5-3 in 10 innings. That's how Arkansas' first Women's College World Series game ended on May 28 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, when Nebraska's Ava Kuszak hit a two-run walk-off home run. The Razorbacks, making their first WCWS appearance, entered the tournament with a 47-12 record while Nebraska, the top seed, finished the game 52-6 and moved on. Arkansas was scheduled to face UCLA in an elimination game at 8:30 p.m. Friday, with the game airing on ESPN.

Nebraska, the tournament's top seed, improved to 52-6 and advanced to the second round after Ava Kuszak's two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning.

Late swing ended Arkansas' first WCWS outing

The game opened late on May 28 and aired nationally on ESPN. It stretched into extra innings after a back-and-forth night that neither pitching staff could finish off in regulation. Nebraska's Jordy Frahm, a two-way star for the Cornhuskers, threw a complete game, allowing eight hits and striking out nine.

Frahm credited her teammates after the rally. She said she had "so much trust in my teammates, so much trust in our offense," and added, "I just knew somebody was going to come through." That somebody turned out to be Kuszak, a senior and team captain who drilled a two-run walk-off against Arkansas reliever Payton Burnham.

Kuszak described the hit this way: "It felt good off the bat, but I wasn't sure," she said, then spoke about the rush as she rounded the bases and rejoined her teammates. The homer capped a sudden Nebraska surge rather than a long-running pitching duel.

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Arkansas began the game with Robyn Herron on the mound before Payton Burnham relieved. Burnham gave up the tying home run to Hannah Coor in the bottom of the eighth, which pushed the game into extra innings, and she was on the mound when Kuszak launched the 10th-inning winner. The Razorbacks had pushed across runs earlier and tied the score in the eighth, but couldn't plate another run before Nebraska's late finish.

How Arkansas reached Oklahoma City

Arkansas arrived in the WCWS off a dominant regional and super regional run that leaned on depth, timely hitting, and several run-rule victories. The Razorbacks opened their Fayetteville Super Regional with a 14-5 run-rule win over Duke after Tianna Bell hit a second-inning grand slam that followed a long rain delay.

Karlie Davison later delivered a three-run homer that ended a super regional game on the run-rule.

Coach Courtney Deifel praised the team after those wins, highlighting the players' mindset and collective approach. Deifel noted how the team handled the rain-delayed start to the super regional opener and said the crowd at Bogle Park in Fayetteville played a role in keeping the squad focused.

The Razorbacks' season-long production underpinned their NCAA run. Arkansas posted a .345 team batting average and carried a 2.52 team ERA through the tournament stretch. The program also became the first since Arizona in 1995 to win its first four NCAA Tournament games by run rule. Those numbers reflect a team built around balance rather than a single superstar arm, with pitching rotations and timely hitting combining to push Arkansas to its first-ever trip to Oklahoma City.

If you plan to follow Arkansas' immediate next step, the Razorbacks were set to meet UCLA in an elimination game at 8:30 p.m. Friday. The matchup was scheduled to air on ESPN. Viewers can watch on the ESPN channel with a cable or satellite login, or stream via the ESPN app or services that carry ESPN such as Fubo or providers offering free trials.

For Arkansas, the margin between a historic run and an early exit came down to one late swing. The team still arrives at the elimination game carrying the momentum of a tournament run built on run-rule dominance, a deep roster, and the kind of home crowd support Courtney Deifel singled out in Fayetteville.

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Arkansas will face UCLA in an elimination game at 8:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN.

This article was created with AI assistance.