Opening Day of 2023 Conference Carolinas Softball Championship Worth the Wait

4/29/2023 1:45:50 AM

DUNCAN, S.C. – The opening day of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Softball Championship was worth the wait for fans at Tyger River Park.

Beginning well over 24 hours past its original start time the day prior due to historic rainfall in the area, the 2023 Conference Carolinas Softball Championship commenced with three consecutive extra-inning contests.

Erskine and Mount Olive needed 10 innings to determine a winner with a Brooke Patterson grand slam in the top of the 10^th inning propelling the 10^th-seeded Fleet to a 9-5 victory over the seventh-seeded Trojans. The win in the play-in contest allowed the Fleet to advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket.

In the second play-in game, ninth-seeded UNC Pembroke and eighth-seeded Belmont Abbey needed extra frames as well with the Braves emerging with a 14-9 victory in nine innings. A five-run top of the ninth punctuated by a Cirstin Calloway three-run home run allowed UNC Pembroke to move into the double-elimination section of the championship.

Third-seeded Barton and second-seeded Emmanuel needed extra innings too before the Bulldogs collected a 3-2 victory. The teams combined for three runs in the eighth inning, but two runs in the top of the stanza allowed the Bulldogs to pick up the win.

The next three games were not quite as dramatic with third-seeded Francis Marion besting sixth-seeded North Greenville, 12-7, and second-seeded Lees-McRae securing a 5-0 win over 10^th-seeded Erskine. Regular-season champion and top-seeded King garnered a 10-0 win over UNC Pembroke

The second day of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Softball Championship will now begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, 2023.

To see the updated bracket for the championship and to learn more, please visit here.