OKLAHOMA CITY — The Thursday nightcap at the Women’s College World Series lived up to the hype.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Ava Kuszak completed Nebraska’s comeback with a two-run home run to centerfield, walking off Arkansas and giving the Huskers a 5-3 win
“I feel like I took a couple steps because it felt good off the bat, but I wasn’t sure,” Kuszak said after the win. “Then I just threw my hands up, hoping it was going out.
SHE’S MADE FOR THE MOMENT.
KUSZIE CALLS GAME. pic.twitter.com/ZPnt9o1BTX
— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) May 29, 2026
“I think the tears came around third, seeing all these girls absolutely screaming. And I was just like, there’s just no way that just happened.”
Kuszak was 0-for-4 before she called game.
“After every at-bat, I was learning,” said Kuszak. “I had to keep telling myself I’m learning, I’m learning, focus on my team and what needed to be done, then continue to go on and just adjust.”
Nebaska was knocking on the door of a walk-off multiple times, but it couldn’t have happened without Hannah Coor, who tied the game on a solo shot to center in the bottom of the eighth. It was her seventh home run of the season.
HANNAH COOR! 😤
NEBRASKA IS ALIVE!
📺 ESPN#B1G x @HuskerSoftball pic.twitter.com/VFPFyZZx1n
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) May 29, 2026
“I couldn’t be more thrilled for her,” said Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle. “This is really, really special for her. Even yesterday, when we got to walk out on the field in the rain, just be a part of the field, I had her lead the way because I thought it was really important that she got to lead the way for this team.”
Sammie Bland also came up huge for the Huskers, playing incredible defense at third base and recording multiple hits at the plate. She finished the game 2-for-4 with a run batted in and was the only Husker to record a multi-hit game.
All @samanthablandd on this one. ❌😤pic.twitter.com/jawfYbTRZ2
— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) May 29, 2026
“Oh, my God,” said Revelle about Bland’s defensive highlights at the hot corner. “Here’s the thing: that is Sammie being Sammie. She is that good all the time. She’s made for these big moments, too. She’s got a champion’s heart. She tends to play her best when the lights are the brightest. She’s exciting to watch over there defensively. I thought she came up real big for us offensively tonight, as well.”
In the circle, it was Jordy Frahm’s game from start to finish. She pitched a complete game on 133 total pitches. She allowed three earned runs on eight hits, a walk, and nine strikeouts.
A dazzling double play ✨#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @HuskerSoftball pic.twitter.com/j1P7nX4HmC
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 29, 2026
Arkansas broke open the scoring with a Kailey Wyckoff two-run shot in the top of the second inning.
NU pushed across two runs in the fourth to tie the game at 2-2 after Jesse Farrell and Kacie Hoffmann hit back-to-back singles. Farrell scored a Bland single to right and Kennadi Willianms, who pinch ran for Hoffmann, scored on a Bella Bacon groundout to second base.
Frahm settled in from the second inning on and didn’t allow another run to score until the eighth when Arkansas took a 3-2 lead.
It didn’t last long thanks to Coor’s game-tying shot in the home half of the inning.
Coor got on base again in the 10th, getting hit by a pitch, moving up to second base and then scoring on the Kuszak homer.
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.
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-inning game of the season. The Huskers are 1-1 in extra innings this year.
- Nebraska played its sixth extra-inning game at the Women’s College World Series and third straight. 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.
- 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 Women’s College World Series, 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 scored with two outs.
- The attendance for the night session on Thursday was 12,605, the highest attended WCWS session ever.
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