Gallery: (5-9-2026) 2026 PSAC Championship Softball
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The Shippensburg University softball team claimed the 2026 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship title on Saturday with an 8-5 win over East Stroudsburg. The Raiders won their second title in four years on a rainy day at Grand Slam Park.
Leah Schwalm was named the 2026 PSAC Championships Most Outstanding Athlete. The Quakertown native was 9-for-16 (.563) with four doubles, a triple, a homer, 10 RBIs, six runs, a .611 on-base percentage (OBP) and a perfect fielding percentage on 30 chances.
Brie Wilmot led the SU offense Saturday by going 4-for-4 at the plate with a home run and two RBIs. Wilmot's home run was her 10th of the season.
Caitlyn Martell, Schwalm and
Emilee Sullivan each delivered two hits apiece. Martell reached base in four of her five appearances at the plate, drawing two walks. Sullivan went 2-for-3 at the plate and drew a walk.
Dani Hayward improved to 27-5 on the season. Her 27 wins and 29 complete games are tied with Andrea Smith for the second-most in a single season in school history. She is just the third player in school history (joining school record holder Kelley Tiesi, and Smith) to surpass 200 innings pitched in a season.
Shippensburg earns an automatic berth to the 2026 NCAA Softball Championships, which begin next week with the first of two Atlantic Regional brackets. The Raiders will find out their seeding and placement on Monday at 11 a.m.
Game Recap
The Warriors threatened to score in the top of the first after loading the bases with one out. Hayward worked out of the inning with a pair of flyouts.
Martell and
Reagan Bauman got on base in the bottom of the first, but East Stroudsburg's Sarah Davenport got a pair of flyouts to keep the game scoreless.
The Raiders got on the board in the bottom of the second to take a 4-0 lead. Wilmot and Sullivan got on base after a single and a walk.
Sarah Sabocsik brought in a pair of runs with a triple down the left-field line. With Sabocsik on third, Martell delivered an RBI single to make it 3-0. With two outs, Haser recorded an RBI single up the middle to increase the lead.
Hayward retired three straight batters in the top of the third, ending the inning with a strikeout.
The bases were loaded in the bottom of the third for the Raiders after singles from Wilmot and Sullivan and a walk from Sabocsik. Davenport held the Raiders to no runs with a fielder's choice and a flyout.
Hayward recorded three strikeouts in the top of the fourth, allowing just one hit.
In the bottom of the fifth, Wilmot extended the SU lead with her tenth home run of the season – slamming a ball off the left-field foul pole – to make it 5-0.
East Stroudsburg came within one in the top of the sixth inning. A Raider error and back-to-back singles loaded the bases with nobody out. Maddy Pritchard delivered a grand slam to make it 5-4. The Warriors had bases loaded again in the sixth with three walks, but a flyout kept the Raiders in front by one.
Now facing reliever Tessa Guenette, Ehrlacher led off the bottom of the sixth with a single.
Gianna Cimino reached base after an error on a bunt. Wilmot delivered an RBI single to make it 6-4. Sullivan kept the rally going with a bloop single over the pitcher that scored Cimino, 7-4. Martell drew a walk to make the bases loaded and Schwalm increased the lead to 8-4 with an RBI-groundout.
The Warriors drew a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh. With two outs and a runner on first, ESU recorded a pair of singles to plate one run, 8-5. Hayward ended the game with her eighth strikeout of the day.
PSAC Tournament History Notes:
* This is Shippensburg's fifth PSAC Championship in school history, accompanying titles in 2023, 2005, 2004 and 2003.
* Shippensburg is now 19-12 in the PSAC Softball Tournament under Van Scyoc, who is currently in her 10th season as the head coach of the Raiders. SU has qualified for eight of the nine PSAC Tournaments held during Van Scyoc's tenure.
* SU has gone 13-4 in the PSAC Tournament since 2023, winning at least two games in each of the last four tournaments.
* The SU senior class (Ehrlacher,
Lindsey Haser, Martell, Sullivan and
Kaira Zamadics) are now two-time PSAC Champions having been a part of the 2023 Championship team.
At This Year's PSAC Tournament:
*
Rilee Ehrlacher went 10-for-15 (.666) at the plate with a home run, two RBIs, two doubles, eight runs scored and a sacrifice bunt.
* Martell went 8-for-15 (.533) at the plate with three RBIs, two doubles, four runs scored, three walks and zero strikeouts.
* With her four hits Saturday, Wilmot finished her tournament by going 7-for-14 (.500) at the plate with a home run and four RBIs.
* Hayward threw every inning for the Raiders in this year's tournament (26.0), allowing 30 hits, 11 earned runs (2.96 ERA), 13 walks and striking out 30.
Series vs. ESU Notes:
* Saturday marked the 17th time that Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg have faced off over the last three seasons. SU is 13-4 in that span (5-1 in 2026, 4-2 in 2025, 4-1 in 2024), including 5-0 in postseason games.
* Hayward made her seventh career appearance (fifth start) against ESU; she is now 5-2 with a 1.95 ERA against the Warriors. She has thrown 43 innings against ESU, allowing 12 earned runs and 37 hits while walking 12 and striking out 40.
* Davenport made her 13th career appearance (eight start) against Shippensburg; she is now 3-7 with a 3.96 ERA against the Raiders. She has thrown 63.2 innings against SU, allowing 36 earned runs and 75 hits while walking 35 and striking out 73.
* Pritchard's grand slam was her second home run of the season against the Raiders; she hit a two-run shot at Shippensburg in March.
* Wilmot is now 14-for-26 (.538) all-time vs. Davenport with four home runs, nine RBIs, seven walks and four strikeouts.
* Sabocsik is now 11-25 (.440) all-time vs. Davenport with three extra-base hits, seven RBIs, nine walks and just two strikeouts.
* Schwalm has hit .700 (7-for-10) against Davenport this season with a double, RBI, walk and a strikeout.
