The late game is a showdown of fresh faces in Oklahoma City, as Arkansas makes its WCWS debut against Nebraska, which is back in OKC for the first time since 2013 for its eighth appearance. Arkansas and Mississippi State may be new to the feeling in OKC, but they are the last two SEC teams to punch their ticket here and join the party, cementing the conference’s dominance in the sport.
Heading into the matchup, Arkansas has run-ruled every single opponent it has faced in its five games prior. The combination of Robyn Herron and Payton Burnham in the circle has kept opponents quiet, giving the offensive star trio of Tianna Bell, Dakota Kennedy and Ella McDowell room to shine and cause some chaos on the bases.
Nebraska, on the other hand, is coming in on perhaps the hottest streak of all, having won 26 straight games and coming off of its first-ever Super Regionals hosting bid in a two-game sweep of Oklahoma State. Everybody knows Jordy Frahm is the star for this Huskers squad, coming back to her home state to play for coach Rhonda Ravelle. But the key to the Huskers’ success this year has been the combination of Frahm with freshman pitcher Alexis Jensen, who, coincidentally, grew up going to the same pitching coach as Frahm. If it weren’t for Frahm tearing her ACL a couple of years ago, she and Jensen wouldn’t have had the chance to play together. Now, here they are on the biggest stage.
The energy in this one is going to feel different, especially in the first night session at Devon Park. Both teams can swing it, and both teams can pitch, so it really comes down to which team can make the other make more mistakes.
