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Tennessee Outlasts Nebraska Softball to Win the Knoxville Super Regional

The Huskers see their season come to an end after back-to-back losses by one run.

Kaleb Henry

Tennessee's Ella Dodge tags out Nebraska's Ava Kuszak at second base Sunday.
Tennessee's Ella Dodge tags out Nebraska's Ava Kuszak at second base Sunday. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nebraska softball finished one win shy of Oklahoma City.

An early home run proved to be the difference in Game Three of the Knoxville Super Regional, where No. 7 national seed Tennessee outlasted Nebraska, 1-0. The Volunteers improve to 45-15 and advance to the Women's College World Series while the Huskers close the season at 43-15.

Tennessee utility Ella Dodge (25) and Tennessee softball head coach Karen Weekly gesture to the outfield to review.
Tennessee utility Ella Dodge and head coach Karen Weekly gesture to the outfield Sunday to review where the ball hit. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just as she did yesterday, Vol Ella Dodge lifted a home run in the opening frame against Husker Jordy Bahl. From there, neither team could find a way to score.

The best chance for either team to add to the scoring came in the top of the fifth inning. Nebraska had runners on second and third with one out. After a strikeout, Ava Bredwell walked to load the bases, but a another strikeout ended the inning just three pitches later. It was the only inning in which Nebraska had a runner past first base.

Bahl pitched every inning of the super regional for the Big Red. On Sunday, she allowed one run on four hits, stirking out four and not issuing any walks.

Nebraska's Jordyn Bahl (98) pitches during a NCAA super regionals softball game.
Nebraska's Jordyn Bahl delivers a pitch during Sunday's game. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the other side, SEC Pitcher of the Year Karlyn Pickens was dominant. Pickens gave up just two hits and walked one, striking out 10 in the win to send her team to Oklahoma City for the second time in three years.

Postgame Notes | Box Score

  • The Huskers moved to 69-58 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and 3-5 in Super Regional matchups.
  • Nebraska notched its eighth top-10 finish in program history, as it ended the season tied for ninth.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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