(MISENHEIMER, NC) - The 2026 USA South Softball Tournament has drawn to a close with top-seeded Pfeiffer capturing the championship for the fourth consecutive year. In the best-of-three championship series, the Falcons defeated third-seeded N.C. Wesleyan, two games to zero.
In the first game, Pfeiffer jumped on N.C. Wesleyan early and often, taking a 1-0 series lead with a 14-0, five-inning, victory. It began in the Falcons' first at-bats as the home team posted a three-run first inning, capped by a two-run home run by E.A. Nance. In the following inning, Pfeiffer put up double-figure runs, ten to be exact, on eight hits as Nance again tallied two RBI and scored a run for the second consecutive inning. The Falcons would tack on one more run and end the game in five innings.
In game two, the Falcons again grabbed an early lead, as Nance led the charge with a two-run double in the first inning. Landry Stewart and Kirstyn Herman followed in the next two innings with RBI singles to give Pfeiffer a 4-0 lead. N.C. Wesleyan battled back thanks to the long ball as home runs from Kyiah Simmons and Ramzie Bryant pulled the Battling Bishops to within one run after five innings. The teams traded single sixth-inning runs and Pfeiffer added an insurance run in the top-half of the seventh to secure the championship with a 6-4 win.
All-Tournament Team
P – Abigail Bowman, Pfeiffer
P – Ella Ebert, Greensboro
C – Kirstyn Herman, Pfeiffer
1B – Heather Vaughn, Pfeiffer
2B – Natalie Auman, Pfeiffer
SS – Brooke Markiewicz, N.C. Wesleyan
3B – Morgan Knight, Meredith
UT/DP – Lillie Davis, Meredith
OF – Mollie Bulla, Pfeiffer
OF – E.A. Nance, Pfeiffer (MVP)
OF – Landry Stewart, Pfeiffer
2026 USA South Softball Tournament Results
Bracket #1 (hosted by #1 Pfeiffer)
Thursday, April 30
Game 1: #8 Salem - 0 #1 Pfeiffer - 9 (5 inn.)
Game 2: #5 Southern Virginia - 0 #4 Greensboro - 1
Friday, May 1
Game 3: #8 Salem - 1 #5 Southern Virginia - 9 (5 inn.)
Game 4: #1 Pfeiffer - 1 #4 Greensboro - 8
Game 5: #5 Southern Virginia - 3 #1 Pfeiffer - 9
Sunday, May 3
Game 6: #4 Greensboro - 0 #1 Pfeiffer - 8 (5 inn.)
Game 7: #4 Greensboro - 1 #1 Pfeiffer - 3 (Pfeiffer wins Bracket #1)
Bracket #2 (hosted by #2 Meredith)
Thursday, April 30
Game 1: #7 Methodist - 0 #2 Meredith - 6
Game 2: #6 William Peace - 2 #3 N.C. Wesleyan - 3
Friday, May 1
Game 3: #7 Methodist - 4 #6 William Peace - 0
Game 4: #2 Meredith - 2 #3 N.C. Wesleyan - 12
Game 5: #7 Methodist - 1 #2 Meredith - 8
Sunday, May 3
Game 6: #3 N.C. Wesleyan - 1 #2 Meredith - 3
Game 7: #3 N.C. Wesleyan - 2 #2 Meredith - 1 (8 inn.) (N.C. Wesleyan wins Bracket #2)
Best-of-Three Championship Series (hosted by Pfeiffer)
Friday, May 8
Game 1: #3 N.C. Wesleyan - 0 #1 Pfeiffer - 14 (5 inn.)
Game 2: #3 N.C. Wesleyan - 4 #1 Pfeiffer - 6 (Pfeiffer wins series, 2-0)