Frahm strikes out 16 as Nebraska softball knocks off GCU, advances to Regional Final
No. 1 Nebraska softball (48-6) defeated GCU (53-9) on Saturday, 2-0, advancing to Sunday’s Regional Final.
Senior pitcher Jordy Frahm was dominant from the circle, striking out 16 to tie a career high. She allowed just one hit and retired 15 consecutive hitters down the stretch.
“It’s everything you can dream of and more,” Frahm said of her first postseason start at Bowlin Stadium. “It’s an amazing environment and it doesn’t feel real. We just want to keep it going as long as we can.”
The Huskers only tallied four hits as a team, but Hannah Coor‘s fifth-inning RBI triple made the difference. She led the way at the plate with two hits and a stolen base. Nebraska stranded eight runners on base in the win.
“Today there was just never a waiver of doubt,” Frahm said of the close finish. “It’s not always a fun place to be in, but from the player side, it is a really fun place to be in because it creates a lot of fun moments.”
Here is an instant recap from the victory …
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Both offenses stifled early
It was a pitcher’s duel through four innings as both sides combined for just two hits.
Frahm was masterful. She had five strikeouts through two frames, setting the tone for the afternoon.
Even when the Lopes got on base, she had every answer. In the bottom of the second, Addison Shifflett reached second on a fielding error, but Frahm responded with another swinging strikeout.
In the bottom of the third, Frahm gave up a leadoff single, GCU’s first hit of the day. That was the last Lope to reach base. She struck out the next two batters and retired 15 in a row down the stretch.
“She was in good control, but that’s also a really potent offense,” Revelle said. “You’ve seen their numbers and we saw that yesterday.”
Frahm struck out the side in the fourth, boosting her total to 10 on just 52 pitches.
It was much of the same for Nebraska’s bats. In the top of the first, Hannah Coor singled to right and Ava Kuszak walked, but a popup stranded both on base.
GCU right-hander Taryn Batterton gave Nebraska’s offense fits early, particularly with her off-speed pitches.
With two outs and one on base in the top of the third, Hannah Camenzind smacked a ground ball down the third baseline. But GCU third baseman Ellie Pond made a great snag and threw to first just in time. The Huskers had just one hit through four innings and stranded four on base.
Huskers break through in the fifth
Nebraska’s bats finally came alive in the fifth frame. Bella Bacon earned a leadoff walk before two straight outs threatened to strand another runner.
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Hannah Coor was having none of it. She drilled an RBI triple down the right-field line that barely stayed fair. Frahm scored from first to break the stalemate.
“Once [Frahm] is out there, she’s fast,” Coor said. “Just really putting the ball somewhere where she can get rolling and scoring.”
Hannah Camenzind hit a ground ball to short and a throwing error allowed Coor to plate another run. Camenzind was caught in a pickle and tagged out, but the damage was done.
“Sometimes you’re going to score early, sometimes you’re going to score in the middle, sometimes you’re going to score late,” Revelle said. “It really doesn’t matter when you score, it just matters that you do.”
Frahm responded with two more strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth as Nebraska took full control. She finished with 16 on 86 pitches.
Those two runs proved to be all the Huskers needed to win 2-0 and advance to the Regional Final.
Hitting struggles with runners on base
Overshadowed by Frahm’s monster day was Nebraska’s poor outing at the plate.
The Husker bats were just 4-of-24 (.167) on the afternoon, with two of those hits coming from Coor alone. They particularly struggled with runners on base, hitting just 2-of-15, and with runners in scoring position (1-of-6).
With a chance to add insurance runs in the top of the seventh, Nebraska left the bases loaded. Revelle’s squad finished 5-of-16 (.313) on advancement opportunities.
In Friday’s win over South Dakota, the Huskers had no hits until the fifth inning. On Saturday, they managed just one through four frames. GCU was a formidable opponent, finishing in the top-25 according to multiple ranking sites, but moving forward, Nebraska can’t solely rely on Frahm’s arm.
“I think just mentally it has us exactly right where we want to be moving forward,” Frahm said. “We have not been able to take a pitch off, so it’s been really fun.”
