Kinney Powers Huskers to 9-0 Victory

Kaylin Kinney pitched the complete game shutout while adding a home run and four RBIs to power the Nebraska softball team to a 9-0 five-inning victory over Rutgers to claim the weekend series at Bowlin Stadium. 

Kinney (1-1) held the Scarlet Knights to one hit, striking out four and walking one. On offense, the sophomore was 2-for-2 including a three-run homer in the bottom of the second to help NU take an early lead. While Kinney’s blast got the offense started, Mya Felder hit a two-run homer to start a five-run third inning. Cam Ybarra added two RBIs for Nebraska (25-9, 5-0 Big Ten), which picked up its 10th consecutive win. 

Ashley Hitchcock (9-11) took the loss for Rutgers, which fell to 23-15 (1-5 Big Ten) on the season after losing to the Huskers. Hitchcock allowed five runs and five hits in 2.0 innings. 

After a scoreless first inning, the Huskers went up three in the second inning. With two outs, Peyton Glatter singled to left field. Caitynn Neal reached first after being hit by a pitch. Kaylin Kinney smashed a three-run homer for her third home run of the season to make it 3-0. 

Nebraska extended its lead with five runs in the third. Sydney Gray led off with a single to right field followed by a two-run homer from Mya Felder over the left-center field fence. Ava Bredwell reached first on an error followed by Peyton Glatter reaching after being hit by a pitch. With one out, Kaylin Kinney singled to right field, scoring Bredwell. Billie Andrews was walked to load the bases. Cam Ybarra singled to left field, scoring two, to extend the lead to 8-0. 

The Big Red added one more run in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, singles from Mya Felder and Abbie Squier put a runner in scoring position. Ava Bredwell reached on a fielder’s choice while an error on the throw scored Camyl Armendariz (who was pinch running for Felder). The Huskers went into the fifth inning ahead, 9-0. 

Two strikeouts and a line out for the Scarlet Knights sealed the 9-0 run-rule victory for the Huskers. 

Nebraska travels to East Lansing, Mich., next weekend to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a three-game series. Game one is set for Friday, April 8 at 5 p.m. (CT). On Saturday, NU will face MSU at 1 p.m. (CT). The third and final game will be on Sunday, April 10 at 12 p.m. (CT). All games will be broadcasted live on the Huskers Radio Network and Huskers.com with the call from Matt Coatney. 

Game Notes 

• Sophomore Kaylin Kinney made her second start in the circle this season.
• Today marked Kinney’s first shutout and first complete game in the circle. 
• With her home run in the third inning, Mya Felder extended her hitting streak to 11 games with a hit. 
• This marked the fifth shutout of the year for NU. The last time the Huskers had five shutouts in a season was in 2018. 
• NU has started Big Ten Conference play 5-0. The last time Nebraska won the first two conference series and was 5-0 in Big Ten play was in 2015. 
• The Huskers extended their win streak to 10. This is the most consecutive wins in a season since 2014 when NU had an 11-game win streak. 
• This was the eighth run-rule victory this year and fifth at Bowlin Stadium.