It wasn't a good night on the scoreboard for the Omaha softball team. For a while it appeared the long-range prognosis could have been even worse.
UNO junior pitcher Sydney Nuismer was pitching in the sixth inning of the second game of what would be a doubleheader sweep by Nebraska on March 15.
The Elkhorn graduate was hit in the right hand by a line drive off the bat of Billie Andrews, but Nuismer was able to shake that off. Two batters later, Nuismer took a more direct shot when Mya Felder sent a line drive up the middle.
The line drive hit Nuismer on top of her right foot. She had to be helped off the field and was on crutches after the game.
"We definitely thought it was broken, but it turned out to be a bone bruise and quick recovery," Nuismer said.
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Ten days after that line drive, Nuismer threw her second career shutout, a four-hitter last Saturday in a 9-0 win over St. Thomas.
"That felt pretty good. We were all pretty nervous," said Nuismer, who earlier that day went to urgent care because of dehydration.
Nuismer will be back in the circle this weekend as the 16-9 Mavs host North Dakota. The teams play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. before finishing the series at 1 p.m. Sunday.
"The thing with Syd is that if nothing's broken or anything like that, we knew she'd be back pretty quick. She's just a tough kid," Omaha coach Mike Heard said.
Nuismer has been reliable pitching behind Kamryn Meyer in UNO's rotation. Both have seven wins — for Nuismer, that's the most she's had in a season during her three years with the Mavericks.
After dealing with a torn hamstring last spring, Nuismer is 7-4 with five complete games and a 3.76 ERA this season.
"They work so great together," Heard said. "When Kam is out, Syd is probably the loudest one in the dugout, and when Syd is out there, Kam is probably the loudest in the dugout."
One of Nuismer's complete games came against perennial power Texas in February. The Mavs and Longhorns were tied 3-3 in the sixth inning before Texas scored four times and eventually held on for a 7-6 win.
Heard said Nuismer is getting back to being the kind of pitcher she was as an all-stater in high school. He said she's added a two-seam fastball to her four-seamer.
"With her motion and how she releases it, it just kind of works," Heard said.