COLUMBIA - Doing things the hard way was just fine for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
After dropping their first game of the Columbia Regional in the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, falling 3-1 to Kansas, the Huskers faced an elimination game every step of the way after that.
It didn't matter.
Nebraska won two games Saturday night, beating Bradley 9-0 in five innings and topping Kansas 2-1.
That brought up the championship scenario Sunday against the host Missouri Tigers, with the Huskers needing to beat the Tigers twice to win the title.
They did just that, beating the nation's 15th-ranked team 11-4 in the first game and 8-1 in the second to claim the crown.
"I am extremely proud of our team and the way we played softball the past two days," Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle said. "We had our backs against the wall after Friday and we didn't particularly play well then. We got beat by the changeup pretty handedly on Friday, but we did a better job of handling those changeups the rest of the weekend.
"I'm just very pleased with our offense, our defense, and our pitching. I thought we had some very clutch hits today."
Most of those clutch hits were of the four-base variety, as the Huskers hit seven home runs on the day.
In the opener, Hailey Decker hit a two-run home run in the first inning and added another two-run shot in the bottom of the third. Decker, who had two more in the second game for four on the day, entered Sunday with 10 for the season.
"I've never hit that many home runs in a day before," Decker said. "I just went up there and after the back-to-back home runs in the first game, I got over-amped and ended up getting myself out, so in the second game I tried to focus on hitting line drives and they just happened to go out."
The Huskers used a seven-run third inning to break the game open against the Tigers, who were without No. 1 pitcher Tori Finucane (21-6), as she was sidelined with a sprained thumb.
Alora Marble (Blair Oaks High School) took the loss for Missouri, dropping to 7-2 on the season. She gave up 11 earned runs on 13 hits and two walks, striking out one.
Angela Randazzo went 3-for-4 with three RBI for Missouri. Mackenzie Sykes drove in the other run, while Emily Crane chipped in with a pair of hits.
The second game started much the same way as the first, with Decker smacking a two-run homer in the first inning. Nebraska never trailed the rest of the way.
Kelsea Roth had two hits and one RBI for the Tigers, Taylor Gadbois had three hits and Corrin Genovese added two.
Casey Stangel took the loss (15-10) took the loss, throwing an eight-hitter. Five of the runs were earned and she walked three while striking out five.
Revelle said the Huskers took advantage of the Tigers being without Finucane.
"It's huge. It's a huge difference," she said. "Pitching is No. 1 in this game. I'll give it to both of their pitchers, Casey in particular. They did a great job and they took on a responsibility that they weren't used to taking on this year."
Nebraska (44-16) moves on to play No. 2 overall seed Alabama in a best-of-three Super Regional series at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Missouri, which ends the season at 43-18, will lose just two seniors in Marble and Sykes. Sykes was the last remaining member of a Missouri team that appeared in the College World Series.
"This isn't where you want to end of course, but hats off to Nebraska as they were the better team today," she said. "This wasn't our end goal as a team by any stretch of the imagination. There's a lot of talent coming back next season. It's a great group of girls and awesome group of coaches. They'll be back."