OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Ava Kuszak hit a walk-off two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning and Jordy Frahm pitched a complete game as Nebraska outlasted Arkansas 5-3 on Thursday in the nightcap of the opening round of the Women's College World Series.
No. 4 seed Nebraska (52-6) extended its winning streak to 27 and will play top-seeded Alabama on Saturday. No. 5 seed Arkansas (47-12), playing in its first WCWS, will play an elimination game against eighth-seeded UCLA on Friday.
Hannah Coor, who hit tying solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, was hit by a Robyn Herron pitch with one out. Kuszak followed with her 15th homer. It was the first two-out hit by the Cornhuskers.
Frahm allowed three runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts in a career-high 10 innings. She threw a career-best 133 pitches. Frahm won two championships pitching for Oklahoma before transferring home to Nebraska after the 2023 season. She went 44-2 with a 0.99 ERA in the two title runs.
Kennedy Miller singled leading off the eighth before scoring on a base hit by Ella McDowell to put the Razorbacks in front 3-2. Coor homered off Payton Burnham with one out to tie it.
Dakota Kennedy singled leading off the second and Kailey Wyckoff followed with a two-out homer — her eighth — to put Arkansas ahead 2-0. It was just the second home run surrendered by Frahm in 10 WCWS appearances and snapped a 28-inning scoreless streak in the event.
Herron left in favor of Payton Burnham with one out and runners on the corners in the fourth. Samantha Bland greeted Burnham with an RBI single and Bella Bacon's RBI groundout tied it 2-2.
Herron (16-7) allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Burnham surrendered one run on three hits in four innings.
It was Nebraska's first walk-off win at the WCWS since 1982 and their first victory at the event in 24 years. The Cornhuskers put an end to a 13-year drought with their eighth overall appearance.
Arkansas run-ruled its first five opponents in the tournament, outscoring them 51-10.
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Redwood Symphony presents a unique, must-see musical event: the West Coast premiere of long-… Read moreA Little Night Music
Come and connect with local organizations, learn about support for housing, food, youth serv… Read moreOur Home San Mateo community resource fair
Amy Sousa, a women's rights activist and psychologist, Keith Lierre, founder of Women's Libe… Read moreTalk at RWC Library - The transgender assault on Women and Girls
Connie Weiss said:
Thomas Morgan said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.