Softball made history by winning the first Southern Conference title in school history after beating the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (41-15, 15-5 SoCon), 5-2, in the SoCon championship game on Saturday, May 10.
The historic victory came after the team (38-24, 11-9 SoCon) dominated in the SoCon tournament following a blistering 10-2 SoCon record in the final four series of the season. The Bears started conference play off slowly this season, winning just one game in their first three conference series. Among those games, Mercer lost twice to the River Mocs, who also beat the Bears on Thursday in a quarterfinal matchup.
In the conference tournament, Mercer overcame Furman University, 11-7, in a play-in game. After securing a playoff berth, the Bears beat Wofford College, 5-2, before falling to the River Mocs, 8-7. Consecutive wins in elimination games against East Tennessee State University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro gave Mercer a spot in the semifinals, where they took down Samford University, 13-5.
Before Saturday, the Bears had been unable to top the River Mocs since April 21, 2024, losing four consecutive games to Chattanooga. The streak was snapped, however, and Mercer built one of its own after beating the River Mocs twice in a row Saturday afternoon.
Grace Taylor ‘26 led the team on the mound, holding the River Mocs to one run in the bottom of the first and another in the sixth. The 2024 SoCon Preseason Pitcher of the Year struck out to batters while walking four in seven innings of work. Taylor, 6-2 this season, is second on the team with a 2.75 ERA.
Tori Hedgecock ‘25 led the team in the championship game with three hits and three runners batted in, including one home run in the bottom of the third inning. Infielder Daniella Monaco '27 continued her streak of clutch pinch hitting when she brought home KiKi Daniels '26 in the sixth inning. Monaco went 6-for-10 at bat this season, including a 4-for-4 streak in the playoffs.
Softball set a program record as six players were recognized with SoCon All-Tournament honors. Emma Dorval '25 was also awarded the SoCon Pinnacle Award for having the highest GPA on a championship winning team.
After winning the game and making it to the team's first postseason ever, the Bears will face off against the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fl. Mercer will play the No. 4 seed Gators on the road on Thursday, May 16, at 4:30 p.m.
Nevaeh Wilson '28 is majoring in Journalism and minoring in Film Studies. She has been writing for The Cluster since her freshman year, and has worked for Mercer's ESPN studio. She enjoys watching college and professional sporting events.
