Nebraska Softball's Jordy Bahl Fouls Off 79.4 MPH Pitch – A Reaction Time Feat That Defies Logic
The softball world is talking on Saturday night, especially after Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens broke her record by delivering a pitch against Nebraska's Jordy Bahl at 79.4 mph on Saturday night during Game 2 of the Knoxville Super Regional.
While Pickens was quite impressive with her feat, what Bahl did defied logic because she fouled it off.
Karlyn just hit 79.4 on the gun 🔥🔥🔥
— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) May 24, 2025
the new fastest pitch in NCAA Softball history, breaking her own record of 78.2 pic.twitter.com/WuVWJrccdr
Years ago, Sports Science broke down a pitch from Canadian Olympic medalist Danielle Lawrie. The show studied her movement and physiology to determine that the average softball pitcher who starts at a rubber from 43 feet away from home plate, releases the ball just 37 feet from the batter.
From a distance of just 37 feet, a pitch at 79.4 mph is traveling at roughly 116.5 feet per second. That means it reaches the batter in about 0.318 seconds.
Let that sink in – 0.318 seconds. The average time is takes a human to blink can range from 0.1 to 0.4 seconds.
According to a study done by the University of Cambridge, the fastest reaction time recorded was .101. In the Guiness Book of World Records, the fastest response time to a punch is .186.
The average human reaction time is 0.250 seconds and the time is takes to swing a bat is roughy 0.150 seconds.
79.4 mph Pickens breaks her own record
— Sydney Supple (@Sydney_Supple) May 24, 2025
To put it in @HuskerSoftball’s perspective at the plate; an 80mph pitch is 117.33 ft/second which gives the batter standing 40ft from the release point . 341 of a second. 🤯 https://t.co/3ndMqbGlC9
While reacting and swinging overlap, the window for Bahl to process, decide, and act is nearly nonexistent. Yet somehow, she managed to foul it off.
Mathematically, what Bahl did in Nebraska's 3-2 loss bordered on impossible and to the human eye seemed unbelievable.
The two teams will meet again on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET with a berth to the Women's College World Series on the line.
Tennessee Softball's Karlyn Pickens Sets NCAA Record With Fastest Pitch in Softball History-Again
2025 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament: Bracket, Schedule & Updates
Knoxville Super Regional: Schedule & Updates
-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "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 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.