MISENHEIMER, N.C. (May 3, 2026) — Top-seeded Pfeiffer punched its ticket into the USA South Championship Series with a doubleheader sweep of rival Greensboro College on Sunday, riding dominant pitching and relentless pressure on the bases.
Needing two wins to advance, Pfeiffer opened the day with an 8-0 victory in five innings to force the deciding second game, which they closed with a 3-1 win in the late game at Jack Ingram Field.
In the opener, freshman right-hander
Abigail Bowman tossed a one-hit shutout, striking out four without issuing one walk to improve to 16-5. Greensboro managed just a first-inning single and did not advance a runner past second base.
Pfeiffer scored three runs in each of the first two innings to seize control early.
Kirstyn Herman delivered the biggest blow with a two-run double in the first, and freshman
Heather Vaughn followed with a two-run single in the second. The Falcons added single runs in the third and fourth innings while swiping five bases and executing three sacrifice bunts.
Brooke Piper went 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI,
Mollie Bulla had two hits and drove in a run, and
Natalie Auman added two hits as Pfeiffer finished with 10 hits. Greensboro pitchers Anna Frazier and Kenly Brown combined to allow eight runs.
The second game was a tighter contest, but Pfeiffer again leaned on pitching and timely hitting to prevail 3-1.
The Falcons jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning when senior
Charly Cooper sent a ball to the right field corner, just beyond the right fielder's reach. The ball then spun off the fence into the corner, allowing Cooper to race around the bases for a two-run inside-the-park home run, her second round-tripper of the season.
Greensboro broke through in the seventh inning, trimming the deficit to two, but never got the tying run into scoring position. Pfeiffer answered remaining threats with clean defense and steady work in the circle.
Pfeiffer scratched out single runs with key two-out hits, and the Falcons' pitching staff limited Greensboro to three hits. Greensboro stranded five runners and struck out seven times.
With the sweep, Pfeiffer improves to 36-9 and moves on to host the USA South Championship Series on May 8-9 at Jack Ingram Field. The Falcons will take on third-seeded N.C. Wesleyan for the second straight season, as the Bishops took down second-seeded Meredith in eight innings, winning 2-1.
