Courtesy Nebraska Athletics
No. 2 Nebraska completed its domination of Big Ten Softball in 2026 by defeating No. 6 UCLA 7-2 Saturday in the finals in the Big Ten Tournament in College Park, Md. The Cornhuskers won all three of their games in the tournament by a combined 16-4, after a Big Ten regular season in which Nebraska (46-6) won the championship with a 23-1 record.
The Bruins (47-8) had the lead early. After scoring a run in the second, Megan Grant blasted a solo home run to right in the third inning. The homer was Grant’s 38th of the season, setting a new NCAA single-season record for home runs. But in the bottom of the third, the Huskers had the bases loaded with one out. Hannah Coor hit a ground ball toward second. Jordy Frahm, going first to second, ran into Bruins’ second baseman Keniya Bragg. Frahm was called out for interference and UCLA challenged, alleging malicious contact by Frahm. The challenge was unsuccessful. The next batter, Hannah Camenzind, lined a two-run single up the middle, with a third run scoring on an error on the play to give Nebraska a 3-2 lead.
Kacie Hoffmann added to the lead in the fourth with a two-run home run, making it 5-2 NU. Ava Kuszak led off the sixth with a home run to build the lead to four. Later in the sixth, a run scored on an error, growing the lead to five.
Frahm made sure it was more than enough. Over the final four innings, Frahm allowed just one baserunner over the final four innings against a UCLA lineup that averaged nearly 11 runs per game entering the game today.
The Huskers enter the NCAA Tournament with a 21-game winning streak and wins in 33 of their last 34 games. Nebraska will find out about its NCAA Tournament path, including whether or not the Huskers will host regionals and super regionals, Sunday during the NCAA Selection Show beginning at 6 p.m. Nebraska is hosting a public watch party for the selection show at Bowlin Stadium, with gates opening at 5 p.m.