SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb softball team takes the field on Wednesday afternoon for its first Big South Tournament game since 2018, matching up with Presbyterian in first round action

GAME INFORMATION
No. 5 Gardner-Webb (30-23, 8-10 Big South) vs No. 4 Presbyterian (20-30, 8-10 Big South Big South)
First Round: Wednesday, 3 pm
Second Round: Thursday, Time TBD
Streaming: ESPN Plus

GOOD TO BE BACK: Gardner-Webb gears up for its first Big South Tournament appearance since 2018 after a strong regular season. The Runnin' Bulldogs won 30 games in 2026 for just the sixth time as an NCAA Division I program, and for the second time in three years under head coach Bailey Wigness

FIREPOWER: The Runnin' Bulldogs were led by a historically great offense throughout 2026. Gardner-Webb hit .325 as a team, a mark that was good for second in the Big South, and individually had five of the top 11 players in the league in batting average and three of the top 10 in slugging percentage

ALL-STAR ALLI: GWU arrives at the Big South Tournament off the back of a heroic weekend performance against Longwood by senior Alli Stidham. Needing a sweep, Stidham pitched all but two innings in the three game set between April 24th and 26th, tossing 21.0 total innings and two complete games, allowing 18 hits, four total runs, three earned runs, three walks and with nine strikeouts. Stidham was named D1 Softball National Mid-Major Pitcher of The Week for her efforts

STRONG DEBUTS: The Runnin' Bulldogs got major contributions this season from some new faces in the lineup, and they're expected to help carry the team again this week. Sophomore Reese Collier hit .375 with a league-leading 11 home runs and 57 RBIs, and a .635 slugging percentage in her first season at Gardner-Webb, while sophomore Caitlin Colley hit .345 with eight home runs across 52 starts as the primary third baseman. Senior Maggie Knight was also a key fixture, hitting .372 with a team-best .472 on base percentage

IN THE CIRCLE: While Stidham pitched the lion share of innings in 2026, freshman Glenna McLamb emerged as one of the key young arms in the conference. McLamb was twice named for a Big South weekly award, including during the final week of the regular season where she pitched a two-hit shutout at ETSU. She also finished the regular season with a Big South best four saves, the only pitcher league-wide with more than two

THE BRACKET: Gardner-Webb enters this week's tournament as the No. 5 seed. With a double elimination setup, GWU is guaranteed at least two games. With a win, the Runnin' Bulldogs set up a winner's bracket game against No. 1 seed Winthrop on Thursday, while a loss sets up a showdown with either No. 2 USC Upstate or No. 3 seed Radford in an elimination game