The thoughts raced through Jordy Bahl's mind as she crumpled to the infield dirt in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
It was February 8, 2024 — Bahl's first game representing her home-state Huskers. She had just fallen as she delivered a seemingly routine pitch.
Bahl felt a pop in her leg. It wasn't the pain that filled Bahl's mind at first. It was the uncertainty.
“It was something I’d never felt before,” Bahl said. “It surprised me, I went down, and then it was kind of just like in my mind, â€What the heck just happened?’”
Bahl was hopeful in the ensuing days. She tested her leg by placing weight on it, even experiencing slight improvements in mobility. But when the Huskers landed back in Lincoln and Bahl underwent an MRI, the test confirmed the worst — a torn ACL that ended her season right then and there.
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“At first, I was angry,” Bahl said. “And then literally two seconds later, I was like, â€Okay, so I’m redshirting.’”
There was no time to waste as Bahl immediately started the recovery process. She underwent reconstructive surgery on her ACL in February and soon wore a large knee brace when she rejoined her teammates in the Nebraska dugout.
As the Huskers grinded on the practice field, Bahl did the same on her own, trading bullpen sessions for physical therapy. The two-time All-American still wanted to find a way to contribute, which led Bahl to work closely with her fellow pitchers, offering advice and tweaking techniques as needed.
Finding normalcy posed a challenge for Bahl, who signed autographs for young fans and cheered on her teammates from the dugout during Nebraska’s home games. Something still needed to change, though.
While many injured players chose to wear team-branded sportswear, that wasn’t working for Bahl. Even if she couldn’t be on the field, Bahl wanted to suit up in the Nebraska uniform.
“You play college softball for four years (and) there’s going to come a day you don’t get to put that uniform on ever again,” Bahl said. “It helped a lot because the first couple weeks I didn’t, and then I was like, â€I want to put the uniform on, so why am I not?’”
Bahl’s ACL tear was just one of the many season-ending injuries Nebraska softball experienced this spring as the Huskers ultimately played the Big Ten Tournament without the help of three injured pitchers and four positional players.
As a result, a season that began with a Top 25 national ranking and postseason expectations ended with Nebraska missing the NCAA Tournament.
Bahl has been on teams that have missed the postseason before but not recently. After winning 72 consecutive games and back-to-back state titles at Papillion-La Vista, the dominant pitcher’s collegiate career began with consecutive national titles at Oklahoma.
Four-straight championship seasons were followed by a campaign that included 23 losses and just 2⅓ innings in the circle for Bahl — and she didn’t like how it felt.
“Honestly, it should just make you sick to your stomach,” Bahl said of NU missing the postseason. “You never want to be in that situation again, so that’s where you make the decision (to) do everything in your power to make that never happen again or you’re okay with that. And if you’re okay with that, that’s kind of weird.”
As Nebraska pursued offseason roster additions, Bahl played her part in bringing them to Lincoln. Some of NU’s additions, like Hannah and Lauren Camenzind, she’d played against in the past. For others, Bahl was simply around on campus to give a positive word or two during their visits.
Nebraska added six transfers this summer, including many who’d just played in the NCAA Tournament. Having seen the talent Nebraska added, Bahl feels those players’ mindset is even more important.
“In talking with all the transfers that are coming here, the common theme from all of them is that they want to win and they want to do whatever it takes to win,” Bahl said.
Bahl wants to win, too. A redshirt season represented a “reset” of sorts according to the junior pitcher, who hopes to be medically cleared by late October. Next season is already on the horizon, and the prospect of returning to the field has been on Bahl’s mind during her rehab sessions.
It used to require a packed stadium and electric atmosphere for Bahl to feel the anticipation in her stomach ahead of a game. But by the end of the 2024 season, simply being around Nebraska’s Bowlin Stadium would do the same to her.
She’s still waiting to make her Husker debut at home — but a year away hasn’t decreased the excitement at all.
“That’s been really great to feel because it’s like, â€Okay, you’re still there and you still love what you do,’” Bahl said. “So, I’m just going to have a new appreciation for it when I come back.”