All season long, Nebraska’s Jordy Bahl has been punishing opponents from the plate and the circle. And Friday night in the Huskers’ Super Regional matchup against Tennessee in Knoxville was no different.
This college softball player is drawing comparisons to Shohei Ohtani in the NCAA Tournament
Jordy Bahl looks like the best two-way player in college softball and might be the frontrunner for Player of the Year.
Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Mitchell Northam is a Senior Writer for SB Nation, covering women’s college sports at Breakaway.
Bahl pitched a complete game for Nebraska, allowing just two runs on seven hits in seven innings while striking out six Volunteers. On the other side of the field, she notched a walk and a hit, scoring a pair of runs. Ultimately, Bahl was a major reason why Nebraska won 5-2, putting the Huskers within one victory of reaching the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2013.
While Bahl has been excelling all season long, her accomplishments are finally being recognized in the postseason. Analysts and talking-heads covering the sport are realizing what she is: the best two-way player in college softball.
Comparisons to Shohei Ohtani, the three-time MLB MVP, are appropriate considering where Bahl ranks in hitting and pitching statistics. Bahl is fifth nationally in batting average (.475) and tied for seventh in home runs (23). From the circle, she’s sixth in ERA with a 1.50 mark and tied for fifth in victories with a 26-6 record.
She’s the only player in the country who ranks in the top 10 in all four of those statistics, which is why she’s one of three finalists for the National Player of the Year award from USA Softball. The other players vying for the honor are Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady and Arkansas slugger Bri Ellis. While Bahl has drawn comparisons to Ohtani, Ellis is putting up Barry Bonds-eque numbers. Canady meanwhile looks again like the best pitcher in the sport with a 0.88 ERA.
Bahl also ranks sixth in OPS (1.576), fourth in runs scored (71) and second in hits allowed per seven innings (3.72).
A 5-foot-8 right-handed native of Nebraska, Bahl is having her best season yet since transferring from Oklahoma. She was named Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year this season.
While some folks are thinking about Ohtani when they watch Bahl, her play this season has the Huskers and their fans dreaming about going to Oklahoma City for what would be the ninth time in program history.
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