OKLAHOMA CITY — A dream day of historic proportions swiftly slid into a career-ending heartbreaker for Jordy Frahm.
What would have been the seventh perfect game in Women’s College World Series history evaporated in the fifth on a full-count walk. But for 5 1/2 innings, Frahm held the proud distinction of both a no-hitter and the game’s only run to her name when she took the third pitch of the game over the left field wall.
It would have been legendary for the dual threat who returned home to represent the program she dreamed of joining as a child. A chapter in a fairytale to keep her and the Cornhuskers’ hopes of a first national championship in softball alive.
Fairytales are fictional stories of magic and fantasies told to children at bedtime. Reality always cuts through.
Frahm gave up back-to-back singles and a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning that lifted Texas over Nebraska 3-1 in the elimination game at Devon Park on Sunday. The loss ended Nebraska’s first appearance in the WCWS since 2013, and was the final game of Frahm’s illustrious career.
“God’s fingerprints were all over this team, all over my story, all over my career,” Frahm said. “I do truly believe that the way today ended is a part of that story, as well.”
The senior righty and one of the biggest names in the sport threw a gutsy 10-inning gem in the Huskers’ first game of the series, but walked her first batter against Alabama on Saturday night. She hit the second and nearly escaped the jam with two strikeouts, but gave up a home run shot to Marlie Giles on the first pitch that sent the Huskers into scramble mode. She wasn’t able to get anything going at the plate, either, as Alabama’s Jocelyn Briski snapped Frahm’s 47-game streak of reaching base safely.
After the Alabama loss, Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle said she hoped Frahm would be able to get good sleep, knowing she cares so deeply. Revelle spoke with her later that night, but didn’t ask on Sunday morning if she slept.
The ball was going to her either way. It felt like a moment for Frahm to carry, win or lose, given her résumé and meaning to this group of women.
“She’s an ultimate competitor,” Revelle said. “She’s an ultimate teammate. She is so proud to wear this jersey. You put those three things together and you’re going to get a performance like that.”
Frahm showed immediately it was a different day. Her first-inning blast was her 20th of the season, and it came off reigning WCWS Most Outstanding Player Teagan Kavan. She became the first player in NCAA DI history with at least 20 wins in the circle and 20 home runs at the plate in back-to-back seasons.
As a junior at Nebraska, she went 26-8 with a 1.56 ERA while batting a team-best .462 with 23 home runs. She was even better in her final go-around, entering her last game with a 1.19 ERA and 21-4 record in the circle. At the plate, she hit .411 with her 20th blast serving as the final hit of her career.
“Frahm is a true warrior,” Texas head coach Mike White said. “I was hoping the game wouldn’t rest on just one hit, one home run.”
While Frahm was stifling the Longhorns, Kavan settled in herself. She didn’t allow another hit until the fourth, then stranded two runners in the fifth. It was a classic pitcher’s duel in a line of them as the tournament goes deeper.
“The fact that that was a 1-0 ballgame with two teams that have had almost a hundred home runs, it says a lot,” Revelle said.
That is, until Texas took its third time around the order and began to hunt pitches on Frahm, who they saw earlier in the season, in the bottom of the sixth. Jaycie Nichols, hitting in the nine-hole with one out, took a pitch foul by a couple of feet in the outfield. She kept the next one in by a dozen feet.
Lead-off batter Kayden Henry hit one through the right side, and tensions rose. Frahm is one of the best at leaving runners on base, but left one for Katie Stewart to put in left field.
“As a pitcher, you put in a ton of work to execute the perfect pitch every single time,” Frahm said. “That just doesn’t happen, unfortunately. They definitely got some momentum, put some good swings on tough pitches. Ultimately one of their most clutch hitters blew it open.”
Frahm, who changed her name from Bahl after marrying in the offseason, won two national championships with Oklahoma before transferring to Nebraska. Though she always wanted to play for the home program, she and many other homegrown Husker seniors on this year’s roster went elsewhere after Revelle was placed on paid leave in 2019 amid player complaints about her. She was reinstated after an internal investigation.
“It’s like their love never wavered, it never left, and they came back and they were so committed,” Revelle said. “The commitment, the commitment of native Nebraskans and others, to know what they’ve known about this program for so many years. They’re like, ‘We’re going to restore it.’”
It started with Frahm, the face of the sport who said on Sunday that though she’s sad about the result, she’s proud and confident for her next step. She’s noncommittal about what is on the docket.
“The cool thing about that is just because I’m done playing now, that doesn’t have to be over, that doesn’t have to end,” Frahm said. “Growing the game will now just look different. It will still be the same love for wanting to grow the sport, especially in the state of Nebraska, but all over the country. Just the way I go about that will look a little different now.”
Frahm opted not to play for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) that plays this summer. The league that has support from MLB is the preeminent landing spot for softball players in the U.S. She was named to USA Softball’s 36-player athlete pool in April.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be played at Devon Park in Oklahoma City and the two-way player would be a versatile asset on a smaller 15-player roster. Should she choose to pursue it, she’ll have support in her corner beyond those in striped Nebraska bibs.
“[She’s] a role model for all young players,” White said. “You don’t have to be the biggest kid in the world to be effective and have power at the bat, also with pitching. Just her determination and courage. It’s just tremendous.”