KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Alverno College softball team opened its 2026 season in Kissimmee, Florida on Saturday, dropping a pair of non-conference matchups. The Nazareth Golden Flyers defeated Alverno 22-2 in game one, while WPI took down the Inferno 15-7 in the second contest of the day. Both games were shortened to five innings.

Sophomore Nadya Hudson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa East) reached base five times on the day, going 3-for-4 with two walks, two RBI, and a double across the doubleheader. Freshman Mac Gardner (Eagle Lake First Nation/College Churchill) also drove in two runs, finishing the day 2-for-4 with a walk.

With the losses, the Inferno move to 0-2 to open the season and will return to action on Sunday, March 15, taking on Bates College at 10 a.m. EST (9 a.m. CST) before facing Ursinus College at 12:15 p.m. EST (11:15 a.m. CST). Nazareth opened its season with the win over Alverno to move to 1-0, while WPI improved to a perfect 8-0.

Game One: Nazareth 22, Alverno 2 (5 innings)
The Nazareth Golden Flyers used seven-run innings in both the second and third frames, collecting 20 hits in their season-opening victory to take Alverno 22-2. The Golden Flyers were led by 2025 All-American Kaijah Alexander, who finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI.

The Inferno created a few scoring opportunities, pushing across runs in the first and fifth innings. Senior Giselle Moreno (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Hudson reached base twice, going 1-for-2 with a walk. Senior Hailie Eschbach (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) added a 1-for-2 performance with a run scored, while junior Alyssa Hubli (Kenosha, Wis./St. Joseph Catholic Academy) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Freshman Gianna Medrano (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge) also recorded her first collegiate hit in the loss, going 1-for-3.

Sophomore Bailey Gardner (Eagle Lake First Nation, Ontario/University of Winnipeg Collegiate) took the loss in the circle, throwing 3.1 innings while striking out two. Sophomore Cece Ehni (Snohomish, Wash./Monroe) made her first NCAA Division III appearance, pitching the final 1.2 innings.

Alverno cut Nazareth's early 2-0 lead in half in the bottom of the first after Moreno led off with a single and advanced to second on Medrano's first collegiate hit. Moreno then scored on an error by the shortstop to make it 2-1. The Golden Flyer offense responded with a surge of runs, eventually taking a 22-1 lead into the final frame.
 
The Inferno threatened again in the fifth, placing two runners on with back-to-back singles from Eschbach and Moreno. Hudson then drew a walk to load the bases before Hubli lined a ball deep to center field, but a running catch by the Nazareth defender robbed the Inferno of extra bases and multiple RBI. The rally ended shortly after, bringing the game to its final score of 22-2.

Madison Hicks earned the complete-game win for Nazareth, tossing all five innings. Maddy Sapkowski went 4-for-4 with three RBI, while Bryanna Moroughan drove in four runs and reached base four times for the Golden Flyers.

Game Two: WPI 15, Alverno 7 (5 innings)
In game two, an early outburst from WPI seemed to put the game away, but a fourth-inning Alverno rally brought the Inferno back within six runs, before the Engineers added on two more runs to earn victory in five innings. Hudson was on base three times for Alverno in the second game of the day, going 2-2 with a walk, a double, two RBI, and a run scored.

Mac Gardner added two hits, a walk, a run scored, and two RBI as well for the Inferno, collecting her first collegiate hit in the process. Hubli drove in another run while also scoring once, finishing the second game 1-3, and Eschbach drove in a run and scored once.

Sophomore Riley Krider (Cromwell, Ind./West Noble) made her first career start in the circle, going four innings and allowing just four hits while striking out four, taking the loss.

An eight-run first, followed by a four-run second, and a run in the third gave the Engineers a commanding 13-0 lead heading into the top of the fourth inning. The Inferno did not quit, however, despite the large deficit, scoring seven runs to cut it to 13-7.

Mac Gardner began the rally with an infield hit, and Bailey Gardner followed with a bunt single to put two on base with no one out. Junior Jaycee Reyes (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge) then put down a sacrifice bunt that was thrown away, scoring Alverno's first run and putting runners on second and third with no outs. Eschbach followed with an RBI single up the middle, and after Moreno reached on a fielder's choice, Hudson singled to center to bring in two runs, bringing the score to 13-4. Hubli followed with a hard-hit single to left, scoring another run and knocking out the WPI starter. The rally was capped by Mac Gardner getting her second hit of the inning with a base hit to right, scoring Hubli and Hudson.

Despite the strong Alverno rally, WPI added runs in the fourth and fifth innings, closing out the win in five frames despite the strong offensive showing from the Inferno. At the conclusion of the game, Alverno had seven hits to WPI's six, but the Engineers had 13 baserunners on walks and HBPs.

Riley O'Brein drove in two runs, scored twice, and had two hits to lead the WPI offense, while Kaitlyn Barr earned the win with three innings of work, allowing three earned runs on six hits.