Softball Spring Break Round Up: Pride go 5-3 in Florida
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Returning to a familiar site of the USSSA Space Coast Complext in Melbourne, Fla. for the first time since the 2024 season, the Clarke University softball team warpped up their eight-game spring break trip with five wins and three losses against NAIA opponents from Friday, Mar. 6 to Tuesday, Mar. 10.
Unable to end the trip on a high note, the Pride opened up their first three days of play with a 5-1 record as the only loss out of those six games came against the No. 6 team in the NAIA rankings in Marian University as the Pride rattled off wins against Michigan-Dearborn, Cleary, Aquinas, Defiance, and Cornerstone, before falling in their two games on Tuesday to St. Mary of the Woods and Lawrence Tech.
Full list of results along with mini game breakdowns and box scores below:
Friday, Mar. 6: Clarke (3) - Michigan-Dearborn (0) BOX SCORE
The first of what would end up being three shutouts for Pride pitching as Emma Slayback started a strong spring break trip for the Spoon River College transfer as she threw a three-hit shutout while striking out seven batters. Offensively, junior center fielder Oakleigh Harman powered, quite literally, the scoring with a pair of RBI doubles, first a two-run double to right center to break a scoreless tie in the fifth, then tacking on an extra run in the second with a two-bagger to left center.
Friday, Mar. 6: Cleary (3) - Clarke (4) - 9 Innings BOX SCORE
The lone extra innings affair for CU, the Pride would have to tie the game with a run in the eighth inning when Olivia Sikora delivered a sacrifice fly to score Tenley Evans, then it would be another sac fly to win the game as Kaylie Holtam drove in Taryn Hoffman in the bottom of the ninth to finish off a two-hit and three-RBI day for the senior third baseman. In the circle, Ellie Flanagan and Payge Pyszka were able to provide a strong combined relief outing, combining to throw 6.2 innings of relief as the only run allowed by either was an unearned run in the eighth with the international rule applied as Flanagan struck out four hitters and Pyszka kept the runner placed at second to start the inning from scoring in the ninth.
Saturday, Mar. 7: Clarke (1) - #6 Marian (4) BOX SCORE
Pyszka put up a strong effort against the top-10 ranked team in the Knights, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and a walk with one strikeout for the complete game as the lone run for the Pride came off the bat of Harman again, this time with her second home run of the season by way of a solo shot to center in the top of the fifth, making it a 2-1 game at the time.
Saturday, Mar. 7: Aquinas (0) - Clarke (4) BOX SCORE
Able to bounce back from the loss earlier in the day, this time it was Meredith Gatto in the circle to produce a complete game shutout, going all seven scoreless allowing four hits and five walks while striking out five to pick up her first victory of 2026. After getting a run in the bottom of the first thanks to some sloppy Aquinas defense, Clarke added on in each the second and third innings on RBI hits from Holtam and Hannah Palzkill producing singles and Jenna Ulin driving in a run with a double in the third to give Gatto all the run support she needed.
Monday, Mar. 9: Clarke (5) - Defiance (3) BOX SCORE
Back-to-back innings of crooked numbers were able to take a 1-0 deficit and put the Pride up 5-1 in the fifth and sixth innings with Sikora producing three run-scoring balls in play, first tying the game on a fielder's choice, then extending a 3-1 CU lead to 5-1 with a two-RBI double to left center as Harlee Makue-Vasconcellos and Teal Transburg each driving in runs with a single and bases loaded walk respectively in the three-run fifth inning. Once again, it was Flanagan producing the bulk of the innings in the circle on the way to a win for Clarke as she went 6.1 innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six for her second win of the season.
Monday, Mar. 9: Cornerstone (0) - Clarke (4) BOX SCORE
Slayback returned to the circle for the first time since her trip-opening shutout to bookend the her trip with another complete game masterpiece, this time playing to more contact but spacing it out without putting runs across the board as she only struck out one batter and allowed eight hits, but walked none while Lauren Hefel got in on the offensive action, driving in runs with a single and double in the third and fifth innings respectively, then Sikora adding more production to a very strong trip for the senior outfielder with an RBI single as she also helped produce a double steal for CU to brought Kendall Kasput across the plate.
Tuesday, Mar. 10: St. Mary of the Woods (3) - Clarke (0) BOX SCORE
The first time of the entire trip that the Pride were held scoreless as they were only able to must a hit apiece from Holtam and Palzkill with Gatto posting a strong start of 6.1 innings allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Tuesday, Mar. 10: Clarke (5) - Lawrence Tech (6) BOX SCORE
The most back-and-forth game of their trip, the game saw five ties and five lead changes throughout as neither team led by more than a run at any point and by the end of the game, it had the feeling of the team with the last chance to bat would win the game, and unfortunately for the Pride, they were the visitors on the scoreboard. In the circle, Pyszka produced 6.1 innings of work allowing four of the six runs allowed to be earned on seven hits with no walks or strikeouts as Flanagan came in for the seventh inning in an attempt to keep the game tied after a game-tying triple, but a two-out single propelled LTU to victory. At the plate, Makue-Vasconcellos, Transburg, and Harman had two-hit games as the run-scoring hits came first from Transburg with a single in the top of the first before Lawrence Tech went up 2-1 in the bottom half. Then Kasput laid down a squeeze bunt to tie the game at 2-2 in the second before Mya Durr singled home Kynadee Harris in the fourth to put the Pride up 3-2. After a pair of fifth inning runs for LTU, Palzkill tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI double to right and Hefel produced a bases loaded sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh.
Following that 5-3 trip, Clarke softball now sits with a 9-11 overall record heading into Heart of America Athletic Conference play, opening in the Heart with a pair of home doubleheader dates, first on Friday, Mar. 13 when they host MidAmerica Nazarene University at Veterans Memorial Park for a 1:00 p.m. CT scheduled first pitch of game one.