Papio/OU Softball Star Highlights Action-Packed Opening Ceremonies
Lincoln, NE (July 15) – Jordy Bahl, a key member of Oklahoma University’s 2022 NCAA National Championship Softball team and the NFCA 2022 National Freshman of the Year in softball, was introduced Friday night as the 2022 Cornhusker State Games (CSG) Mystery Torchlighter.
The Papillion, Nebraska native, who just a year ago earned the 2021 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year in softball, made a lap around Seacrest Field before igniting the CSG cauldron. The cauldron-lighting was a highlight of the Opening Ceremonies for the 38th annual multi-sport festival. More than 10,000 athletes of all ages and abilities are registered to compete, mostly over the next two weekends.
In the Games’ long-standing tradition of honoring outstanding athletic achievements with the Torchligher role, Bahl was the perfect choice according to Games Executive Director Dave Mlnarik.
“Jordy’s success in softball as a youth and high school player here in Nebraska, and now, as a college national champion at Oklahoma, is a tribute to her unbelievable work ethic and leadership ability. It is hard to find an example, in any sport, of such total dominance at all levels. We are truly honored to have her come back and light the cauldron,” Mlnarik said.
Bahl finished her phenomenal freshman season with a 22-2 pitching record, including a win in the national championship game vs Texas despite injuring her arm near the end of the regular season. She had 205 strikeouts and a 1.09 earned run average over 141 innings pitched. Her wins included one solo perfect game, one solo no-hitter and taking part in three other team no-hitters.
In high school at Papillion-LaVista, Bahl led the Monarchs to Nebraska state high school championships three of her four seasons, including undefeated seasons in 2019 and 2020. She finished her career with 95-3 high school record, a .63 earned run average and 978 strikeouts over 523 innings pitched. In 2021, just prior to her departure for OU, Bahl’s Nebraska Gold travel team became the first team from Nebraska to win a PGF National Championship.
The lighting of the cauldron came near the end of ceremonies which also included skydivers, fireworks, an axe-throwing world record attempt and a freestyle motocross demonstration by X-Games veterans Scott Murray, Logan Allan and Scotty Miller.
This weekend is the Games’ busiest competition weekend with 37 different sports taking place Saturday and Sunday. More information, including Opening Ceremonies details and competition schedules, can be found at CornhuskerStateGames.com.