SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2026 Big South Tournament scene will be fully formed over the next two days, with the Presbyterian College softball team front and center in all the drama as they wrap up the campaign at USC Upstate.

Needing one win to clinch their spot in next week's conference bracket, the Blue Hose will play a doubleheader against their Palmetto rivals beginning at 3:00 tomorrow. The finale will then take place on Saturday at 1:00.

A lot is at stake for head coach David Williams' roster this weekend, potentially finishing as high as 2^nd in the Big South Tournament should they pull off a Spartan sweep.

Presby knocked off USC Upstate two out of three times in Clinton last year, edging them 2-1 in the rubber match where all runs from both teams came in the first inning.

ESPN+ will be streaming the Friday twinbill as PC aims to return to the postseason for the first time since 2022. One or two victories in this series will guarantee the #4 seed in the league tourney.


 
GAMEDAY INFO – FRIDAY, MAY 1

Presbyterian (19-28, 7-8) at USC Upstate (31-20, 10-5)

WHERE / WHEN: Spartanburg, S.C. | 3:00 DH

WATCH (GAME 1): ESPN+

LIVE STATS (GAME 1): SideArm

WATCH (GAME 2): ESPN+

LIVE STATS (GAME 2): SideArm


 
GAMEDAY INFO – SATURDAY, MAY 2

Presbyterian (19-28, 7-8) at USC Upstate (31-20, 10-5)

WHERE / WHEN: Spartanburg, S.C. | 1:00 PM

LIVE STATS (GAME 3): SideArm


 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

 
- Upstate recovered quite nicely after losing the series with Presbyterian last spring, ending with 39 total wins and capturing the Big South Tournament title for the second straight time.

- They defeated Winthrop in the championship game by a 7-4 count, getting the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they were ultimately eliminated by Clemson and Kentucky.

- Fast forward to the present day and Upstate has their sights set on the #2 seed, a number they would clinch with one victory in the PC series. Their 31 overall wins are the most in the league, although they were defeated twice by Winthrop who has locked down the #1 spot.

- Head coach Chris Hawkins winds down his 32^nd season with the program, displaying a strong 21-4 record in home meetings. Senior outfielder Taliyah Thomas paces the Big South with a .406 average, cranking 67 hits and 41 RBI.

- The Spartans have played 26 games this semester that have been decided by three runs or less, winning half of them. Maddie Drerup leads the way in the pitching rotation with a 3.59 ERA on a massive workload of 171.2 innings.


 
POSTSEASON PICTURE

 
- A single PC win tomorrow or Saturday would bump Longwood out of the Big South Tournament and put the Blue Hose in, as the league qualifies the top five schools to the tourney.

- Should the Scotsmen make it to the postseason as the #4 seed, they will face Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, May 6 to start the double-elimination process. PC owns the tiebreaker against the Runnin' Bulldogs, beating them two-games-to-one which included a dramatic five-run comeback in extra innings.

- If coach Williams' group is able to win all three at Upstate, that will put them in a three-way tie with the Spartans and Radford for 2^nd place. Presby would be awarded the #2 seed in that hypothetical scenario, as they are the only team in the league that took two games off of the top-seed Winthrop.

- Most importantly, PC would be able to bypass Wednesday's game if they sweep Upstate and get the #2 seed, getting a bonus day of rest before starting the tournament properly on Thursday, the 7^th.

- Coincidentally, the 2026 Big South Championship will be held at Upstate's venue in Spartanburg, the exact location that Presbyterian will be in over the next 48 hours.

- Seniors Blair Darby and Molly Mattas are Spartanburg natives, graduating from Dorman and Byrnes High School respectively. They have combined for 16 extra-base hits and 32 RBI thus far in their final year with the program.


 
LAST TIME OUT

 
- Tomorrow will be PC's first action in a full 10 days, as they were last seen in a one-off matchup with Clemson that resulted in a 10-0 defeat.

- It was the team's first showing against an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference in two years, facing the same unit that won the ACC Tournament Championship last spring.

- Rookie infielder Hali Duke singled in the 3^rd inning, extending her remarkable on-base streak to 27 games. She is the only player in the Big South who has been chosen for a weekly award on four separate dates, ranking second in the division with a .404 hitting clip.

- PC's 4.46 staff ERA is the second-lowest in the conference, with senior Peyton Duncan throwing 47 innings against league foes. She recently surpassed 300 career strikeouts (one of just four players in school history to record that many).