SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Although the fourth seed Presbyterian College softball team was able to begin the 2026 Big South Conference Championship Tournament blazing hot against the number five seed Gardner-Webb, the end result of Wednesday afternoon's first-round duel was a G-W victory by the score of 6-4.
Continuing the theme of close games between these two schools, the Blue Hose kicked off the postseason with a four-spot in the opening inning but could not add any runs to that tally over the rest of the contest.
PC left 12 runners on the base pads – five in the last two frames – to drop the first round of the double-elimination bracket. Gardner-Webb surged in front with an RBI triple in the top of the 6
th.
The Scotsmen do not yet know who their opponent for Thursday will be, awaiting the loser of tomorrow's USC Upstate/Radford matchup which is scheduled to begin at noon. PC will take the field at approximately 5:00 with their season at stake.
All games in the Big South Tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+, as Presby looks to stay alive in the next phase of the conference bracket.
FINAL SCORE: (5) Gardner-Webb, 6 | (4) Presbyterian, 4
RECORDS: Presbyterian (20-31) | Gardner-Webb (31-23)
LOCATION: Cyrill Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Gardner-Webb was able to jump ahead with a two-out solo homer in their first offensive turn, but Presbyterian answered with a haymaker from senior
Blair Darby who is competing in her hometown.
- The former Dorman High School Cavalier belted a mammoth three-run shot over the leftfield fence, her seventh career longball and the team's first three-run blast since the Charleston Southern series.
- PC was able to secure nine hits in the first three innings, adding to their early lead on an RBI single from rookie
Cierra Grice which plated
Molly Mattas.
- The Runnin' Bulldogs meticulously fought their way back into the conversation, eventually tying things up in the 6
th with a base hit and the aforementioned triple.
- Presbyterian left all the ducks on the pond with a pop-up to shallow left in the home half of the 6
th, a recurring theme throughout the day which prevented them from expanding on their 1
st-inning flurry.
- G-W closed the game with five unanswered runs, benefitting from another triple in the 7
th to provide a bit of insurance.
- After a bullet from
Gracie DeCuir that was somehow caught by third-base, PC created some traffic with a two-out walk and HBP. Webb denied the comeback by forcing a game-ending second-base pop-up.
- Alli Stidham managed all seven innings for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the circle, while
Peyton Duncan tossed 5.2 before being relieved by
Avery Robinson.
- Big South Freshman of the Year
Hali Duke collected her 15
th multi-hit game of the season, while
Morgan Farthing joined her with a couple of knocks as well.
- Three of the four matchups between PC and Gardner-Webb this year were decided by two runs or less. This was the first postseason game between the two schools since 2012.
