Day one of SoCon Softball Championships in the books

No. 5 Chattanooga 10, No. 8 Furman 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 5 seed Chattanooga pulled away late from No. 8 seed Furman, winning 10-3 in the opening game of the Southern Conference Softball Championship presented by Chattanooga Tourism Company at Frost Stadium on Thursday.

The Mocs (23-27-1) advance to play No. 4 seed Wofford (33-17) later today at 4 p.m. The Paladins (13-40) were eliminated from the tournament.

Chattanooga scored first via a sacrifice fly off the bat of second-team all-conference selection Bailiegh Pitts, scoring all-freshman team pick Ava Cowart to give the Mocs a 1-0 lead.

Furman took the lead in the top of the second inning, getting runs from Rachel Hawkins and Christina McCoy to take 2-1 lead. The Mocs would tie the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the frame following an RBI double from Raven Jones.

Pitts broke the tie with a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the third. In the next half inning, second-team and all-freshman team selection Kristyn Embler hit an RBI single to left field for Furman, tying the score at 3-3.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, one swing of the bat gave Chattanooga the lead for good. Anna Dovey blasted a grand slam over the center field fence, giving the Mocs a 7-3 lead.

Pitts and Dovey drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks in the sixth inning, making the score 9-3. Annika Segedi scored the final run of the game on a passed ball later in the frame.

Taylor Long (12-15) picked up the win inside the circle, tossing a complete game and striking out 11 batters.  

Cowart went 2-for-4 with three runs scored in the leadoff spot for the Mocs. Embler was 2-for-4 at the plate for the Paladins.

No. 6 ETSU 7, No. 7 Mercer 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 6 seed ETSU defeated No. 7 seed Mercer, 7-0, in the second game of the 2026 Southern Conference Softball Championship presented by Chattanooga Tourism Company on Thursday at Frost Stadium.

ETSU (22-28) advances to play No. 3 seed Western Carolina later today at 7 p.m. The Bears (20-30) were eliminated for the tournament.

The Buccaneers were powered by pitcher Eden Muncy’s masterpiece inside the pitcher’s circle. Muncy, who won SoCon Pitcher of the Week on Monday for her work in the final weekend of the regular season, recorded the first no-hitter at the SoCon Tournament since 2016. The sophomore from Duffield, Virginia, had three strikeouts and gave up two walks in the fifth inning. The other six innings were perfect for Muncy.
 
ETSU scored their first run in the fourth inning off an RBI single from all-freshman team selection Riley Croley. Riley Martens laid down a sacrifice bunt on the next at-bat, scoring Leinani Lutu and making score 2-0 in favor of the Bucs.

In the next inning, Whitney Boone singled, bringing second-team all-conference selection Abigail Taylor across home plate for the team’s first score of the frame. Two batters later, Tiare Rieger hit an RBI single, making the score 4-0.

Martens kept the rally going after that, hitting a two-run RBI single up the middle. Leilani Coleman-Til hit a single on the next at-bat, bringing Martens in to score for the game’s final run.

Boone, Croley, Rieger and Coleman-Til all had two hits in the contest. Martens finished with three RBIs.

No. 4 Wofford 2, No. 5 Chattanooga 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 4 seed Wofford won over No. 5 seed Chattanooga, 2-0, in the third game of the 2026 Southern Conference Championship presented by Chattanooga Tourism Company at Frost Stadium.

The Terriers (34-17) advance to play No. 1 seed UNCG (39-17) on Friday at 10 a.m. The Mocs (23-28-1) fall to an elimination contest on Friday at 7 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.

Wofford scored its first run in the opening frame. Gracie Parker hit an RBI groundout to the shortstop, bringing second-team all-conference selection Addison Lucier in to score.

Chattanooga nearly tied the game in the fifth inning. Raven Jones reached on an error and advanced to second base. Zoe Wright singled through the right side in the next at-bat, but Jones was thrown out at the plate by Wofford right fielder Abbi Campbell, keeping the score at 1-0.

Madison Thieke scored the second run of the game as Wofford executed a double steal with one out in the sixth inning. The Terriers then had a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh to secure the victory.

Both pitchers went the distance for their respective squad. Abby Greenwood (13-6) threw a complete game for Wofford, striking out six batters and allowing just three hits. Taylor Long (12-16) pitched six innings for Chattanooga, logging seven strikeouts and giving up four hits.

No. 3 Western Carolina 2, No. 6 ETSU 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The No. 3 seed Western Carolina Catamounts topped the No. 6 seed ETSU Buccaneers, 2-1, in the final game of day one at the 2026 Southern Conference Softball Championship presented by Chattanooga Tourism Company on Thursday at Frost Stadium.

The Catamounts (34-22) advance to play No. 2 seed Samford (26-29) on Friday at 1 p.m. The Bucs (22-29) fall to an elimination game on Friday at 4 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.

Western Carolina scored each of its runs in the second inning. The first run came on a sacrifice fly by Tatum Martin, before second-team all-conference team selection Becka Wonsick stole home on a successful double steal.

ETSU got one of the runs back in the sixth inning. Whitney Boone and Leinani Lutu hit back-to-back doubles to begin the frame, making the score 2-1.

In the final frame, all-freshman team pick Hailey Porter hit a one-out single to right field, placing the tying run on base. However, the Catamounts retired the next two batters via a fly out and a strikeout to close the game.

First-team all-conference pitcher Amanda Fulton threw her 16th complete game of the season for Western Carolina, striking out four batters and allowing one earned run.

Wonsick and second-team all-conference selection Lily Bell each had two hits for the Catamounts. Porter was 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the Bucs.

2026 SoCon Softball Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Thursday, May 7
Game 1: No. 5 Chattanooga 10, No. 8 Furman 3
Game 2: No. 6 ETSU 7, No. 7 Mercer 0
Game 3: No. 4 Wofford 2, No. 5 Chattanooga 0
Game 4: No. 3 Western Carolina 2, No. 6 ETSU 1

 
Friday, May 8
Game 5: No. 1 UNCG vs. No. 4 Wofford, 10 a.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 3 Western Carolina, 1 p.m.
Game 7: No. 6 ETSU vs. Game 5 loser, 4 p.m.
Game 8: No. 5 Chattanooga vs. Game 6 loser, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 9
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 10 a.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 11: Game 10 winner vs. Game 9 loser, 4 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 10

Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 10 a.m.
Game 13 (if necessary): Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser, 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 12