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The ball sailed not deep into the night, but rather into the front of the center field bleachers.
Ava Kuszak had just smashed a 2-run homer and when she rounded first, finally sure the ball had left the playing confines of Devon Park, the tears of joy began to flow as she broke into the best home run trot ever.
Her teammate, Hannah Coor, who had smacked a game-tying bomb of her own in the bottom of the 8th to keep the Huskers alive, was already on base thanks to a pitch in the ribs, and watching Kuszak’s shot continue to rise and having a similar reaction, if not one as deeply emotional:
“I was standing around second base and right when it hit her bat, I was like, oh my gosh, we just won the frickin’ game.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The game which came to mind before this one was over was a thrilling 9-8 win in 9 innings over Wichita State in the 2023 Stillwater Regional in which they constantly answered the bell until they finally surged past the Shockers in the 9th for a “shocking” victory over their rivals.
Fast forward to May 29th, 2026.
The Razorbacks’ Kailey Wyckoff drew first blood tailing a deep drive to center field to give Arkansas a 2-0 lead over Nebraska. While Wyckoff was making Jordy Frahm look human, starter Robyn Herron was shutting out the Huskers through three innings.
However, Herron, who had struck out 173 batters in 113 innings entering the contest, managed only one on the night in 5 2/3 innings against the pesky Huskers and in the 4th inning, Nebraska would start straightening out its contact. They laced three straight hits, the last a Sammie Bland line drive to right driving in their first run.
Sammie stole second to take the double play off the table before a Bella Bacon grounder got pinch runner Kennadi Williams home, her 14th run of the season coming on in that capacity. Bland was 2-for-4 on the evening and also dazzled the crowd of over 12,600 with her glove, her arm and her range swallowing up everything the Razorbacks hit at her.
As Coach Rhonda Revelle said, “She’s exciting to watch over there defensively, and I thought she came up real big for us offensively tonight as well.” Frahm called out her performance as well post-game. And ESPN agreed throwing Bland in at #10 on their Plays of the Day. The Huskers had evened things at 2-2, a score which would last through regulation.
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Speaking of Frahm, she had battened her hatches retiring 11 straight batters following Wyckoff’s homer. She would hold the Razorbacks scoreless until the 8th inning when Ella McDowell showed Bland was human when she couldn’t quite elevate enough to snag McDowell’s flare single to left giving her squad a 3-2 lead.
However in the bottom half, Coor tied things with the home run I already spoiled at the top for everyone when she tagged Payton Burnham’s first offering deep. The Huskers seemed to be trying jump Arkansas pitches early in the count, and it finally paid off huge when they needed it to work the most.
Both teams went 1-2-3 in the 9th. Arkansas got an infield single in the top of the 10th, but they couldn’t capitalize and it was finally time for Kuszak end things and send a tired crowd home by bashing a 1-0 pitch – going early in the count again.
Kuszak had not been ripping it earlier, going 0-for-4 with a pair of groundouts to the pitcher in her previous at-bats. How did she stay positive and find a confident stroke in such a pressure-filled situation?
“I feel just like (I do) in practice, and even if it doesn’t go well, you keep growing and you keep fighting and just keep making adjustments. Even just after every at bat, I was learning, and I just had to keep telling myself I’m learning, I’m learning, and just focus on my team and what needed to be done, and then continue to go on and just adjust.”
As Billy Beane said in Moneyball, “How can you not be romantic about softball?”
(Of course, he said baseball, but he’d be okay with that slight adjustment.)
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It wasn’t a statistical blow-up night for Jordy, but in a way it still was. Yes, she only went 1-for-5 at the plate to continue a stretch of subpar – for her – performances at the plate. However, she has been smashing some shots foul and right at defenders, and a breakout seems almost inevitable – and at the perfect time.
She earned her 21st win of the season in tossing 10 innings, scattering 8 hits and allowing the 3 runs while striking out 9 and walking only one. Not eye-popping after the 16-strikeout one-hit shutout of Grand Canyon two weekends ago, but did I mention she threw all 10 innings??
Postgame, I asked Revelle if she ever considered perhaps taking Frahm out as the extra innings piled up. The response may have set a personal record for brevity for her in these situations.
”No,“ she said. And smiled at me.
Later in the presser, she elaborated on just what makes Jordy…well…Jordy. “What you see is what you get every day, and so her consistency is contagious. Her consistency is inspiring, because it’s not just consistency, it’s consistency performing an elite level consistently.”
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