Nebraska had to get 'bossy' with itself before regional power finally clicked

Despite all the talk of some family drama going on between the Nebraska softball team and South Dakota, the Huskers were expected to beat the 'Yotes soundly. However, it wasn't until the fifth inning that Rhonda Revelle's squad finally took control and took the lead they'd never relinquish. After the game, the Cornhuskers' head coach admitted she thought she knew why her team struggled a bit in the early going.

"If I'm being honest," Revelle said after the 4-1 regional opening win. "I had to work. And I think it's important that a coach is honest and a veteran coach is honest. And because that's life. And to say that... you can go through tough times. There was a lot of tough moments in that game. Say, oh yeah, I was perfect. I was fine. No, I was really happy. Having to work. In fact, I had to boss myself around."

"I was talking to myself, and then I was listening to myself, and then I had to get bossy with myself," the Nebraska softball coach continued. "When I got bossy with myself... We scored. So which happens first? I don't know. But here's what I'm going to tell you. On a team, everybody's energy counts, including mine."

Rhonda Revelle says Nebraska softball had to manage its energy before taking control

Energy was a big topic of conversation for most of the Huskers' win over South Dakota. Early in the game, there was palpable tension as NU's offense was held to just one hit through four innings. Every single time they came up to the plate, the fans expected to see balls flying out of Bowlin Stadium.

Even when Nebraska finally did score, they didn't exactly pound the Coyotes into dust with hit after hit after hit. But the energy and focus around the team solidified until they could log the win. Considering there were plenty of higher seeds who lost on Friday - including Louisville in the Lincoln Regional - the Cornhuskers gathered themselves quite nicely.

Revelle foreshadowed the grit and fight to the very end NU needed in the late innings against a supposedly overmatched South Dakota.

“It’s not worry about the next pitch, it’s work to win the next pitch,” Revelle said before the game. “That’s a key distinction because we don’t really want to worry about it. We want to work to win it.”

Friday night transformed into a real-world test of that mentality. The Huskers could have spiraled after four scoreless innings. Instead, they leaned into the calm, routine-driven identity Revelle has preached throughout the season. The legendary coach even joked that the word “boring” had followed her team around because of how consistently the Huskers approach preparation.

“To me, when people can achieve excellence, it’s like they master those little things that can be boring or tedious,” she added.

With Alexis Jensen keeping the Coyotes down to one run over five innings, and then Jordy Frahm throwing two shutout innings to get the save, "boring" could describe the end of Nebraska's first postseason game. However, the Cornhuskers know that if they can keep things boring all postseason, they've got a real chance of winning the Women's College World Series.

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