 

On Saturday, Nebraska will face the winner of the LSU-Southeastern Louisiana game from Friday night.

Postgame Notes

• With its four-run second inning, NU has now scored 4+ runs in 41 innings this season.
• Nebraska’s 10 runs tied for its highest-scoring NCAA Tournament opener in program history. NU also scored 10 in its opener against Arizona State in 1997.
• The Big Red has now hit 100 home runs on the season and is the fourth Big Ten team in history to homer 100 times in a season.
• With the win, the Huskers reached 40+ wins for the first time since 2022 and the second since 2014. 
• NU is now 66-56 in the NCAA Tournament and 56-39 in the regional round.
• Nebraska has 24 run-rule wins on the season, which is the most in school history.
• Jordyn Bahl became the second Husker ever and first since MJ Knighten in 2016 to have 60+ hits, runs and RBIs in a single season. 
• Bahl now has 21 home runs and 23 wins this season, making her the fourth ever NCAA player to have 20+ wins in the circle and 20+ home runs at the plate in the same season. 
• Bahl has three multi-homer games on the season. 
• Bahl matched her career high with five RBIs on the day.
• Ava Kuszak’s single in the fourth inning put her at a 12-game hit streak.

Huskers Sign Virginia Adriano

The Nebraska volleyball program and head coach Dani Busboom Kelly announced the addition of Virginia Adriano for the 2025 season on Friday.

Adriano is a 6-5 opposite hitter from Turin, Italy who will have three years of NCAA eligibility.

Adriano most recently played for Bergamo in Serie A1, Italy's top professional league. In the season finale against Megabox on March 30, she recorded 21 kills and three blocks with an ace. Adriano averaged 2.39 kills per set with a .385 hitting percentage as Bergamo finished eighth in the 14-team league. 

In 2023-24, Adriano played in Serie A2 with Volley Hermaea Olbia and totaled 395 kills with a .384 hitting percentage, along with 27 aces and 24 blocks. 

Representing the Italy U23 National Team, Adriano won a gold medal at the European Championships in 2024. She also won a U19 title with Italy at the European Championships in 2022. Adriano was part of the Italy team that finished second at the U21 World Championship in 2023. 

"Virginia is an opposite hitter with great size who has a ton of high-level international experience, and we are thrilled she wants to come overseas and play for Nebraska," Busboom Kelly said. "Virginia is a well-balanced player in terms of her attack, block and serve. She will be a great addition to our program."