Softball | 5/2/2026 8:54:10 PM

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.V. - The situation looked bleak for the Indiana University Southeast softball team.

After the Grenadiers' bats had gone silent in a 5-1 loss to Rio Grande, a loss that forced a winner-take-all conference title game, the RedStorm surged out to a 5-0 first inning lead in said winner-take-all contest. 

But the fourth-seeded Grenadiers had an answer. 

IU Southeast scored 14 of the game's next 15 runs, toppling the two-time defending RSC champs by a 14-6 score at The Rock Sports Complex in South Charleston to claim the program's first RSC title since the 2019 season.

Down 5-0, the Grenadiers immediately erased the deficit in the top of the second. A double by Savannah Gaither, followed by a Grace Stapleton bunt single, immediately put runners on the corners. After Stapleton stole second, Kaitlyn Leister put the Grenadiers on the board with an RBI single.

IU Southeast added a second run on a Chloee Shewmaker single, then a third when McKenzie Walters was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. With two outs, Sofia Guy came up with the biggest hit of the inning, a bases-clearing double that gave IU Southeast their first lead, 6-5.

Rio Grande got a run back in the bottom of the second, but IU Southeast would take the lead for good in the top of the third. Stapleton was key in this run as well, singling through the left side and moving up to second on a wild pitch. The Grenadiers then took a 7-6 lead on an RBI double from Leister. 

In the fourth inning, IU Southeast broke the game open with four more runs. The Grenadiers racked up six hits in the inning, with an RBI single from Gaither, an RBI single from Stapleton, a sacrifice fly from Leister, and an RBI single from Raycee Stallings providing the scoring. With a chance to put the game away, the Grenadiers did just that in the top of the fifth, adding three more runs on a Gaither RBI single and a two-run double from Leister. 

Hallie Foley, who came on in the first inning out of the bullpen, was the winning pitcher of the championship game, allowing just one run across 4.1 innings in the circle. Six Grenadiers had multiple hits in the finale, led by Stapleton's 4-for-4 effort with four runs scored, and Leister's five RBIs on three hits. Gaither also had three hits, scoring two runs and driving in two more.

IU Southeast earned their way to the championship round with three wins on Thursday and Friday. The Grenadiers defeated Brescia in Thursday's opener, then defeated Oakland City and Rio Grande by scores of 6-2 and 3-0 on Friday to earn a spot on Championship Saturday.

The Grenadiers not only claimed their first RSC Tournament Title since 2019 but also clinch a bid to the NAIA Softball National Tournament, where they will join RSC regular season champion Oakland City. The Grenadiers and Mighty Oaks will find out where they will be heading for their opening round site during the NAIA Softball Selection Show which will be Wednesday, May 6th at 6:00 p.m. ET.