Softball Opens Season at Lowcountry Classic

Friday, February 13

Charleston, SC

10:00 AM

Sacred Heart

Akron

Photo by: Carl Rizzo

Softball Opens Season at Lowcountry Classic

2/12/2026 10:21:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes

SHU will play five games at the event in Charleston, S.C.

By: Josh Smith

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University softball team kicks off the 2026 season this weekend at the Lowcountry Classic, hosted by Charleston Southern and Charleston. SHU will play four games at Charleston Southern on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14, before concluding its trip with one game at Charleston on Sunday, Feb. 15.

Lowcountry Classic Game Information
Game 1: Sacred Heart vs. Akron – Friday, Feb. 13; 10:00 a.m. | Live Stats
Game 2: Sacred Heart at Charleston Southern – Friday, Feb. 13; 3:00 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 3: Sacred Heart vs. UMass – Saturday, Feb. 14; 10:00 a.m. | Live Stats
Game 4: Sacred Heart vs. Penn – Saturday, Feb. 14; 12:30 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 5: Sacred Heart vs. UMass – Sunday, Feb. 15; 10:00 a.m. | Live Stats

SEASON REWIND
In their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Pioneers went 21-27 overall. SHU also made its first appearance in the MAAC Championship Tournament, finishing as the No. 8 seed after going 11-13. Sacred Heart met No. 5 Canisius in the single-elimination round and dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 result in a pitchers' duel. The Pioneers have won 20+ games and made the conference tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2018 and 2019.

2026 SLATE
The Pioneers unveiled their 2026 schedule in December, featuring a 55-game slate spanning two time zones. After this weekend's tournament, SHU will head west for the Capital City Classic, hosted by Sacramento State and UC Davis. The Pios will play five games in the Capital City Classic and a doubleheader at Saint Mary's before flying back east.

SHU hits the ground running once it gets back to Fairfield. The team welcomes Siena for its MAAC opener on Mar. 7 at Pioneer Park. The Pios will mix some nonconference series into their 28-game league slate. There are notable nonleague games at Hofstra and UMass Lowell, and a home series against Harvard. Sacred Heart's regular season will end at Quinnipiac on May 2. The team eyes its second appearance in the MAAC Tournament, running from May 6-9 at the conference's No. 1 seed.

GUESS WHO'S BACK
The Pioneers return a chunk of their core from last season, as only three players graduated. SHU brings back its ace in Sam Kowalski. Kowalski was named 98th on D1 Softball's 100 Mid-Major Rankings and was named preseason All-MAAC after an outstanding junior season. The San Clemente, Calif., native led the team with 12 wins, a career-low 2.17 ERA with a career-best 180 strikeouts over 171.0 innings. She was no slouch at the plate either, as she owned a .325 batting average, adding 12 RBIs, seven runs, nine doubles, and a triple.

In addition to Kowalski, SHU returns two of its other three batting average leaders in Elle Leckrone (.333) and Charlene Davis (.310). Leckrone made Second Team All-MAAC and MAAC All-Rookie Team after leading the team in average and runs (21). Davis set new career highs with a .310 batting average, 17 RBIs, 16 runs, eight doubles, and two home runs. Nicole Henke also returns after hitting a career-high, tying five home runs with eight doubles and 25 RBIs.

In total, the Pioneers bring back 20 players from last season's roster. Seniors Kaelyn Freed and Emily Heath, and juniors Cierra Bender and Savannah Moore, stand to make a significant impact. These returning starters made strong contributions a year ago.

MY NAME IS
Sacred Heart heads into the season with seven incoming first years. Three of the new players are infielders, two are utility players, one is a pitcher and the last is an outfielder. Emily Campion will look to add depth to SHU's pitching staff, while Angela Gatto, Kira Palmer, Carlee Paez, Teagan Dwyer, Madisyn Zito and Ella Stoops will all compete to gain playing time at the plate, on defense or on the bases.

THE FIELD
AKRON

The Zips head into the weekend 0-5 in 2026, dropping all five games at the season-opening Kickin' Chicken Classic, hosted by Coastal Carolina.
Akron was outscored in the event by a 12-52, having to play both the Chanticleers and Arkansas twice and Virginia once.
Arkansas is ranked eighth in the country and Virginia is receiving votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Poll.
Andrea Day, a 2025 All-MAC Freshman Team player, led the team with a .462 average (6-for-13), with a triple and two RBIs.
Freshman McKayla McGee led the team with four RBIs, hitting a three-run bomb against Arkansas in the second game.
Akron is coming off a 30-25 2025 campaign that came to a close in the MAC Tournament.
The team returns All-MAC players Meagan Lee and Sophia Wygast, and All-MAC Freshman Team pitcher Madie Jamrog.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Pios have met the Zips six times before this weekend, as the series is tied 3-3.
The first meeting was a 3-0 SHU win in 1984 during the NCAA DIII Championship.
The most recent game was a 3-2 Akron win in 2016.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

The Buccaneers have already started their season, going 1-5 at the CSU/CofC Kickoff Tournament.
The event featured the MAAC's Siena and Marist as Charleston Southern was swept in two games against the Saints and split against the Red Foxes.
The Bucs were also shut out against St. John's and George Mason, with all six games being home contests.
Junior outfielder Blakley Kingsmore led the way with a .556 average (10-for-18) with six runs scored in the six games.
She also went a perfect 6-for-6 in steals.
Senior Charlee Yourman brought the power with a .588 slugging percentage with three doubles, a home run and three RBIs.
Senior pitcher Riley Lauffer led the staff with a 3.17 ERA, going 1-0 in four appearances.
CSU went 20-29 last season and was ousted from the Big South Championship after two games.
The Bucs return both All-Big South First Teamers in Yourman and Carsten Sandvig.
Jordyn Dimond also returns after leading the team in average (.346) and making the Honorable Mention by the Big South.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Pios and Bucs and are tied at 1-1 in two games during the all-time series between the teams.
The teams split two games at the 2022 Lowcountry Classic.

UMASS

The Minutewomen have also struggled to start the season, sitting at 0-5 after the River City Leadoff in Jacksonville, Fla.
UMass was shut out in three of the games and lost the five games by a combined score of 3-38.
The Minutewomen played North Florida (2x), Jacksonville (2x) and Colgate, the latter being a close 3-2 affair in eight innings.
Senior outfielder Riain Keefe led the way with a .267 average (4-for-15), while Riley Kairer had two of the team's three RBIs.
UMass went 14-33 last season and missed out on a spot in the A10 Tournament after posting a 6-16 mark.
The team's lone All-A10 honoree, Lydia Castro, graduated, while Brooke Musch comes back after making the All-Rookie Team.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Minutewomen own a 2-1 series lead over the Pios in the team's previous meetings.
The two teams split a series in 1985, while UMass took the most recent contest in 2009.

PENN

The Quakers join the Pioneers as the two teams opening the 2026 campaign this weekend.
Penn went 3-35-1 last season, winning just once in Ivy League play (1-20).
Freshman Gigi Ganje led the way for the Quakers with a .302 average on 35 hits in 116 at-bats.
She also led the team with six doubles and six stolen bases, while ranking second with 16 RBIs.
Junior Jade Montgomery led the way with a .495 slugging percentage, 20 RBIs, 20 runs and six home runs.
In the circle, Ainsley Pemberton owned a team-low 6.58 ERA and had two of the team's three wins.

ALL-TIME SERIES

SHU will eye its first win over Penn in its fifth game against the team.
Penn took wins in three straight seasons from 2011-13, while also owning a victory in 1999.

LOOKING AHEAD
After this weekend, SHU will have 12 days off before heading to California for the Capital City Classic. The Pios will play between Feb. 27 and March 1 at the event, which will be hosted by UC Davis and Sacramento State. The opener will come on Friday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. ET against Nevada.