Nebraska Athletics
I woke up this morning knowing I’ve got breakfast sitting in the hotel fridge, so I have that going for me. I didn’t realize I was buying breakfast when I sat down for lunch yesterday at Granny’s Kitchen. Then my friendly waitress brought me a chicken fried steak roughly the size of my keyboard. I took one look at it and said she could go ahead bring a to-go box at her convenience earning a laugh and a hearty, “You got it, honey.”
Of course, Granny’s is a place where everyone is “honey”.
Andy Ketterson
Granny’s sells t-shirts, several of which are completely off the chain featuring plenty of colors, including tie-dye, and showing Granny immersed in such activities as calf-roping, firing automatic weapons while extolling her 2nd Amendment rights and cracking the whip in full Indiana Jones regalia. Her dress ranges from Indy’s leather jacket to multiple options in Daisy Dukes and a few other choices in between.
I’ll be making a purchase before leaving town.
And when will that be? Anytime between Monday and Friday, because the Huskers got their first loss which means they are standing on that elimination cliff. The road to a title now requires a victory over Texas today followed by wins in back-to-back games vs. Tennessee on Monday night to make the final. This will get them a spot in the championship against the survivor of Bama, UCLA and Texas Tech.
WCWS vs. Texas – THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
It’s time to face a hard fact – Jordy Frahm is operating at below Jordy Frahm levels both in the circle in OKC and in the batter’s box since the regular season ended and the stats back up what we’ve been seeing with our eyes. And, of course the expectations are insane.The Alabama game made it look obvious, but the Arkansas game was not a dominant performance either. Frahm was a warrior out there throwing 10 innings and still got big outs when she had to. But her 12 innings so far come with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.417 WHIP compared to 1.14 and 0.852 respectively going into the tournament. Granted, this is the WCWS, but thus far she is below her previous standard even at this level. That being said, she was dominant through the the Big 10 Tourney and both rounds of regionals, so a bounce-back is very possible and even expected.Revelle removing her after 2 innings is reminiscent of Tennessee’s Karen Weekly pulling Karlyn Pickens in Game 1 of last year’s Super Regional. I think we all remember how she bounced back.Hitting is more of a concern. Against Penn State in the season’s final series, Frahm was 6-for-12 with a pair of homers. She has not gone deep since then, almost a month ago. In fact, she is 7-for-32, a .219 batting average. She has still drawn walks for an OB% of .342, but these are still well below her regular season averages of .416 and .511.The rest of the order has pulled together to squeeze out enough runs to win the regional then smash Ruby Meylan twice in the Super Regional. But at this point against this competition, it’s tough to imagine the Huskers making a big run on the brink unless Jordy can return to her norm at the plate.Her conditioning is unquestionably next-level as is her ability to rise to the big moments again and again, so it’s ridiculous to think she can’t do it one more time. And the best bet would be not to fiddle with the order. Push the chips in on Frahm rising one last time. If it doesn’t happen, at least we were playing to win.With only an 18-hour turnaround, she will get her first chance against the Longhorns’ Teagan Kavan. Kavan is very, very good but not unhittable. She had a day off before today, but Jordy had one before Alabama. And Kavan has been operating all year with little help – will she hold up in the 98 degree heat?And that being said, Jordy has had help in the form of 3rd-team All-American Alexis Jensen. In Game 1, Revelle stuck with Frahm through 10 innings – should she have? When I asked if she ever considered pulling Frahm, Revelle simply said “No” and smiled. After the second game, I asked her what went into thought processes in selecting the starter against Alabama. Revelle basically read me Frahm’s resume by memory while I was looking to hear if she weighed that resume against fresher Jensen – not 20/20 hindsight, just what the process was pre-game.For the record, even though I might question it in the aftermath, I was 100% with her on both decisions – leave Jordy in against the Hogs and start her against Bama.Now? Jensen’s performance against the Tide has convinced me she’s ready for these moments and Revelle certainly seemed happy with her as well and I expect to see them both throwing in most or all of the remaining games and having an advantage on opponents because of that. And if Jordy can find her batting eye again, then believe that anything is possible.
Schedule: (All times CST)
May 31 vs #2-seed Texas 2:00 p.m.
Location: Devon Park, Oklahoma City, OK
Surface: Dirt Infield, Grass outfield
TV/Streaming: Game will be broadcast on ABC.
Radio: Huskers Radio Network. You can listen for free at Husker Audio – University of Nebraska – Official Athletics Website huskers.com – Nate Rohr is on the call for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Weather: Conditions should be sunny with temps around 94 at first pitch and rising to the of around 98 by game’s end. Winds will again be around 15-20mph out of the south with gusts up to 25 or more. There is a very slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm or showers.
Texas (48-12, 16-8 SEC, 4th place – 3-way tie)
Texas finished the regular season in 4th place in the SEC standings. The Longhorns posted a 16-8 mark in SEC play and came into this weekend at 47-11. Texas played a solid non-conference schedule with its highlight being the split with the Huskers in February.
Offensively, Texas is batting .337 with 93 HR’s and has serious speed with 81 steals. They average 7.1 runs per game. The pitching staff has an ERA of 2.50, a WHIP of 1.177 and lean almost exclusively on Teagan Kavan. That being said, the rest of the staff is solid, and has quality options should Kavan run into trouble.
Mike White was hired in 2018 after building Oregon into a national power. He is 316-93-2 at Texas and is 752-204-4 over 18 seasons. He has won one national title (2025), and made three WCWS appearances at Texas.
Katie Stewart (.425 – 27 – 72 – 1.519OPS) and Kayden Henry (.412 – 9 – 48 – 28 SB’s – 1.158OPS) lead the Texas offensive attack. Stewart is especially feared having drawn 44 walks for an OB% of a staggering .555.
In the circle, it begins and ends with Teagan Kavan (25-6 2.45). She struck out 235 and issued 57 BB’s in 205.1 innings.
Jun 6, 2025; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Texas Longhorns utility Katie Stewart (20) hits a single in the first inning against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during game three of the NCAA Softball Women’s College World Series finals at Devon Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images Brett Rojo-Imagn Images
HUSKERS LINEUPS (Best Guess)
LF/DP #9 HANNAH CAMENZIND
1B/DP #3 BELLA BACON/#99 ALEXIS JENSEN
1B #3 BELLA BACON (When Jordy pitches)
LF #27 NATALIA HILL (defensive only)
When no one hits, there’s not really any need for changes, and Hannah Camenzind isn’t going anywhere but her #3 spot after the deep ball.
In the circle, Jordy should get her third straight start after only working two innings last night, but look for Revelle to be quicker and more confident to turn to Jensen after her four strong innings against Bama – barring low-pitch dominance by Jordy, we will see both.
Andy Ketterson