Nebraska softball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time in program history.

The Huskers open against UConn in Baton Rouge at 2 p.m. CDT on Friday. The other side of the regional is Southeastern Louisiana and host LSU.

Voice of Nebraska Softball Nate Rohr joined Kaleb Henry to preview the regional. You can read Nate’s responses below, and continue scrolling to watch the entire conversation.

On the postseason awards

I’m very happy that Jordy Bahl got both pitcher and player of the year because I think what she is doing is unique. She is pitching at such a high level and she’s hitting at such a high level at the exact same time. And that’s to say nothing of the defense with which she’s playing the outfield, which for the most part has been really good, or first base where she’s been very good.

But I was a little worried, going into last week, that the fact that Jordy’s numbers were really, really good, but not the absolute best hitting wise, would cost her hitter/player of the year, which very often becomes more or less a hitter of the year award. And because her numbers weren’t perfect from a pitching standpoint, it would cost her pitcher of the year. Lyndsey Grein of Oregon was probably her top competition on pitcher of the year, and she had a bumpy last series against Michigan State. So that kind of opened the door for her.

I do think the coaches recognized that what Jordy Ball is doing is unprecedented, being so dominant on both sides, being so dominant as an outfielder and a hitter and a base runner and a pitcher. The fact that she is just dominating at all levels was unprecedented and deserved unprecedented levels of honor. I’m happy that the coaches recognized that it needed to be honored that way.

I was happy to see Ava Kuszak as the first team all-conference player. She’s hit as well as anybody in the country other than Jordy Bahl. She’s had a great year. I was happy Hannah Camenzind got some love.

Samantha Bland’s a nice story at third base in that, here’s somebody that played infield growing up and she played infield through high school, but Nebraska put her in the outfield last year to get her time, just get her playing. And so she had to convert back to the infield. And I think that held her back for a while. I think she was working through that, adjusting to the increased workload defensively. And it took her some time, but she put in the work, worked really hard, and has been able to settle in at third base. And the fact that she’s all defensive team tells you that she’s settled in at third base. And then the bats come along with it.

On the Big Ten Conference Tournament

I think (UCLA pitcher Kaitlyn) Terry threw pretty well. We’ll start there. I thought she was on. She was changing speed. She had her hitters crossed up. She’s also the best pitcher in Nebraska had faced in six weeks and maybe longer. There are good pitchers out there at Northwestern and Washington, but nobody to Terry’s quality. So it’s just tough to deal with a pitcher that good when you’ve been facing routinely pitchers that are a step behind that. And so Nebraska had difficulty adjusting. She threw well.

UCLA was able to put some pressure on Nebraska by scoring runs. So it’s nothing that really concerns me long term. You hope they’re able to adjust, especially going into this regional and facing LSU, not to get ahead of ourselves. UConn’s first on the menu but you know LSU has pitchers of vaguely that quality and you’re hopeful that seeing that sort of pitcher last Friday will help them if they were to face LSU as we all hope they do on Saturday.

On the regional draw

I do think it’s one of the more favorable draws we’ve seen. I’m thinking back on the Stillwater regionals the last couple of years, and though Wichita State was from the American Athletic Conference, there are tiers to the conferences other than the Power Four. The American is toward the top of that list. And frankly, the Big East is toward the bottom of that list.

So the three seed that Nebraska drew was pretty favorable. Southeastern Louisiana worries me a little more because they do one thing well. I don’t know if you looked at them top to bottom, front to back, how they stack up with the rest of the regional field, but if you start walking them, it starts to get ugly. They may be a little tougher four than you’re used to, but I think the fact that you’re giving some with the three with UConn would suggest that this is a little easier regional to navigate than Nebraska’s seen.

The last time the Huskers played down here in Baton Rouge was 2015. That was the made for TV regional where LSU was the top seed. Arizona state was the two, Nebraska was the three, and then Texas Southern was the four. When you’re talking about three major conference schools in the same regional, that’s pretty arduous. That’s tough because you’re sitting there, and as you try to navigate the regional, you’re thinking on Saturday, “how are we going to beat a really, really good team with our season on the line while also being mindful of the fact that we’ve got to play two games on Sunday if you lose that game on Saturday to LSU?”

So that’s the long-winded way of saying this is a little better draw, to be quite frank, than Nebraska’s gotten recently.

On UConn

Really good offense, surprisingly good RPI. Most Big East teams are in the hundreds in RPI, and they ended up in the upper 60s, which still isn’t great, but does speak to them challenging themselves from a schedule standpoint and giving teams some trouble.

I know Rhonda Ravel talked with Karen Weekly, Tennessee’s coach, and Tennessee played UConn and had trouble but ended up beating them. Weekly kind of underscored to Rhonda, “hey, this UConn bunch is for real.”

It’s led by their catcher Grace Jenkins. She’s having just a video game numbers type of year: 21 home runs. 68 RBI, .425 average, slugging .916. She’s the engine that makes that offense go and is the real threat in that lineup. Nebraska is going to have to control her.

The rest of the lineup is pretty good. UConn averages seven plus runs a game. It’ll be a game where you hope it doesn’t turn into a scoring derby, a hit fest. If you’re able to keep UConn’s offense down, I think Nebraska’s got a good chance. That’s going to require pitching it pretty well because I think this UConn lineup is a little better than you might have thought just kind of seeing the name pop up on the bracket on Sunday.

On Southeastern Louisiana

Another good offensive team. A team that pitched it pretty well this year also. The one thing that scares me about them is how they run the bases. They are one of the best base-stealing teams in all of college softball. If you walk their hitters, it, in effect, turns into a double where all they need to do is get one hit to score the run. So from that standpoint, I worry about the matchup with Southeastern Louisiana.

The perception would be that you throw Jordy Bahl until either you won the regional or her right arm detaches from her body, but I would think at some point we see Kylee Magee, we see Hannah Camenzind. But against the Southeastern Louisiana you have to throw a strike, so you’d be less prone to put Magee in there because of that patience at the plate that could really come back and hurt you.

To be honest, you hope you don’t see Southeastern Louisiana in the elimination bracket. If they happen to pull the upset against LSU, that’s one thing. But if you’re sitting there looking at having to play four games in just over a day, and you’re trying to parse out how do we throw Jordy Bahl, you don’t want to see the Southeastern Louisiana team that steals bases like crazy.

On LSU

Well, another good offense, another very patient lineup, which scares you a little bit. The pitching is as good as it usually is. They just always seem to crank out good pitchers. This is also a team that finished ninth in the SEC, so it’s not like you’re looking at them like a giant Colossus. They’re good. Let’s not get that twisted.

You think about it this time of year and the conditions that we’re going to see. It’s going to be 90s and humid down here. Though Nebraska has chartered more this year than any year that I’ve covered the team, and I’ve covered them since ’04, travel adds up on you a little bit. The fact that LSU is at home, the fact that they may have more gas in their tank right now… that’ll smooth their path a little bit and extend those numbers.

Two decent pitchers, a patient lineup, but nobody that really just knocks your socks off and makes you afraid the way Jenkins does. But let’s not get it twisted. A really big challenge, especially in their home building where they’ve won a ton of games.

You can watch the full conversation below.

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