Nebraska shortstop Ava Kuszak and pitcher Jordy Bahl were honored the Big Ten as the Co-Player of the Week and Co-Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Kuszak and Bahl led the Huskers to a 5-0 showing in Las Cruces, N.Mex., as Nebraska outscored its opponents by a combined 69-9 in just 27 innings of softball.
Kuszak, a transfer from Wisconsin, was blisteringly hot with the bat, hitting 9-for-14 with six home runs in five games. Three of those homers came in the Huskers’ final game of the weekend, a 16-3 victory over Montana, in which Kuszak tied the school record with three home runs in a game. She joined Christi McCoy, who hit three homers in a game on April 18, 1998 against Missouri, and Kaylan Jablonski, who homered three times against Cal State-Fullerton on March 17, 2018. Kuszak splits the honor with Iowa catcher Hannah Lindsay.
Bahl pitched 10 shutout innings in earning two wins. After defeating New Mexico State Friday with a two-hit shutout in five innings, Bahl threw a five-inning no-hitter against Northern Colorado. She struck out five and walked just two in picking up her second win of the weekend. Bahl splits conference pitcher of the week with Iowa’s Ella Harrison.
Kuszak, Bahl and the Huskers return to the field for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., starting Thursday with a 4:30 p.m. game against No. 20 Baylor, followed by a 9:30 p.m. first pitch against No. 4 UCLA. The Huskers face No. 12 Duke on Friday, then San Jose State and Howard Saturday before a Sunday matchup with Utah.