Kuszak Walks Off Arkansas in 10th Inning of Women's College World Series Opener
Huskers.com
Hannah Coor hit a game-tying home run in the eighth inning and
Ava Kuszak knocked a two-run bomb in the bottom of the 10th, and the No. 1 Nebraska softball team defeated the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks at the NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Friday night.
Nebraska is now 52-6 on the season with a 27-game win streak. The 52 wins tie the program record for the most wins in a season. The game marked NU’s first win in the WCWS since 2002 and the first WCWS-opening win since 1987. The Huskers are now 75-58 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Tonight was the Big Red’s second extra-inning game of the season.
Kuszak logged two RBIs while Coor,
Samantha Bland and
Bella Bacon accounted for the other runs batted in. Bland contributed two hits, while
Hannah Camenzind added a double.
Jordy Frahm (21-4) earned the win in the circle, as she threw 133 pitches across all 10 innings and allowed only eight hits and three runs. She struck out nine batters and walked only one.
Arkansas broke open the scoring with a two-run shot in the top of the second inning.
NU struck back and tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, as
Jesse Farrell and
Kacie Hoffmann hit back-to-back singles and Farrell scored on a Bland single.
Kennadi Williams, who pinch ran for Hoffmann, crossed the plate on a Bacon groundout RBI.
The Razorbacks took a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth on an RBI single, but Coor tied it up at 3-3 in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot to center field.
The two teams went scoreless in the ninth before Coor was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the 10th and Kuszak knocked her two-run shot to lock up NU the 5-3 victory.
The Huskers will face the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, May 30 at 6 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised on ESPN and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network or on B107.3 FM.
Postgame Notes
- The win was Nebraska's 27th straight victory, the longest active winning streak in the nation and the longest in program history
- The win was also the Huskers' 52nd win of the year, tying for the most victories in a season in program history
- Nebraska improved to 9-14 all-time at the Women's College World Series and 75-58 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
- The Huskers are 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament this season. The six postseason wins are the most in a single NCAA Tournament in program history
- Nebraska improved to 19-5 when trailing this season, which is the best such record in the nation, according to ESPN.
- NU played its second extra-innings game of the season. The Huskers are 1-1 in extra-inning games this year.
- Nebraska played its sixth extra-inning game at the Women's College World Series and third straight such game. The Huskers are 2-4 in extra-inning games at the WCWS and snapped a four-game losing streak in extra-inning contests at the WCWS.
- The Huskers hit two home runs in extra innings with
Hannah Coor hitting a game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and
Ava Kuszak ending the game with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning.
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Jordy Frahm led off the bottom of the first inning with a single. The base hit extended her streak to 47 consecutive games reaching base safely.
- Frahm pitched a career-high 10.0 innings, eclipsing her previous career high of 9.0 innings last season against South Dakota State
- Arkansas' two runs in the top of the second inning snapped a 29.2-inning scoreless streak for Jordy Frahm at the WCWS, which dated back to the 2022 WCWS when Frahm was at Oklahoma.
- Frahm allowed more than one earned run for just the sixth time in 41 appearances this season. She entered the game with 19 consecutive appearances allowing one earned run or fewer
- All three Arkansas runs in the game were scored with two outs
- The attendance for the night session on Thursday was 12,605, the highest attended WCWS session ever.