Top-Seeded Softball Goes After Another NESCAC Title Starting on Friday

MEDFORD, MA (May 6, 2026) – The Tufts University softball team will compete for its 14th New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship and second in a row starting on Friday (May 8) at Bowdoin College. Seeded first, head coach

Lauren Ebstein's Jumbos will play in the first game of the tournament against #8 seed Wesleyan University on Friday at 1:30 PM.

Tournament Details

2026 NESCAC Softball Championship

Dates: Friday-Sunday, May 8-10, 2026

Location: Brunswick, ME - Pickard Softball Diamond

Live Coverage:

LIVE STATS –

LIVE VIDEO

For the first time in NESCAC Softball Championship history, the games are being played at a predetermined site. Bowdoin's Pickard Softball Diamond will host the seven-game, single-elimination tournament Friday through Sunday.

The winner of the Tufts-Wesleyan game will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at 2:30 PM against the winner of the #4 seed Bowdoin College versus #5 seed Williams College quarterfinal. The NESCAC championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 11 AM.

Tufts (29-9) earned the #1 seed in the conference after finishing their NESCAC schedule with a 14-4 record. The Jumbos have been the #1 seed in the conference for all four years since NESCAC changed from divisional play to a 10-team playing conference in 2023. Tufts has hosted the conference tournament 11 times at Spicer Field.

Friday's quarterfinal between the Jumbos and Wesleyan is a rematch of last year's NESCAC final, won by Tufts 8-3. A three-run home run by Tufts'

Kaitlyn Perucci in the fourth inning turned the game in the Jumbos' favor. That gave Tufts its 13th conference title, which is five more than any other school. Last year's championship was Tufts' first since 2021.

The Cardinals, coached by Jen Lane, come into Friday's game with an 18-17 overall record, including 7-11 in NESCAC. They have earned a few good recent results, sweeping a doubleheader from #3 seed Colby College on April 25 and taking a game from #5 seed Williams on April 26. Wesleyan also split a pair of games versus #4 seed Bowdoin earlier in the spring.

Tufts swept a doubleheader at Wesleyan to begin NESCAC play on March 28 by scores of 3-2 and 11-6.

Heaven Oliva homered on the fifth pitch of game one, leading to a three-run first inning that carried the visitors to the victory.

Cat Kawabe led Tufts' 17-hit attack in game two by going 3 for 4 with three runs batted in and a run scored. The Jumbos have dominated the series between the teams, winning 17 straight games dating back to 2012.

The Jumbos are the top hitting team in the league and enter the tournament with a robust .347 batting average. They are averaging 6.74 runs per game, second in the conference behind Bowdoin (7.60). The Jumbos rank fifth in pitching with the staff's 3.48 earned run average, and they are eighth in fielding with a .951 percentage.

Oliva leads NESCAC with 12 home runs and 41 rbis. The Jumbos have five players in the NESCAC top 11 for runs scored, led by

Paige Murphy's 36 for fourth in the conference. Murphy is also Tufts' top hitter at .440, which ranks sixth in the league. The Jumbos have leaned on a trio of first-years in the pitcher's circle, including

Avery Kanouse who is third in the conference for innings pitched (99.1) and tied for second in victories (11).

Wesleyan is hitting .273 in their 35 games, which ranks 10th in NESCAC, while scoring at a 4.4 runs-per-game clip. The Cardinals are right behind the Jumbos in pitching with their 3.55 era, while they rank ninth in fielding with a .949 mark.

Friday's game will feature the top two sluggers in NESCAC, as Wesleyan's Molly Lennon joins Tufts' Oliva at the top of the power categories. Lennon has hit 10 home runs and leads NESCAC with an .885 slugging percentage. Her .442 batting average is fifth in the conference, while she has driven in 34 runs. Cardinal Rebecca Cassel-Siskind has stolen 20 bases. Whitney Gigante leads Cardinal pitchers with seven victories and a 2.94 era.

The NESCAC champion earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Selections for NCAA's will be announced on Monday, May 11 at 11 AM.

--JUMBOS--