LINCOLN – Ava Bredwell doubled and homered twice to power the Scarlet team to a 6-2 victory over the Cream during a public intrasquad scrimmage for the Nebraska softball team Thursday night at Bowlin Stadium.
Bredwell hit solo homers in the second and sixth innings while slugging a double in the fourth. She finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Katelyn Caneda also had multiple hits for the Scarlet, finishing 2-for-4. Alina Felix paced the Cream with a 2-for-4 day that included a run scored and an RBI.
In the circle, Jordy Bahl started and earned the win for the Scarlet. Bahl tossed 4.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. She allowed only a pair of singles while just one ball was hit out of the infield by the 14 batters she faced. Emmerson Cope earned the save in relief, allowing one run on only two hits in 2.0 innings.
Caitlin Olensky started in the circle for the Cream team. She allowed three runs (two earned) in 4.0 innings with one strikeout. Sarah Harness pitched the top of the seventh and allowed one earned run and struck out two in her lone inning.
The Scarlet took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Caneda and Bahl led off with back-to-back singles before a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Caneda then scored the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Peyton Cody.
Bredwell made it 2-0 Scarlet in the bottom of the second inning with a one-out solo home run off the video board in left field. A single from Bella Bacon and an error put runners on first and second but Olensky worked out of the jam with a fly out to left and a line out to third.
Neither team threatened again until the bottom of the fourth when Bredwell doubled with one out and Bacon was hit by a pitch. A two-out throwing error brought Bredwell home and made it 3-0.
The Cream got a run back in the top of the fifth. Cope entered the game in the circle and promptly retired the first two batters she faced before Caitlynn Neal walked, stole second and scored on an RBI single from Felix.
Scarlet matched the run in the bottom of the frame. Bahl reached on an error to begin the frame, moved to second on a single from Cope, advanced to third on a fly out from Cody and scored on a sacrifice fly from Sydney Gray.
Bredwell stretched the Scarlet lead to 5-1 when she led off the bottom of the sixth with her second home run – and third extra-base hit – of the game. Then with one out, Dakota Carter singled and Caneda doubled to put runners at second and third. Bahl then drove in run with an RBI ground out to second that made it 6-1.
In the top of the seventh, Harness struck out the first two batters she faced before Felix doubled, Mckinley Malecha reached on an infield single and Felix scored on the play on a throwing error. Following a walk, Harness then closed out the wind by coaxing a ground out.
Nebraska will host its second public scrimmage on Thursday, Sept. 21. Admission is free into the scrimmage.
