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Nebraska's Mary Nutter Performance Left Softball America Unimpressed

According to the online publication, Nebraska's stock dropped after losing to Duke.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Nebraska softball's Ava Bredwell stands on third base during a game at the Mary Nutter Classic.
Nebraska softball's Ava Bredwell stands on third base during a game at the Mary Nutter Classic. | Nebraska Athletics

While the No. 16 Nebraska Cornhuskers came away with a 4-2 record at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., over the weekend, one softball insider was left unimpressed by their performance.

Each week, Brady Vernon releases his Stock Up/Stock Down column and Nebraska's stock was down this week.

"When Jordy Bahl is in the circle, Nebraska can beat anyone," Vernon writes. "But she can’t do it all herself. The Duke game basically laid that out. Bahl had the team’s only two hits against Curd through four innings, and oh, she literally had a no-hitter after seven innings. If Nebraska had scored one run it would’ve been a memorable outing for Bahl but instead, it goes down in the record book as a loss.

"Bahl can carry much of the work in Big Ten series and the big non-conference games. However to make a deep postseason run they need a little more from the other arms. Hannah Camenzind pitched fine against UCLA. Kylee Magee’s innings have been a bit disastrous. The Cornhuskers also didn’t have Ava Kuszak this week, who was in concussion protocol. However, when another bat needed to step up in her absence, it didn’t happen."

Vernon is right about the Duke game. The Huskers were presented with several opportunities to steal a win but it didn't happen. However, that same Duke team beat UCLA 1-0.

It's also important to remember that Magee is still recovering from an injury that prevented her from pitching against live batters until a month before the season starter. Her potential is there, and she could return to form in time for conference play.

When it comes to the UCLA game, the Huskers shouldn't hang their heads about it. The Bruins beat Arkansas by the same score and the Razorbacks were ranked in the top 10.

Nebraska won the four games they needed to win which is already a different story than last year. Losing to Duke and UCLA doesn't really hurt them because both teams are going to be in the top 10 for most, if not all, of the season.

As of now, the Huskers will have to lean on Hannah Camenzind as their No. 2 while Magee continues to get better.

Another big test is around the corner as the Huskers travel to Wichita this weekend for games against South Dakota State, Oklahoma State, Wichita State, and Missouri.

The Huskers will open competition at 10 a.m. CST on Friday. The game is free to listen to on the Huskers Radio Network.

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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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