SPARTANBURG, SC. – The Monroe University softball team (26-20 overall) captured the opening two wins at the 2026 NJCAA Region 10 tournament on Thursday afternoon. They defeated USC Salkehatchie 12-4 in five innings in the first round and then was victorious in the winner's bracket semifinals with an 8-4 victory over second-seeded Florence-Darlington Technical College.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)
·     The Mustangs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Carsyn O'Daniels launched a grand slam to center field.
·     Then in the bottom of the fourth inning, Sophia Davis ripped a three-RBI triple to center field to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.
·     Later in the same inning, Lizbeth Zambrano knocked in a pair of runs on a single to right field, giving the Mustangs a 9-0 lead.
·     In the top of the fifth inning, USC Salkehatchie knocked in four runs on two RBI singles, a sacrifice fly and an error to cut the Mustangs' lead to 9-4.
·     In the bottom of the fifth inning, Veronika Anderson scored on a passed ball to give the Mustangs a 10-4 lead.
·     Later in the inning, Gabriella Pugliese drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to left field, giving the Mustangs an 11-4 lead.
·     Kelsea Bauer sealed the win for the Mustangs in the same inning with an RBI single to center field, resulting in a 12-4 victory.
Game 2
·     The Mustangs opened the second game against the Stingers with three runs coming on an error by the shortstop and a two-RBI single by Zambrano to give the Mustangs a 3-0 lead.
·     The Stingers countered in the bottom of the second inning as they scored two runs on an RBI single to narrow the Mustangs' lead to 3-2.
·     In the top of the third inning, Davis knocked in a run on an RBI single to give the Mustangs a 4-2 lead.
·     Then O'Daniels ripped a two-RBI single to right field to giving the Mustangs a 6-2 lead.
·     The Stingers added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning as they scored on an RBI double and an RBI single to narrow the Mustangs' lead to 6-4.
·     Then in the top of the fourth inning, Pugliese knocked in another run on a sacrifice fly to give the Mustangs a 7-4 victory.
·     Pugliese later sealed the victory for the Mustangs in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI single to left field, resulting in an 8-4 victory.
STATS AND NOTES
·     The Mustangs are advancing to their second-straight NJCAA Region 10 winner's bracket final.
·     The Mustangs captured their first win in program history over the Stingers while they lead the all-time series against USC Salkehatchie 4-3.
·     Sophia Davis picked up the win in game one, going five innings, allowing just four runs while striking out three batters.
·     Kelsea Bauer captured the win in game two, going five innings while allowing just one run and striking out one batter.
·     O'Daniels tallied her second home run of the season with her grand slam in game one.
·     Pugliese tallied her 13th multi-hit game of the season in game two, going 2-4 with two RBIs.
UP NEXT
·     The Mustangs await who they will play in the winner's bracket final on Friday, May 1 at 1:30 PM.
