Caitlynn Neal has hit home runs before, including her first as a Husker earlier this season against Creighton.
The sophomore outfielder will not forget her second college long ball.
Neal swung at a pitch low and in, sending it toward the Alex Gordon Complex beyond right field for a grand slam in the first game of a doubleheader against Iowa on Tuesday at Bowlin Stadium.
The slam ignited an 11-run inning for the Huskers, who won 14-1 in five innings. Neal's homer also came on her late father's birthday. Larry Neal abruptly passed away last fall and his daughter told her team that she was playing for him Tuesday.
When she rounded first base, Neal pointed to the sky.
"I don't know if that there was a dry eye in that dugout because we're all very aware that this is her father's birthday," NU coach Rhonda Revelle said after the Huskers swept the doubleheader, winning the second game 8-3 after it was called off after five innings because of storms. "Even before the game, it's like, 'Is it going to be too hard to play today?' (She goes) 'No, I'm playing for him.'"
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Neal did not do any interviews after the games. It was going to be too hard to talk about it, Revelle said.
💥 GRAAAAND SLAAAAM 💥 blasts one over the right field fence! Huskers lead 7-0!
— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball)
Neal's father was her coach, so the two were bonded very closely by softball. When Larry passed away, about a dozen Husker players and parents made the trip to Arizona, Neal's home state, for the memorial service.
"It's just a really tough situation, but like her mom said, we wouldn't want her to be anyplace else, because she's with her best friends and we're all trying to take care of her and keep her circled," Revelle said.
Neal's home run Tuesday gave the Huskers another feel-good moment during a win streak that has reached 15 games. It's the Huskers' longest win streak since a run of 23 straight in 2002.
Nebraska (30-9) remains unbeaten in Big Ten play at 10-0, and it was the offense stepping up against the Hawkeyes. At one point, the Huskers were a combined 11-for-18 with runners in scoring position between the two games.
In the first game, the Huskers sent 15 batters to the plate in the 11-run third inning against three pitchers for Iowa (18-20, 1-10 Big Ten) as they turned a 3-0 lead into 14-0. It started with Neal's grand slam and ended with Ava Bredwell clearing the bases with a triple.
By the end of the third inning, every Husker in the starting lineup had at least two hits. All 14 Husker runs came with two outs.
The offense carried over into the second game. Nebraska cranked out 12 hits and scored two runs in the first, two in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth. Billie Andrews crushed her 18th homer of the year, a two-run shot, to right center, and Brooke Andrews also homered.
"What I was really proud of today is that (Iowa) made quite a few pitching changes and we were able to make adjustments really quick," Revelle said. "We were playing today with a real sense of urgency offensively."
That's because the Huskers were without senior pitcher Olivia Ferrell, who is dealing with a left wrist injury. Senior Courtney Wallace, who is dealing with a rolled ankle, and sophomore Kaylin Kinney combined to hold down the Iowa bats, with Wallace (13-5) earning both wins.
The second game reached the midway point of the sixth inning before a lightning delay stopped play shortly before 7 p.m. Iowa had battled back to within 8-6 after trailing 8-3, but once the storms rolled in, the field was unplayable and it went down as an official 8-3 win for the Huskers. The score reverted back to 8-3 since the teams did not play a complete sixth inning.
Before the storms, the Hawkeyes and Huskers battled winds that reached 38 mph with gusts well over 50 mph.
Even at 15 wins in a row, the Huskers will continue with a one-game-at-a-time approach, Revelle said. Up next is a three-game home series against Minnesota beginning Friday.
"I love that our fans are excited, love that there's hype going on," Revelle said. "It's real fun to see that again. But we know that we've got to be the ones that need to perform, so we need to stay focused on the process."