Nebraska takes a huge step in WCWS with historic, heroic win over Arkansas

The loser of Thursday night’s Women’s College World Series opener between Nebraska softball and Arkansas faced long odds of coming back to win the national championship.

Only four of the 42 teams that have won the Women’s College World Series were able to do it after a loss in the first game. That stresses the importance of the opener against Arkansas, a game Nebraska softball didn’t lead until a walk-off home run from Ava Kuszak in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving the Huskers their first win at the WCWS in 24 years.

The All-Big Ten shortstop who hit a bomb against UCLA in the Big Ten title game, delivered the biggest moment of her softball career, not long after Hannah Coor, a former Oklahoma Sooner, delivered hers.

Home runs deliver Nebraska softball an epic win

With the Huskers trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, right after Jordy Frahm got out, it seemed like the Huskers’ chances were fading. That is, until Coor stepped to the plate and tied the game with one swing of the bat.

That home run didn’t just tie the score; it swung the pendulum to Nebraska. Jordy Frahm made sure to keep it, retiring the side in the ninth and 10th innings. She showed an outburst of emotion after what ended up as her final strikeout of the night.

After what felt like a runner on base in every inning late, Frohm allowed just one run in the extra frames, and with the score still tied 3-3, Kuszak called the game, hitting a two-run homer she will never forget.

The victory was massive for Nebraska. They advance to the winner’s bracket, where they will play Alabama on Saturday at 7 PM EST on ESPN.

That would send Nebraska into the semifinals unbeaten. That means their opponent would need to beat them twice to knock them out of the championship round. After Frahm went 10 innings, Alexis Jensen is the likely starter against Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed, although a day of rest could be enough for Frahm to start again.

Frahm won her 21st game of the season thanks to 133 pitches, 90 of them going for strikes. She struck out nine, allowed eight hits, and three runs, but delivered when needed, like on a key double-play to get out of a jam.

Coor and Kuszak were heroic at the end, but Frahm deserves a ton of credit, too. Without her gutsy performance against the hottest offense in college softball, the Huskers would be facing very long national title odds.

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