BAHL RETURNS HOME, CHOOSES NEBRASKA SOFTBALL:
The Husker softball team strengthened its roster on Thursday when All-America pitcher Jordy Bahl announced she was transferring to Nebraska. A Papillion native, Bahl returns to her home state with two years of eligibility for a Cornhusker squad that won the 2022 Big Ten Tournament title and was an NCAA Regional Finalist in 2023.
Bahl spent the past two seasons at Oklahoma, where she was one of the nation’s top players while helping the Sooners to back-to-back national championships. Bahl was named a first-team All-American, a National Player of the Year Top-10 Finalist and the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in each of her two seasons at Oklahoma. She was also the Big 12 and National Freshman of the Year in 2022.
A Papillion-La Vista graduate, Bahl did not allow a run in 50 of her 71 career appearances with the Sooners, including 15 shutouts among her 26 complete games. She posted 11 games with double-digit strikeouts and allowed only 30 extra-base hits in 993 opponent at bats.
Bahl is the second transfer to join Nebraska this month, as Omaha native Bella Bacon announced her return home after spending her freshman season at Purdue in 2023.
BEARCAT GIRLS BASKETBALL CONTINUES MIDWEST SHOWCASE COMPETITION:
The Kearney High Girls Basketball program had a strong showing at the start of the D1 Midwest Basketball Showcase in Kansas City on Thursday.
The Bearcats held close with Wichita South – a top 6A team from Kansas last season – ultimately falling in sudden death 35-33 on a last shot in game one at the HyVee Center. In Game Two, Kearney punched in six triples to earn the 38-31 win over Raymore-Peculiar.
Kearney returns to Kansas City for day two today, facing Battle at 2 PM and West Plains at 4 PM. Full game recaps and more details can be found at KGFW.com.
MATTHEWS, ANDERSON NAMED PERFECT GAME ALL-AMERICAN:
Nebraska juniors Max Anderson and Brice Matthews earned All-America recognition for the second time this week, as Perfect Game released its All-America teams on Thursday. Anderson was a second-team selection, while Matthews was named a third-team honoree.
Anderson was selected as a second-team All-American by the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball earlier this month. The Omaha native was also named the NCBWA’s District 6 Player of the Year, becoming the first Husker to earn the recognition since Luke Gorsett in 2006.
Matthews was named a second-team All-American by NCBWA earlier this week after landing on Collegiate Baseball’s third-team All-America list earlier this month.
STROH WITHDRAWS NAME FROM TRANSFER PORTAL, TO STAY AT WICHITA STATE:
Kearney Baseball native Seth Stroh will stay at Wichita State after withdrawing his name from the transfer portal.
Stroh entered his name into the portal at the end of May after Wichita State announced they would move on from Interim HC Loren Hibbs.
The Shockers hired Washington State’s Brian Green earlier this month.
Stroh started in 32 games last season, hitting .234 with 16 RBI and four home runs. In 100 career games, Stroh hit .240 with 47 RBI, 22 extra base hits, and 13 home runs.
Stroh will have two years of eligibility remaining despite being a junior in academic standing.
OUACHITA BAPTIST WRESTLING TO JOIN MIAA AS ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Loper Wrestling has picked up another conference opponent, as the MIAA office announced Thursday that Ouachita Baptist is joining the MIAA as an associate member for men’s wrestling.
Ouachita Baptist is a member of the Great American Conference (GAC), however the GAC does not sponsor wrestling. The program has accumulated four top-15 team finishes at nationals, 17 All-Americans, two individual national runner-up finishes and one individual national champion. They became the first university in Arkansas to sponsor the sport of wrestling in 2010.
The Tigers are the sixth school to compete in the MIAA for wrestling.
HUSKER T&F ATHLETE, COACH EARN ALL REGION HONORS:
Nebraska sophomore thrower Axelina Johansson was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, and head track and field coach Justin St. Clair was named both the Midwest Region Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year on Thursday.
Johansson, a sophomore from Hok, Sweden, won the NCAA shot put national title with a mark of 63-3 1/4 (19.28m). Johansson put on a dominating display at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, as each of her six throws would have won her the NCAA gold medal.
St. Clair, in his first year as head coach, led the NU women to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships with 25 points, their best performance at the NCAA meet since 2006. The Husker men tied for 17th at the NCAA meet, their best finish since 2016.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY SCHEDULE:
Baltimore Orioles @ Chicago Cubs – 1:20 PM
Miami Marlins @ Washington Nationals – 6:05 PM
New York Yankees @ Boston Red – 6:10 PM
St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Mets – 6:10 PM
Colorado Rockies @ Atlanta Braves – 6:20 PM
Toronto Blue Jays @ Texas Rangers – 7:05 PM
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Milwaukee Brewers – 7:10 PM
Los Angeles Angels @ Kansas City Royals – 7:10 PM
Cincinnati Reds @ Houston Astros – 7:10 PM
Detroit Tigers @ Minnesota Twins – 7:10 PM
Cleveland Guardians @ Arizona Diamondbacks – 8:40 PM
Tampa Bay Rays @ San Diego Padres – 8:40 PM
Philadelphia Phillies @ Oakland Athletics – 8:40 PM
Chicago White Sox @ Seattle Mariners – 9:10 PM
San Francisco Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 9:10 PM
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY SCHEDULE:
GAME 1 – Oral Roberts v. TCU – 1 PM (ESPN)
GAME 2 – Virginia v. Florida – 6 PM (ESPN)
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
THURSDAY:
- Kearney Legion Baseball:
- Runza Seniors: N/a
- POST 52: @ Rapid City Tournament
- Five Points: N/a
- Jerseys: N/a
FRIDAY:
- Kearney Legion Baseball:
- Runza Seniors: N/a
- POST 52: @ Rapid City Tournament
- Five Points: N/a
- Jerseys: @ Hebron Wood bat Tournament – 7 PM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)
SATURDAY:
- Kearney Legion Baseball:
- Runza Seniors: N/a
- POST 52: @ Rapid City Tournament
- Five Points: N/a
- Jerseys: @ Hebron Wood bat Tournament – 1 PM/3:30 PM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- N/a
SUNDAY:
- Kearney Legion Baseball:
- Runza Seniors: v. Scottsbluff WESTCO @ Memorial Field – 3 PM
- POST 52: @ Rapid City Tournament
- Five Points: N/a
- Jerseys: @ Hebron Wood bat Tournament – 12 PM/2:30 PM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- N/a
