(Due to the doubleheader falling in the same time as the weekly softball podcast, the recap will be abbreviated.)

Bella Bacon may have gotten the high fives – very well-deserved, I might add – after a clutch 2-out double in the bottom of the eighth inning brought home Sammie Bland with the only run of the first game and a 1-0 Huskers win.

However, on a night where Husker bats were mostly silenced by Iowa’s Jalen Adams, it was Kaylin Kinney who matched Adams inning after inning to thwart the Hawkeye’s upset bid by scattering 6 hits and two walks over an 8-inning shutout of Iowa. Iowa threatened a few times, but Kinney always left them stranded, most notably in the 3rd and 6th innings where she fired strikeouts both times with runners on the corners to end things.

Finally in the 8th, the Huskers bats found their flame. Bland reached on an infield single and Sydney Gray laced one into left to put Sammie in scoring position. Two fly outs followed, but then up came Bacon, the Omaha native and Millard West grad who transferred back to her home state from Purdue with possibly her biggest hit of the year.

The Huskers had their first win of the day, but the stress levels weren’t coming down.

In Game 2, the Huskers appeared to have things well in hand after a 4-run 3rd inning highlighted by a Billie Andrews 2-run double. This was followed by Billie and Bland scoring on wild pitches.

Then, trailing 4-0, Iowa center fielder, Grace Banes – a .231 hitter with only 4 extra base hits on the season (all doubles) – decided to have the game of her life and try to steal one for Iowa all by her lonesome.

First, she drove one over the fence in left center, a solo shot which put Iowa on the board for the first time all day. Iowa scored 2 more in the 5th to cut the deficit to 1, but the Huskers answered with a run of their own when Peyton Cody knocked in Bland who was 1-2 and also walked twice. The lead was back up to 5-3.

The in the top of the 7th, up came Banes again after the first two Iowa batters reached by single and walk. After running the count to 1-2 and fouling off a couple of pitches, Banes turned on the next one and sent her second home run of the game – and season – out to left and suddenly Iowa was up 6-5 and disaster loomed for Nebraska.

With a victory now in play, Iowa went back to their ace Adams to try and nail down a critical upset against their rival. But this time, it wasn’t going to take 8 innings to get to her.

With one out, Peyton Cody walked, but Game 1’s hero Bacon popped up to short. Up came Ava Bredwell who was 0-6 on the day thus far. Apparently, it just meant she was due. After fouling a few pitches off and taking a ball, Bredwell calmly swatted the 1-2 pitch over the left field fence for the second walk-off of the day, a 7-6 win and the sweep.

Advertisement

Dillon Galloway

Advertisement

The Huskers return to action against 1st place Northwestern at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln at 5:30 on Friday evening.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Iowa Hawkeyes

NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark is still picking up trophies.

The Iowa basketball star who was recently the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft won the James E. Sullivan Award for the second straight year Tuesday night.

Clark is the first two-time winner in the award’s 94-year history. It goes to the nation’s most outstanding athlete at the college or Olympic level. Her high school coach, Kristin Meyer, accepted the award on her behalf at the New York Athletic Club. Clark gave her acceptance speech via Zoom.

Voting by the public, the AAU Sullivan Award committee, AAU board of directors, sports media and previous winners decided the winner.

The other finalists were Olympic wrestler David Taylor, Olympic speed skater Emery Lehman, gymnast Frederick Richard, Texas volleyball player Madisen Skinner and Paralympic swimmer Noah Jaffe.

The award also honors leadership, citizenship, character and sportsmanship on and off the playing field.

“The AAU Sullivan Award is an incredible honor,” Clark said via Zoom. “I have been inspired by so many athletes that came before me and I hope I can be that same inspiration for the next generation to follow their dreams.”

She’s been the main driver for the dramatic uptick in women’s basketball interest with her mix of deep 3-point shots, flashy thread-the-needle passes and overall court presence. A women’s basketball-record 18.9 million viewers watched Iowa’s loss to South Carolina in the NCAA title game, and a WNBA-record 2.45 million watched the draft.

T.J. Otzelberger’s recruiting for next season just might be over – with Joshua Jefferson of St. Mary’s committing to what could be another high-level Iowa State men’s basketball team.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder who averaged 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds during 26 starts before a knee injury sidelined him the final month of the season, announced Tuesday on social media he’s joining the Cyclones. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Jefferson is Iowa State’s 12^th scholarship player for the 2024-25 season, one below what the NCAA allows, which isn’t uncommon for Otzelberger. He’s been known to keep at least one scholarship open – just in case there’s a late, offseason need.

If that’s the case, the 12 players on scholarship include six returnees, two true freshmen and four transfers.

Jefferson’s commitment is expected to help offset the departures of bigs Rob Jones, Hason Ward, Tre King and Omaha Biliew.

Jefferson is a defensive specialist, which plays perfectly into what has been Iowa State’s identity under Otzelberger. He also visited Virginia and TCU. His highlights before suffering the knee injury were four double-doubles, including a 16-point, 11-rebound effort during a victory against Gonzaga.

Here’s what Iowa State’s roster looks like, after Jefferson’s commitment:

Transfers (four): Brandon Chattfield, 6-10 forward, from Seattle; Nate Heise, 6-5 guard from Northern Iowa; Dishon Jackson, 6-11 center from Charlotte, and Jefferson, 6-8 from St. Mary’s.

Freshmen recruits (two): Nojus Indrusaitis, guard; Dwayne Pierce, forward. 

Returnees (six): Tamin Lipsey, guard; Demarion Watson, wing; Curtis Jones, guard; Keshon Gilbert, guard; Milan Momcilovic, forward, J.T. Rock, center.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 52nd year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts