The Big 10's marquee match-up of the season takes place Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as U of M hosts Northwestern for a doubleheader. Each team is 15-1 in conference play, meaning that a sweep by either team would put it in excellent position to win the league's regular-season title. The Wolverines have been flexing their offensive muscles of late, today winning their fifth straight run-rule (or mercy-rule) contest. These wins have come against Michigan State (twice), Ohio State (twice) and Eastern Michigan. Northwestern comes into Sunday's games having won two straight one-run battles at Penn State.
The college softball world has thrown us a "Curve Bahl," if you will. Such is the unexpected news that Oklahoma ace Jordy Bahl has announced that she will transfer to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Bahl is from the Omaha suburb of Papillion, Nebraska. Three thoughts jump out at me: Bahl was absolutely indispensable to the Sooners' 61-1 national championship season, coming up with numerous clutch strikeouts in tight tournament games against Clemson (super-regionals, Game 2 ) and Stanford ( WCWS semifinals ). OU benefited greatly this season via the transfer portal, bringing in Haley Lee from Texas A&M, Alex Storako from Michigan, and Cydney Sanders and Alynah Torres from Arizona State. Bahl's transfer is the first major one in the modern portal era (to my knowledge) in the other direction. Nebraska becomes an instant national championship contender, in my mind. Other players around the country may find it attractive to join Bahl in Lincoln but even if