{"id":1365,"date":"2026-03-13T10:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2026\/03\/13\/2026-03-13-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T23:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T23:12:32","slug":"2026-03-13-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2026\/03\/13\/2026-03-13-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Softball opens 2026 at the Fastpitch Dreams\u00a0Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Reagan Thomas<\/a> · Staff Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Junior
Junior Abigail Meador earned PAC Pitcher of the Week. \u2014 JOHN HAKE<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Grove City College softball team launched its 2026 season with an impressive 6-2 showing during its eight\u2011game spring break trip to the Myrtle Beach region, combining clutch hitting, standout pitching and consistent leadership from its veteran core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wolverines opened the season with a 3-2 extra\u2011inning victory over SUNY\u2011Delhi, where senior center fielder Noel Anthony went 2-for-4 and scored the decisive run in the eighth on a double from junior first baseman Alexis Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junior pitcher Abigail Meadors set the tone defensively, striking out 13 in a dominant complete\u2011game win. Senior catcher Kristin Tesch also made an immediate impact, recording a double and a single while guiding Meadors through her 13\u2011strikeout performance behind the plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHitting has always been a mental game \u2026 something I\u2019ve learned to do while hitting is sing worship songs to calm my mind and nerves,\u201d Tesch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone brings a unique skill set, I\u2019m really hopeful about the success we will have this season if we keep building on this start.\u201d \u2014 Noel Anthony<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grove City improved to 3-0 Tuesday after rallying for a 3-2 win over previously undefeated Wilkes and exploding for a 19-9, five\u2011inning victory over St. Elizabeth. Against Wilkes, sophomore catcher Sydney Shay and freshman third baseman Emma Vok delivered key sixth\u2011inning RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Alivia Lantzy earned her first win as a Wolverine with a seven\u2011inning, one\u2011run effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the win over St. Elizabeth, six Wolverines produced multi\u2011hit games, with freshman Zoey Lindner tripling twice and driving in four runs. Freshman first baseman Cora Myers added a triple and three RBI, while Anthony, Shay, Meadors and Myers all drove in runs during a nine\u2011run second inning. Tesch also contributed to the big frame by working a bases\u2011loaded walk that extended the rally \u2014 continuing her steady offensive presence throughout the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grove City picked up another quality win Wednesday, defeating Chestnut Hill 3-1 behind a three\u2011hit game from Jackson and RBIs from Lantzy and Myers. Meadors struck out seven over six innings, while Lantzy closed for the save. The Wolverines\u2019 only loss of the week came in a 6\u20135 nightcap defeat to Wilson, despite Lindner\u2019s late sacrifice fly. Tesch again fueled the lineup with a 2-for-3 performance and a double \u2014 one of her strongest offensive days of the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wolverines closed the week in dominant fashion, earning back\u2011to\u2011back 8-0 shutouts Friday against Columbia (S.C.) and Hilbert. Myers opened the scoring against Columbia with an RBI double, and Anthony, Shay, Meadors and Tesch each drove in runs as Grove City put together a five\u2011run fifth inning to end the game early. Tesch\u2019s RBI single highlighted another multi\u2011contribution day for the senior, who provided both offensive production and veteran stability behind the plate all week. Meadors earned the win with a three\u2011hit shutout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the plate, Tesch praised the entire pitching staff after working with all four Wolverine pitchers throughout the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a fantastic pitching staff, the way we stayed locked in was for each other. They were throwing just as good day one to day five, which isn\u2019t easy. Pitching is a very taxing and challenging position and I\u2019m proud of all of them,\u201d Tesch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lantzy capped the trip with a two\u2011hit, eight\u2011strikeout shutout against Hilbert. Junior left fielder Evelyn Montone went 3-for-3 with three runs scored, while Anthony, Lindner, Meadors and Meidl added multi\u2011hit games. Early RBIs from Lindner and Montone helped Grove City jump out to a commanding lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a senior leader, Tesch said she focused on keeping the team grounded in tight moments, including the coming games against the Eastern teams. “Reminding everyone that they are on this team for a reason \u2026 Sometimes we just need a reminder that we can do this. The freshmen blew me away,” Tesch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Everyone brings a unique skill set, I’m really hopeful about the success we will have this season if we keep building on this start,” Anthony said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a week of rest, Grove City will return to action on Friday, March 20, for an away doubleheader against Carlow. They will then travel to Thiel Saturday, March 21, to kick off PAC play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Senior
Senior Noel Anthony went 2-for-4 in the team\u2019s season opener against SUNY-Delhi. \u2014 COLIN KELEMAN<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Grove City College softball team launched its 2026 season with an impressive 6-2 showing during its eight\u2011game spring break trip to the Myrtle Beach region, combining clutch hitting, standout pitching and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202],"tags":[50,59,24],"class_list":["post-1365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-softball","tag-issue-2026-03-13","tag-reagan-thomas","tag-sports"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-03-13-28-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic-1.jpg",388,304,false],"thumbnail":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-03-13-28-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic-1.jpg",150,118,false],"medium":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-03-13-28-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic-1.jpg",300,235,false],"medium_large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-03-13-28-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic-1.jpg",388,304,false],"large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-03-13-28-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic-1.jpg",388,304,false],"1536x1536":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-03-13-28-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic-1.jpg",388,304,false],"2048x2048":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-03-13-28-softball-opens-2026-at-the-fastpitch-dreams-classic-1.jpg",388,304,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The Grove City College softball team launched its 2026 season with an impressive 6-2 showing during its eight\u2011game spring break trip to the Myrtle Beach region, combining clutch hitting, standout pitching and","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1710,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365\/revisions\/1710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}