Jordy Bahl is a force in the circle and at the plate while leading Nebraska’s NCAA softball run

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It’s not just the dominance she’s shown in the circle, the power she’s flashed at the plate or Nebraska’s run to its first NCAA super regional in more than a decade that told Jordy Bahl she made the right decision to come home after she won two national championships at Oklahoma.

It’s all that and more, like being 45 minutes away from her tight-knit family in Papillion, forging bonds with teammates and representing the state she loves.

“When I see pictures from the heat of the battle,” coach Rhonda Revelle said, “her eyes look happy, and I like that, and I like that for her.”

There’s a lot to be happy about for Bahl and the Cornhuskers (42-13), who open a best-of-three super regional at No. 7 seed Tennessee (43-14) on Friday.

Bahl is the first player to sweep Big Ten pitcher and player of the year honors, a finalist for national player of the year and a first-team All-American for the third time.

She’s 25-6 with a 1.50 ERA and ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight pitching categories. Her 270 strikeouts are a career high.

She’s fifth in the nation with a .475 average and seventh with a school-record 23 home runs. Of her 76 hits, 41 have gone for extra bases.

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She’s the fifth player in NCAA history to record at least 20 pitching wins and 20 homers in the same season.

“I know the Lord is the author of my life,” Bahl said, “and there are just so many surreal moments lately where I just step back and I’m like, ’Wow, I’m so undeserving. Just to be able to experience this and to have these amazing teammates to do it with make it all the sweeter.”

Bahl was the 2021 national high school player of the year at Papillion-La Vista High and passed on an offer from Nebraska to join an Oklahoma program that had, at the time, won five national championships under Patty Gasso.

Two more national titles followed with Bahl going a combined 44-2 with 397 strikeouts and an 0.99 ERA in 288 2/3 innings. Bahl was the most dominant pitcher in the nation when she left OU after the 2023 season. She had just gone through the NCAA Tournament with a 7-0 record and 0.18 ERA. In the WCWS alone, she threw 24 2/3 shutout innings and was voted Most Outstanding Player.

But the pull of home kept tugging at her. She wears her heart on her right bicep, where there’s a tattoo of the outline of the state of Nebraska. She said she felt called to help grow the sport in the state, and the Huskers have drawn their largest crowds over the past two seasons.

This year Bahl has led the teams’ onslaught on school offensive records. The Huskers are just the 11th team in NCAA history to record at least 100 doubles and 100 home runs in a season.

Their momentum carried into the postseason. They’re the first unseeded team to win each of its NCAA regional games by the run rule.

Bahl started all three games in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last week, and allowed one run and two hits with 16 strikeouts over 12 innings. In two games against regional finalist Southeastern Louisiana, she struck out 13 of 29 batters over nine innings.

“Jordy is something fierce in the circle,” Lions coach Rick Fremin said. “We faced her a few years ago. She was tough then and she’s even tougher now in a different uniform.”

Bahl homered in each of her first four at-bats at the regional and finished 5 for 5 with seven walks, eight RBIs and seven runs scored. No pitching strategy worked against her.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s up, down, in, out, hard or soft, it’s going to be tattooed,” Fremin said. “So good luck figuring that out. That’s somebody else’s problem now.”

Bahl’s offensive prowess has been eye-opening. She didn’t get many opportunities at the plate in her two years at Oklahoma. She bats leadoff at Nebraska.

“I could have told you her freshman year in high school she was this kind of offensive player,” Revelle said. “If she never would have pitched, she probably could have been an All-American second baseman with hitting like this, or wherever she played.”

In addition to her 31 starts in the circle, she’s played 13 games at first base, three in center field, two in left and three as the designated player (formerly called the designated hitter).

“A lot of athletes could learn so much from her,” Revelle said. “She is not focused on numbers, accolades. She’s focused on one mission, and it’s helping, doing whatever she can to help the team win, and she’s just talented enough that she can do a lot of things to help the team win.”

Bahl and the Huskers could be a major storyline if they win two more games and advance to the WCWS. They would play Oklahoma in the first round if the Sooners win their home super regional against Alabama.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports