CIU, Milligan, Bryan and Truett McConnell advance on opening day of AAC softball tournament
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | E | H | R | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPA | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| CIU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | X | 2 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | E | H | R | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRU | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| BRE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 7 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | E | H | R | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| BRY | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | E | H | R | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| MIL | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 9 |
Opening day of the 2026 Appalachian Athletic Conference Softball Tournament produced four advancing teams Monday at the Brickyard Ball Fields in Kingsport, Tennessee. No. 9 seed CIU eliminated No. 8 Spartanburg Methodist 10-5 in the first game, No. 7 Milligan handled No. 10 Columbia 9-1, No. 4 Bryan beat No. 5 Pikeville 9-1, and No. 6 Truett McConnell closed the day with a 12-7 win over No. 3 Brenau.
The morning opener turned after Spartanburg Methodist built a 5-0 lead. Maria Sialmas put Spartanburg Methodist in front in the second inning, and Carson McCowan followed with a three-run home run in a four-run third that gave the No. 8 seed control. CIU, the No. 9 seed, reversed the game in the fifth. The Rams scored five times in the inning, with Kami Meekins delivering the central blow in a rally that erased the deficit and shifted momentum. CIU added five more runs in the sixth to finish with 12 hits and complete the 10-5 comeback. Meekins finished with four RBIs, Lilli Petty had three hits and two doubles, and Caydon Thompson drove in three runs. Spartanburg Methodist totaled seven hits, with Maddie Handy scoring twice.
Milligan, the No. 7 seed, broke open its game against No. 10 Columbia with a six-run second inning and never let the lead shrink. Milligan added another run in the fourth and two more in the sixth in a 9-1 result. Alana Parsons went 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Katelin Secrist handled the game from both sides. Secrist threw a complete game of six innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts, and also drove in two runs. Jordan Roulettwheeler added two hits and an RBI as Milligan finished with 12 hits. Columbia's lone run came in the fifth, and Krislyn Wilder scored it.
Bryan, the No. 4 seed, answered quickly after Pikeville scored first and then pulled away for a five-inning 9-1 win. Dani Crum singled and later scored Pikeville's only run in the top of the first, but Bryan matched it in the bottom half and moved ahead with two runs in the second. The game turned fully in the fourth, when Bryan scored five times to stretch the margin to 8-1. Lily Taylor led Bryan's offense with two doubles and three RBIs, Kaycee Baldwin added two hits and two RBIs, and Juliana Santillanes scored three runs. Bryan finished with 10 hits, while Pikeville had two.
The final game of the day featured the most sustained offense. Truett McConnell, the No. 6 seed, defeated No. 3 Brenau 12-7 after building an early cushion, then answering Brenau's late push with a five-run seventh inning. Truett McConnell scored once in the first and four times in the second, then kept adding on behind Grace Folds, who collected three hits and five RBIs. Rylee Walker had two hits and two RBIs, and Morgan Kacalek added a three-run home run. Brenau stayed within reach behind Kami Meekins, who hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs, while Lilli Petty had three hits and two doubles. Elizabeth Bennett worked 6.2 innings to earn the win before Truett McConnell's final burst secured the 12-7 decision.
The tournament opened with the seeds spread across the bracket, Spartanburg Methodist at No. 8, CIU at No. 9, Columbia at No. 10, Milligan at No. 7, Bryan at No. 4, Pikeville at No. 5, Brenau at No. 3 and Truett McConnell at No. 6. By the end of the first day in Kingsport, the advancing teams were CIU, Milligan, Bryan and Truett McConnell, with each game shaped by one decisive inning, from CIU's five-run fifth to Milligan's six-run second, Bryan's five-run fourth and Truett McConnell's five-run seventh.
