BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb softball team (20-8) made it 10 wins in its last 11 games dating back to late February on Tuesday afternoon, finishing off a doubleheader sweep of visiting Bucknell

Game One - Gardner-Webb 3, Bucknell 0
In what is the opposite of what the Runnin' Bulldogs have been known for in 2026, GWU needed just three runs in a shutout win to open the day

All three runs for GWU came in a busy bottom of the fifth inning. Sophomore third baseman Caitlin Colley helped score the game's first run with a sac fly to center field, 1-0

The most exciting play of the game came not long after. Within minutes of also being named Big South Player of The Week, sophomore second baseman Reese Collier recorded a two-run, sac fly. After an incredible diving stop, both junior left fielder Lilly Deaton and sophomore center fielder Lauren Spainhower were able to tag up and score for a 3-0 lead

That was mostly it for the Gardner-Webb offense, who posted just three hits. In the circle, senior right-hander Alli Stidham meanwhile was excellent. Stidham pitched all 7.0 innings, allowed just two hits, walked only two, and didn't allow a run

Game Two - Gardner-Webb 10, Bucknell 5
The Runnin' Bulldogs struggled a bit early in Game Two, but eventually rallied at the plate for a 10-5 win

Collier continued her excellent individual day in the bottom of the first, scoring the game's first two runs with a two-RBI homer deep to left field, 2-0

With runs in the third and fourth inning, including a triple and a home run, Bucknell eventually hit back to lead Gardner-Webb, 4-2

It wouldn't last though, as GWU scored four in the fourth, and two each in the fifth and sixth innings to flip the script. Colley and Collier were again major players at the top of the lineup, with run-scoring singles from each eventually putting GWU in front 6-4

Senior catcher Taylor Dreher also played a big role late in the game, scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth and punching a single through the left side in the sixth that, aided by an error, allowed two more runs to score. 

Finally in the sixth, junior Addie Stem delivered a pinch-hit RBI single through the left side to put Gardner-Webb in front 10-4

One run for Bucknell in the seventh did little to dampen the mood inside Brinkley Stadium, as freshman right-hander Glenna McLamb finished off 3.0 innings of relief, and a 10-5 win for Gardner-Webb

UP NEXT
Big South play begins on Friday and Saturday, as Gardner-Webb prepares to host Charleston Southern for a three-game series