BOILING SPRINGS N.C. - The Gardner-Webb softball team begins its 2026 season on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, hosting the annual Runnin' Bulldog Classic against Furman, Tarleton State and Youngstown State

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6th
10:00 am - Tarleton State vs Youngstown State
12:30 pm - Tarleton State vs Furman
3:00 pm - Gardner-Webb vs Youngstown State
5:30 pm - GWU vs Furman
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7th
10:00 am - Furman vs Youngstown State
12:30 - pm Furman vs Tarleton State
3:00 pm - Gardner-Webb vs Youngstown State
5:30 pm - Gardner-Webb vs Tarleton State
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8th
10:00 am - Tarleton State vs Youngstown State (ESPN+)
12:30 pm - Gardner-Webb vs Furman (ESPN+)

SCOUTING THE DAWGS: Gardner-Webb enters the 2026 season with 17 returnees on its 25-player roster and four others who arrive via the transfer portal with previous college softball experience. Of those transfers is redshirt senior catcher Caroline Johnson, who made 19 starts last spring at Queens, hitting .250 for the Royals over the course of the season

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: Among the returnees for Gardner-Webb include the likes of senior right-hander and two-way player Alli Stidham who was named to the preseason All-Big South team. The Saginaw, Texas native tossed 90.2 innings for GWU last spring, posting a 3.63 earned run average, and 45 strikeouts in the circle. Across 37 games and 30 starts, Stidham also swung a powerful bat, hitting .280 for the Runnin' Bulldogs with a .476 slugging percentage, 23 hits, three home runs, and 25 runs batted in

IN THE CIRCLE: The Runnin' Bulldogs will feature significant depth in the circle, not only returning five pitchers from a season ago, but also adding another piece to the rotation with freshman right-hander Glenna McLamb. McLamb joins Stidham along with sophomore Anna Hornbaker, sophomore Hannah Frye, junior Addie Stem, and senior southpaw Kalyn Kyle in making up a loaded rotation. In all, Gardner-Webb has back all 336.1 innings thrown in the circle last spring

FAMILIAR FACES: While the pitching depth stands out, the Runnin' Bulldogs also have a significant number of players on the roster who played big innings last spring. Five players are back for GWU this spring who played in at least 40 games last season, and one who played in over 50. Senior infielder Annicka McLaughlin played 51 games in 2025 and made 49 starts, doing so at an elite pace defensively with 118 putouts, 78 assists, and a team-best .985 fielding percentage for a non-pitcher

COMMON OPPONENTS: With Youngstown State and Furman in town over the weekend, GWU will face two opponents from its 2025 schedule right away. At last season's Furman Round Robin, the Runnin' Bulldogs split with both squads, defeating Youngstown State 9-1 and Furman 7-2 on March 7th, before losing10-7 and 5-4 respectively on March 8th

NON-CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: Non-conference will prove to be busy for the Runnin' Bulldogs, with six opponents from last spring's non-conference schedule also on the schedule in 2026, In addition to Youngstown State and Furman, Gardner-Webb will also see Queens at the Red and Black Classic, Western Carolina for a home doubleheader, NC Central for two on the road, and West Georgia three times at the West Georgia Round Robin