(Photo Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics)
Houston – Emily Lockman tossed her second straight shutout to lead the eighth-ranked Nebraska softball team to a 2-0 victory over Sam Houston State on Saturday.
Lockman, a sophomore right-hander from Corona, Calif., picked up her third shutout overall in four starts this season. She stretched her scoreless streak to 19.1 innings while improving to 3-1 on the year. In a four-hit effort, Lockman allowed only four base runners, and the Bearkats got only one runner to third base in the game.
Offensively, freshman MJ Knighten went 2-for-3 and scored one of Nebraska’s two runs. Sophomore Hailey Decker was 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. The Huskers (6-2), produced seven hits in the victory. Senior Taylor Edwards singled to extend her hitting streak to 11 games, dating back to the 2013 season.
After stranding a leadoff runner in each of the first three innings, the Huskers finally converted in the bottom of the fourth. Decker began the frame with a double and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt from freshman Austen Urness. Junior Mattie Fowler then lined an RBI single to right field to give Nebraska a 1-0 lead.
Sam Houston State got its first runner to second base in the top of the fifth, when the Bearkats had runners at first and second with one out. But Lockman retired the next two hitters to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the frame, Knighten led off an inning with a single for the second time in the game. Sophomore Kiki Stokes followed with an infield single before Taylor Edwards walked with one out to load the bases. Decker then doubled Nebraska’s lead with a sacrifice fly to right that brought Knighten home with the Huskers’ second run.
Haley Baros (0-1) took the loss for Sam Houston State, which fell to 1-3 on the year. Baros allowed two runs on six hits in 5.0 innings.
Nebraska wraps up play at the Hilton Houst Plaza Classic on Sunday at 9 a.m. with a rematch against Sam Houston State.
