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Nebraska Softball Edges Michigan Behind Emmerson Cope’s Big Home Run

The Huskers will play the Indiana Hoosiers in the semifinals on Friday.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Emmerson Cope hit a home run in the 2026 Big Ten Tournament against Michigan on Thursday, May 6.
Emmerson Cope hit a home run in the 2026 Big Ten Tournament against Michigan on Thursday, May 6. | Amarillo Mullen

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Nebraska CornhuskersNebraska CornhuskersMichigan WolverinesMichigan Wolverines

It was not pretty, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers found a way to win against the Michigan Wolverines on Thursday at the 2026 Big Ten Tournament in College Park, Md.

Emmerson Cope delivered in a big way, securing the 4-2 win with a solo home run in the fourth inning. She finished the day 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Samantha Bland also contributed with two hits.

Jordy Frahm got the nod in the circle and kept the Wolverines off-balance, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits and four walks in a complete game effort. She struck out nine.

Gabby Ellis was handed the loss for Michigan after giving up four runs, all earned, on six hits and three walks across 3.2 innings. Erin Hoehn pitched the other 2.1 innings and allowed only three hits.

In a contest that didn't see a single Husker strikeout, the Nebraska offense struggled to score after a three-run first inning.

Michigan was aggressive early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first. The first three batters reached before an out was recorded and then Frahm sent the next three down in order.

Frahm led off the home half of the first with a 10-pitch walk, Hannah Coor followed with a single to right field, and Hannah Camenzind singled to the right side to score Frahm and tie the game at 1-1.

Ava Kuszak bunted, scoring Coor and then Jesse Farrell reached and drove in a run on a fielder's choice to give NU a 3-1 lead.

Neither team scored again until the fourth, when the Nebraska defense committed a couple of errors. With two runners on, Hoehn hit a bloop to shallow center that bounced off the tip of second baseman Lauren Camenzind's glove to pull Michigan within one.

However, Cope answered for the Huskers in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot to the parking lot in left center to give NU a 4-2 lead.

Nebraska threatened to add more in the bottom of the sixth when Coor was robbed of a three-run home run by Michigan centerfielder Jenissa Conway.

With the win, the Huskers advanced to their fifth-straight semifinal appearance and will face a new opponent this season in the fourth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers.

First pitch is set for Friday at 4 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Alexis Jensen Named Top 10 Finalist for National Award

While competiting in the Big Ten Tournament, the Huskers received some exciting news as freshman pitcher Alexis Jensen was named a top 10 finalist for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year award.

The list was narrowed down from the original top 25, which was announced on April 23. 

Jensen is 21-2 in the circle with a 2.72 ERA. She has struck out 185 batters while allowing only 31 walks and ranks in the top 15 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (fifth), strikeouts per seven innings (seventh), wins (ninth) and strikeouts (14th). 

At the plate, she is batting .333 with six homer runs, four doubles, and 17 RBIs.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 and spent the 2023 season covering Husker Softball for Hail Varsity. In addition to All Huskers, she is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Sports Report.

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