DUNCAN, S.C. – The Chowan University softball team faced Southern Wesleyan University in the Conference Carolinas Softball Championship Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks were one of four teams remaining in the tournament, meeting the Warriors for the second time in the championship.
Chowan collected 13 hits and scored in the second, third, sixth, and seventh innings, highlighted by a four-run second inning that marked the highest-scoring frame of the game. Despite finishing with a slight edge in hits (13-12), Southern Wesleyan would take the win.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 10, Southern Wesleyan 13
RECORDS | Chowan 32-20 , Southern Wesleyan 37-13
LOCATION | Duncan, S.C. (Tyger River Park)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Southern Wesleyan struck first with a four-run opening inning, with a pair of home runs to take an early lead. Chowan responded in the second inning, plating four runs to even the score as Hydee Kugler singled through the left side to score Ryleigh Gough. Calliope James would then score on a failed pick off, as Kugler would make it home. A final run of the inning would come from Lenita Bryson who scored on a sacrifice fly by Kaitlyn Springle.
The back-and-forth continued in the third as Chowan added two more runs, highlighted by RBI efforts from Hope Soria and Ava Mizell to tie the game once again at 6-6.
Southern Wesleyan regained control in the middle innings, scoring three runs in the fourth and adding insurance in the fifth and sixth to build a 13-8 advantage.
The Hawks added two runs in the sixth inning as an RBI single to the left side would come from Kugler to score Julianna Kellogg and Curry would make it home as Soria was hit by a pitch with bases loaded. The Hawks stayed aggressive in the seventh, scoring two more runs off RBI from Kyra Helton and Makenzi Curry, but the rally would fall short as Southern Wesleyan secured the 13-10 win.
Curry led the effort with two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI, while Kugler added two hits, two RBIs, and a run. Soria contributed a hit, a run, and two RBIs, and Bryson finished with two hits, a run, and an RBI. James tallied two hits and an RBI, while Alexis Denham recorded a pair of hits. Helton and Mizell each added a hit and an RBI, with Mizell also crossing the plate once. Kellogg chipped in with two runs scored.
In the circle, Abby Rutledge earned the start, tossing 1.2 innings. Curry followed in relief with 1.1 innings of work, while Emily Fowler handled 2.2 innings in the middle frames. Callie Tyndall also appeared in relief to close out the effort.
The Hawks wrap up the season with a 32-20 overall record and a 17-11 mark in Conference Carolinas play, showing a strong improvement from last year's 20-28 overall record and 10-14 conference finish.
After being eliminated in the second round of the Conference Carolinas Championship last season, Chowan made a deeper postseason run this year. With a win in the play-in round, bouncing back from a loss in the first round, the Hawks responded with two consecutive wins to advance to the semifinals, marking a significant step forward for the program.
