BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb softball team swept Saturday action at the Red and Black Classic, defeating Tennessee Tech and Lehigh behind some strong hitting and clutch pitching performances
Game One - Gardner-Webb 4, Tennessee Tech 1
Its lowest-scoring game of the season still proved to be one of its best as GWU out-pitched and out-hit Tennessee Tech when it mattered most for a win early on Saturday
Alli Stidham opened the scoring with RBI single in the second to give the Dawgs a 1-0 lead.
Taylor Dreher made it 2-0 by herself in the fourth, hitting a triple with the bases empty but coming into score after the throw from right field sailed into the visiting dugout
After Tennessee Tech climbed back in the game in the top of the fifth, Gardner-Webb answered in the bottom of the fifth.
Reese Collier made the score 3-1 Dawgs on a sac fly, before Stidham returned with an infield RBI single for a 4-1 lead
Elsewhere it was up to
Hannah Frye and
Glenna McLamb. The sophomore right-hander Frye was excellent in the circle, allowing just one run through 4.2 innings. McLamb took over to finish the final 2.1 innings, surrendering just a single walk and a single hit
At the plate, the big bats showed up again with Collier, Stidham, Dreher and
Jailyn Tineo all recording two hits a piece for GWU, of the nine as a team
Game Two - Gardner-Webb 7, Lehigh 3
In the late game, Gardner-Webb jumped on Lehigh for a five-run third inning, then got a complete game in the circle from Sitdham en route to a 7-3 win
The big third inning for the Dawgs featured the middle of the lineup showcasing its power.
Caitlin Colley gave a pitch a long ride to left center for a 3-1 Gardner-Webb lead. Stidham then showed off her skill on the offensive side, hitting a triple down the right field line to score Collier and
Maggie Knight. After three, Gardner-Webb was in business and up 5-1
After Lehigh scored two in the fourth to make the score 5-3, Gardner-Webb answered again. Pinch-hitter
Madden McMahan-Waters brought home a run on an RBI double in the sixth, her first hit of the year, to push the lead to 6-3. Dreher then continued her torrid start to the 2026 season with an RBI double in the fifth for a 7-3 lead that held up as final
In the circle, Stidham did what was needed. The senior right-hander went all 7.0 innings, allowed five hits, three runs, struck out three, and picked up the decision
In the victory, each of the Gardner-Webb hitters from 2-through-9 in the lineup recorded a hit, while all nine starters reached base at least once
IN THE STATS
In the win over Lehigh, GWU was its most impressive in clutch hitting spots. The Runnin' Bulldogs finished 6-for-12 with 2-outs, 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and 6-for-16 with runners on base
UP NEXT
With Sunday's action at the Red and Black Classic canceled due to rain in the forecast, Gardner-Webb will return to action at Jacksonville State from February 20th to 22nd
