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HBCU Athletic Conference

Dillard takes Game 1 of HBCUAC Championship Series, Stillman looks to answer

Dillard and Stillman reach the Championship for second straight season.
Dillard and Stillman reach the Championship for second straight season.
April 28, 2026

NORTHPORT, Ala. - Dillard University is a win away from winning the 2026 HBCU Athletic Conference Softball Championship after defeating Stillman College 1-0 in Game 1 of the championship series on Monday at River Run Park.

The series resumes at noon with Game 2. If Stillman wins, the final game will follow immediately. The game(s) and award ceremony will stream on the Urban Edge Network.

For the second time in the championship, the Lady Bleu Devils kept a powerful Stillman lineup off the scoreboard. Kylie Price held the Tigers to three hits and struck out four batters. She didn't allow a runner to reach second base.

Dillard got their only run in the second inning. Brooklyn Baltzell singled with one out. With two outs, Grace Hunter hit a double to right field which brought home Baltzell, who went 2-for-3. Stillman's pitcher Karli Crocker held the Lady Bleu Devils to a run on seven hits and struck out three.

The Lady Bleu Devils advanced to the championship with a 1-0 extra-inning walkoff victory over the defending champion Stillman on Sunday. Ca'Terra Bates, Sa'Vya Sutherland and Haley Weatherspoon singled to load the bases in the bottom of the eighth. Jessica Battiste brought home Bates for the winning run with a single to left.

Mary-Elizabeth Landry, the 2026 HBCUAC Pitcher of the Year, earned the win. She held Stillman to six hits and struck out six batters. The Tigers had a scoring opportunity in the eighth when Avary Lumpkin doubled with two outs. Anna Sullivan followed with a single but Molly Neal overran third and was thrown out.

Earlier on Sunday, Dillard crushed No. 4 seed Talladega College 12-1. The Lady Bleu Devils took control immediately with four runs in the first and six in the second. Sutherland and Weatherspoon both went 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI. Battiste, Baltzell and Stewart each had two RBI. Price earned her 12th win, holding Talladega to a run on five hits and struck out two. The Lady Bleu Devils have outscored their opponents 26-4 in four games.

Stillman advanced to the championship with a 9-0 victory over No. 7 seed Oakwood University on Monday. It took control with five runs in the first inning. Alex Erwin led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a throwing error. Lilly Stone singled, stole second and scored on a squeeze bunt by Anna Sullivan. Katelyn Lankford hit an RBI double. Addison Nupsl hit an RBI single. 

The Tigers added four runs in the third which secured run-rule. Stone hit an RBI triple and Lumpkin drew a bases-loaded walk. Byram earned her ninth victory, holding Oakwood to two hits and struck out two.

 

2026 HBCUAC Softball Championship Game Summaries

MONDAY, APRIL 27

NO. 7 OAKWOOD 12, NO. 8 WILEY 0

  • The Lady Ambassadors scored four runs in the first inning and didn't look back

  • Sara Tate hit an RBI single

  • MaryFaith McCluskey hit an RBI triple and an RBI single in the third

  • Toni Sims hit a two-RBI double in the fourth and errors cleared the bases

  • Sims went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI

  • McCluskey went 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI

  • Tate went 2-for-2 with a run and two RBI

  • Emma Newby won her 15th start. She held the Lady Wildcats to two hits and struck out nine

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 26

NO. 8 WILEY 9, NO. 5 VOORHEES 2

  • Wiley University picked up its first postseason victory since the rebirth of its program

  • It defeated Voorhees University 9-2.

  • The Lady Wildcats took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Ma'Kiya Miles hit a sacrifice fly and Gwendolyn Johnson hit an RBI double and scored on an error.

  • Voorhees scored two runs with a two-out rally.

  • Dextiny Combs hit a double with an error bringing home a run

  • Apryl Davis hit an RBI single

  • Jazmine Rodriguez hit an RBI single and later scored on an error in the fourth

  • T'era Garrett hit an RBI single to increase the lead to 6-2

  • Adriauna Coleman went 3-for-4 with a run

  • Parram and Garrett both got two hits, scored two runs and drove in two

  • Dajah Montgomery went 2-for-4 with two runs

  • Jazmine Rodriguez earned her fifth victory. None of the runs she allowed were earned She struck out five

 

NO. 7 OAKWOOD 2, NO. 3 HUSTON-TILLOTSON 0

  • Emma Newby only allowed the Rams two hits and four walks while striking out six for her 13th victory of the season.

  • She helped her own cause with an RBI single in the fourth inning and scored on a double by MaryFaith McCluskey

  • Sara Tate went 2-for-3 with a run

  • Madison Stimpson and Kiena Cruz recorded hits for the Rams

  • Alexis Tamez allowed two runs on four hits and struck out eight

 

NO. 2 STILLMAN COLLEGE 3, NO. 6 RUST COLLEGE 2

  • Stillman took a 3-0 lead on an RBI single by Anna Sullivan, an RBI double by Katelyn Lankford and an RBI walk by Avary Lumpkin

  • Renechia Young brought home a run on a sacrifice bunt

  • Jasmine Malone scored on Amelia Fritz' ground ball to first.

  • Alex Erwin went 2-for-4 with a run

  • Lankford went 2-for-3 with an RBI

  • Jasmine Wade earned her sixth win. She went 4.1 innings and gave up a run on six hits and struck out two.

  • Michaela Otts earned the save pitching the last 2.2 innings.

  • Fritz went 2-for-4 with an RBI

  • Rha'Khaya Jones took the loss. She held Stillman to three runs on seven hits and struck out two in five innings

 

NO. 8 WILEY 10, NO. 6 RUST COLLEGE 0

  • The victory is the first shutout and run-rule victory for the program since it was reestablished.

  • Serenity Smith threw the program's first no-hitter in the new era. She only allowed three base runners and faced three batters above the minimum in her first start in the circle since March 21.

  • Gwendolyn Johnson went 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI. Te'ra Garrett went 2-for-3 with four runs and an RBI. Dyniste Lacy went 2-for-4 with a two-RBI double.

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 25

NO. 1 DILLARD 12, NO. 8 WILEY 3

  • The Lady Bleu Devils erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a three-RBI triple from Grace Hunter

  • Brooklyn Baltzell hit an RBI double and Sa'Vya Sutherland hit a two-RBI single to cap the early scoring blitz

  • Dillard added four more runs in the second to secure an 11-0 lead and take control of the contest

  • Wiley mustered three runs and drew eight walks, but five errors helped the Lady Bleu Devils extend their lead

  • Hunter finished 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBI

  • Kylie Price earned her 11th victory, throwing scoreless relief to shut down the Lady Wildcats

 

NO. 4 TALLADEGA 6, NO. 5 VOORHEES 3

  • The Tornadoes overcame an early deficit after Voorhees took a 2-0 lead in the second behind RBI singles from Apryl Davis and Areya Foster

  • Talladega capitalized on six Voorhees errors to plate three unearned runs across the second and third innings

  • Haylee Clausell hit a go-ahead triple in the fifth and scored on a double by Jazzmeen Bibbins to push the lead to 5-2

  • Ciara Bowe finished 1-for-4 with two RBI, two stolen bases and a triple

  • Seminole McShan earned the victory, while Navaeh Craig provided scoreless relief to secure the save

  • Dextiny Combs went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base for the Lady Tigers

 

NO. 6 RUST COLLEGE 12, NO. 3 HUSTON-TILLOTSON 6

  • It took a 3-0 lead on a two-RBI double and RBI single by Amelia Fritz

  • The Rams scored twice in the bottom of the second and caught the lead to one

  • Tyler Brown hit a two-RBI double in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-2.

  • RBI singles by Sydney Dixon and Fritz increased the lead to 10-2 in the fifth

  • Ashanti Murrell earned the win, throwing six innings and striking out four

  • Gaona went 2-for-4 with a run. Alayali Alaniz went 2-for-3 with a run.

  • Marleigh Robinson took the loss after allowing three runs in the first inning

 

NO. 2 STILLMAN COLLEGE 17, NO. 7 OAKWOOD 0

  • The Tigers broke the game open with eight runs in the third inning. They added six in the fourth

  • Anna Sullivan went 3-for-4 with one run and three RBI

  • Katelyn Lankford went 2-for-4 with a triple, run and two RBI

  • Addison Nupsl went 2-for-3 with two runs, a double and two RBI

  • Faith Byram shut down the Lady Ambassadors only allowing one hit and three walks. She struck out five batters

 

About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.