Friday's SoCon Softball Championship roundup

No. 1 Chattanooga 8, No. 3 Samford 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In the first game of the day at the 2025 SoCon Softball Championship presented by One Spartanburg at Hope Field on Friday, No. 1 seed Chattanooga picked up an 8-3 win over No. 3 seed Samford.

Samford (33-22) will now play an elimination game later today at 4 p.m. against the winner of the game between No. 2 seed UNCG and No. 5 seed Mercer. Chattanooga (41-13) will play the winner of the 4 p.m. game from Friday on Saturday at 1 p.m. If the Mocs win their next game, they will be the tournament champions for the second straight season.

Both teams scored in the first inning. Samford scored one off a RBI single from Katie Campbell in the top of the frame. Chattanooga’s runs came off a two-run shot by SoCon Player of the Year Olivia Lipari, giving the Mocs a 2-1 lead.

Samford moved back in front during the second inning. McKayla Cothran hit a RBI single, scoring Joi Hubbard to the play and tying the game at 2-2. Three batters later, Cothran came across home plate following an error by Chattanooga.

The top seed had a big inning in the third frame, plating six runs. Camryn Cernuto scored following a bases loaded walk, knotting the game at 3-3. Two batters later, Izzy Carlyle scored on a RBI groundout, moving the Mocs ahead for good.

Chattanooga scored its remaining runs in the inning on an error, which brought Jayce Purdy and Baileigh Pitts in to score, and a single, which brought Zoe Wright and Lexi Cooley across home plate. The Mocs went ahead 8-3 and held off the Bulldogs for the remainder of the contest.

SoCon Pitcher of the Year Peja Goold (25-6) got the win for Chattanooga out of the bullpen, throwing five innings and striking out three batters while surrendering zero runs.

Cothran led the Samford offense, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a RBI and two runs scored.

No. 5 Mercer 7, No 2 UNCG 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – No. 5 seed Mercer continued its run at the SoCon Softball Championship presented by One Spartanburg at Hope Field with a 7-3 victory over No. 2 seed UNCG.

With the win, Mercer (34-24) advanced to face No. 3 seed Samford in an elimination game Friday at 4 p.m. UNCG ends the season at 39-18.

Mercer had a quick start, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. Following a leadoff single by Hallie Langford, Tori Hedgecock hit a triple off of the right field wall to score Langford. Hedgecock scored on the next at-bat, making the score 2-0.

UNCG cut the lead in half during the bottom of the second inning. SoCon Freshman of the Year Macy Michael led off the frame with a double before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Michael would score off a sacrifice fly from Laney Deane.

In the fourth inning, the Bears pushed their lead to 4-1. With Sydney Harris on first base, Kiki Daniels hit her third home run of the tournament. Mercer held that lead until the bottom of the fifth inning.

Kaylyn Belfield hit a two-out single to give UNCG its first baserunner of the fifth. Jessie Shipley drove her in with a double to left center field. Following a walk, Jorde Chartrand singled to right field, scoring Shipley and closing the Mercer lead to 4-3.

In the next half inning after a pop out began the frame, the Bears loaded the bases on an infield single and two bunts. Paris Wiggs singled up the middle on the next at-bat to score Laura Vigna and Daniella Monaco, prompting a pitching change by the Spartans. After an error, Grace Jones drew a bases loaded walk, making the score 7-3 in favor of the fifth seed.

With one out in the seventh inning, UNCG got an infield single from Belfield. She would advance to second base on a fly out to right field, but a groundout on the next pitch ended the contest.

Katheryn Rearley (7-2) got the win inside the circle for the Bears, pitching five innings and striking out two batters. Wiggs, Jones and Daniels all finished with two RBIs.

Belfield went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead UNCG.

No. 5 Mercer 13, No 3. Samford 5
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – No. 5 seed Mercer eliminated No. 3 seed Samford SoCon Softball Championship presented by One Spartanburg at Hope Field on Friday, by a score of 13-5.

The Bears (36-24) will face No. 1 seed Chattanooga on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the tournament title on the line. Mercer must defeat the Mocs, who beat the Bears, 8-7, in nine innings on Thursday, twice on Saturday to claim its first SoCon crown, while Chattanooga needs just one win for its 17th title.

Samford finished its season with a 33-23 record.

In the top of the first inning, Mercer scored five runs on just one hit. Four of the first six batters of the game reached on a walk, giving the Bears a 1-0 advantage. KiKi Daniels cleared the bases on the next at-bat with a grand slam.

A solo home run from first-team all-conference selection Tori Hedgecock in the top of the third put the Bears ahead 6-0. Samford got two runs back in the bottom of the third inning. Katie Campbell hit a two-run single, scoring Sarah Squillace and McKayla Cothran on the play.

Both teams scored once again in the fourth frame. Mercer’s run came off an RBI single by Paris Wiggs. Samford got runs from Linsey Hargis, Ella Nelson and Addison Smith, making the score 7-5 in favor of the Bears heading into the fifth inning.

Daniels continued her big game in the fifth inning, driving in Hannah Rivers on a RBI single to raise the Bears advantage to 8-5. Mercer’s bats continued to produce in the next frame as Isabel Fernandez scored on an error before a two-out two-run single off the bat of Emma Dorval made the score 11-5.

The final two runs of the game came in the seventh inning. Rivers doubled to left field, bringing Wiggs and Hallie Langford across home plate.

Mercer’s Grace Taylor (11-5) picked up her second win of the tournament, throwing four innings out of the bullpen. Nine different Bears recorded a hit in the contest, led by Daniels’ 3-for-4 outing.

Hargis, Nelson and Grier Bruce, a second-team all-conference selection, all had two hits for the Bulldogs.

 
2025 SoCon Softball Championship
Spartanburg, S.C.
Wednesday, May 7
Game 1: No. 5 Mercer 11, No. 8 Furman 7
Game 2: No. 7 ETSU 12, No. 6 Western Carolina 9
Game 3: No. 5 Mercer 5, No. 4 Wofford 2
Game 4: No. 3 Samford 7, No. 7 ETSU 6

 
Thursday, May 8
Game 5: No. 1 Chattanooga 8, No. 5 Mercer 7 (9 innings)
Game 6: No. 3 Samford 5, No. 2 UNCG 4
Game 7: No. 5 Mercer 11, No. 7 ETSU 3
Game 8: No. 2 UNCG 3, No. 4 Wofford 1
 
Friday, May 9
Game 9: No. 1 Chattanooga 8, No. 3 Samford 3
Game 10: No. 5 Mercer 7, No. 2 UNCG 3
Game 11: No. 5 Mercer 13, No. 3 Samford 5

Saturday, May 10
Game 12: No. 1 Chattanooga vs. No. 5 Mercer, 1 p.m.
Game 13 (if necessary): Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser, 4 p.m.