With two down in the bottom of the 7th and one batter standing between Jordy Frahm and a no-hitter, most in attendance were waiting for the strikeout.
It wasn’t overconfidence on the part of Husker fans or doom and gloom from the Badger faithful. It’s just that, especially recently, Frahm has simply made a habit of striking out that last batter. Done and done, yes? Well, maybe not. Alivia Bark took her swing, made contact and sent a two-hopper down the line where Husker 3rd baseman Sammie Bland moved
to backhand it, fire over to first and end things.
And then the second bounce hit the bag and blooped by Bland for a bad-hop single and the end of Frahm’s no-hitter bid.
But no one was complaining about a complete game 2-hit shutout in which Frahm faced only two batters over the minimum and struck out 5, walking no one while grabbing her 11th win of the campaign in a 6-0 victory. She also managed to move through those 7 complete innings while throwing only 79 pitches, a feat which had some folks bringing up the name Greg Maddux, no small compliment.
And let’s talk about those 6 runs.
After struggling for awhile to score Friday night, the Huskers were slow to get started through three innings today, but they burst into the fourth like Southwest passengers bounding into coach in the days of open seating. Former Badger Ava Kuszak lit the match on the inning with a double down the left field line which kickstarted 4 straight Nebraska hits including a Jesse Farrell RBI single and a 2-run Alexis Jensen opposite field home run.
A pitching change was ordered following the Jensen blast and, after a Kacie Hoffman single, the Badgers got two quick outs which didn’t inspire much confidence on the their side as Sam Bland and Lauren Camenzind both ripped screaming liners – right at Bark who was manning third base.
However, with those two outs and a 3-0 lead, Frahm restarted the engine with a double to left putting runners on second and third. Coor then drove them both home with a rip to left and advanced to second on the throw home. Trying to nail the fleet Frahm at the plate cost the Badgers as Hannah Camenzind sent a shot into the same area giving them no chance to throw out Coor at home who had been running on the crack of the bat.
Kuszak popped up to end the inning she began, but the 6 runs were far more than the Huskers and Frahm would need with the gem she threw.
Jordy also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and a triple, the only Husker with multiple hits on the afternoon. One more amazing stat – for the game, she retired four Wisconsin batters on the first pitch of the inning! Add in two others, and it was six total for the game.
And in that 7th inning after losing the no-hitter on two infield hits, she again found herself with a chance to end the game and Wisconsin’s Jackie Showalter at the plate.
Of course, she struck her out.
The final Game in the series will be played at noon CST Sunday. It will again be aired on the B1G+ app broadcast on the Husker Radio Network.
