For the first time since 2013, the Nebraska softball team is headed to the College World Series.
The Huskers broke open a close game Saturday with a seven-run fifth inning to cruise to a 9-1 win, sweeping their first-ever home super regional over Oklahoma State.
Freshman Alexis Jensen pitched four strong innings, giving up just one run on two hits. The offense, meanwhile, got off to a quiet start, falling behind 1-0 after the first two innings.
But it got going with two runs in the third, and then exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning, six of them coming after the Huskers chased OSU pitcher and Nebraska native Ruby Meylan from the game.
Senior All-American Jordy Frahm relieved Jensen in the fifth, pitching a scoreless inning to give the Huskers the five-inning, run rule victory.
Senior Hannah Coor, who like Frahm transferred to Nebraska after winning multiple national championships at Oklahoma, had three hits, including a home run, and two runs batted in to lead the Huskers. She also made a diving catch in centerfield in the fourth inning to prevent an extra-base hit. Fellow senior Lauren Camenzind went 1-for-3, with a home run and three RBIs.
Nebraska (51-6) now heads to Oklahoma City, where it will play either Arkansas and Duke. It will be the Huskers’ eighth trip to the Women’s College World Series, which starts Thursday.
“I’m just so happy to be here and celebrate with this team,” Coor said in a post-game interview with ESPN. “We have worked so, so hard for this moment.”
