Softball | 5/16/2026 2:55:00 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (pacathletics.org) - The Westminster College softball team's season came to a close at the Jackson, Miss., Regional, hosted by Belhaven University with a 1-2 record, including a split of elimination games Friday.
After dropping an 8-2 decision to Belhaven in Thursday's first game, the Titans stayed alive with a decisive 14-1 victory in five innings over Berry College in their first game Friday. In their second elimination game, Westminster battled Emory University into extra innings before the Eagles eventually pulled out a 5-3 win in nine innings, which ended the Titans' season with a 31-11 overall record.
Westminster had earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships by winning their third consecutive PAC championship. The 31 wins is tied for second-most in a single-season for the Titans and their sixth consecutive season with 26 or more victories.
Game 1 - Belhaven 8, Westminster 2
Westminster junior Ava Karpa (Coraopolis, Pa./Moon) delivered a two-out, two-run base hit in the first to stake the Titans to a 2-0 lead. Belhaven evened the score at 2-2 on a two-run home run to left in the bottom of the inning. The Blazers took a 3-2 lead on a solo blast to lead off the second before a three-run homer stretched the lead to 6-2. The Blazers' big inning was capped with a two-run home run to push Belhaven's lead to 8-2.
Sophomore Lily Jordan (Rural Valley, Pa./West Shamokin) went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Karpa was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Freshman Kylie Anthony (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) drew a first-inning walk and scored a run.
Game 2 - Westminster 14, Berry 1 (5 inn.)
Primed for an offensive breakout, Westminster scored four runs in the second to take control of the tournament's first elimination game. Sophomore Morgan O'Brien (Coraopolis, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) followed junior Faith Jones' (Volant, Pa./Wilmington) RBI base hit with a three-run double. The Titans tacked on five more runs in the third on an RBI groundout from sophomore Sam Levac (Oakville, Ontario, Canada/Garth Webb) and back-to-back run-scoring base hits by senior Kelly Troup (Mogadore, Ohio/Field) and Anthony. Jones scored the eighth run on a Berry wild pitch before O'Brien's double scored Anthony. Four of Westminster's five third-inning runs came with two outs.
Westminster scratched out a pair of runs in the fourth before Berry got on the board a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the frame. The Titans added three more runs in the fifth.
Sophomore Cheyenne Piper (Latrobe, Pa./Ligonier Valley) ran her record to 19-4 in the circle with victory. She allowed one run (earned) on four hits with a strikeout in 4.1 innings. Junior Natalie Davis (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) worked the final two-thirds of the fifth.
The Titans pounded out 17 hits in the run-rule win. O'Brien went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. It was her sixth three-hit game, and 20th multi-hit game of the season. Levac was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Game 3 - Emory 5, Westminster 3 (9 inn.)
Emory jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run home run in the first inning. Jordan led off the Westminster second with a double and scored on junior Leah Taliani's (Arnold, Pa./Valley) one-out base hit. Troup tied the game at 2-2 with a single, scoring Taliani. The game remained tied until the fifth, when a two-out double gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead.
Anthony tied things up at 3-3 with a solo home run to lead off the sixth, her first collegiate home run. Emory took the lead in the top of the ninth on back-to-back RBI hits and Westminster was retired in order in the bottom of the frame to close out the game.
Piper allowed five runs on 12 hits with four walks and five strikeouts. It was her 19th complete game this season.
Jordan went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while Karpa was 2-for-4 and O'Brien went 1-for-4 with a double.
Contributed by Westminster Athletic Communications