Softball Opens Season With Split in Florida
| BOT 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 2 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
|
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2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
WINTER HAVEN, FL – Wittenberg Softball came out of the gates swinging in its first game of the 2026 season and defeated Beloit, 12-1, before dropping a close one to Husson, 3-2, in Game 2 to earn a split on Day 1 of The Spring Games at DiamondPlex in Winter Haven, Florida, on Sunday, March 8.
After being held scoreless in the first two innings of the opener, the Tiger bats came alive. Wittenberg put at least one run on the board in each of the third through seventh innings, with three crossing the plate in the fifth and four more in the seventh. The lone Beloit run came in the fifth.
The Tigers spread out the offense with Meghan McCans (Arcanum, OH / Arcanum) leading the way in hits, going 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. She also had three stolen bases. Kayla Drake (Wilmington, OH / Clinton-Massie) was 2-for-2 with three RBI and a run scored, and two walks. Bailey Nichols (Tuscon, AZ / Sabino) also had three RBI, two hits and a run scored. In total, the Tigers scored 12 runs on 10 hits, while Beloit scored just one run on four hits. McCans, Drake, and Nichols each tallied a double in the big win.
Julie Hall (Powell, OH / Bishop Watterson) pitched 4.2 innings, allowing just one run, to pick up the win. She also had two walks and two strikeouts. Lilly James (Troy, OH / Troy) came on in relief, striking out six in 2.1 innings of work.
In game two, it looked like the Tigers were going to continue where they left off scoring-wise putting two runs on the board in the first inning. However, in a pitcher's duel, Husson shut Witt down the rest of the way and pushed the go-ahead run across the plate in the sixth inning for the 3-2 win. Witt led 2-1 after the first inning, then Husson tied things up in the fifth. Each team had four hits in the game.
Shyann Beddow (Kearns, UT / Kearns) drove in both of Wittenberg's runs on a single up the middle. Other hits in the game came off the bats of McCans, Gada Bryant (Westville, IL / Bismarck-Henning), and Kirsten Wright (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge). Bryant's hit was a double. Wright tallied two stolen bases.
Freshman Phoebe Underwood (Seymour, IN / Seymour) suffered the loss, but turned in a solid performance on the mound, going the distance in the game.
With the split, the Tigers go to 1-1 on the season. Beloit is now 1-4, and Husson is 6-0.
Up Next
Wittenberg will take on Dominican on Monday, March 9, in The Spring Games in Winter Haven, Florida.
Written by: Cindy Holbrook