2026 PSAC Softball Tournament – First Round
 
Clarion Golden Eagles (18-24, 12-16 PSAC West) vs. Shepherd Rams (23-21, 18-14 PSAC East)
Wednesday, May 6 // 3 p.m.
Binghamton, N.Y. / Greenlight Networks Grand Slam Park
 
Tournament Page | Watch Live | Purchase Tickets
 
Ticketing Information

Championship Admission Fees (Day Passes Only): Purchase of Day Pass provides access to all games on specific date. 
Day Pass (Wed/Thurs): Adult - $15  |  Student K-12 - $8
Day Pass (Fri/Sat):  Adult - $12  |  Student K-12 - $7
Free admission for students from member institutions with valid I.D

No Complimentary Tickets
PSAC Passes Honored

Tickets can only be purchased via Hudl Tickets. This will be a cashless event. All Sales Final.

NO REFUNDS FOR RAINOUTS. It is advised to purchase tickets the night before or day of, after reviewing the weather forecast.
Tickets will be available for purchase on site.  

The Tournament Bracket
 
 
The Game
 
The Golden Eagles softball team will compete in their first PSAC Tournament game in at least 35 years on Wednesday, when the PSAC West's fifth seed goes against East #4 Shepherd at Grand Slam Park. Due to weather conditions in Binghamton, first pitch has been pushed back to 3 p.m.
 
How We Got Here
 
Clarion's run to the PSAC Tournament saw the team win their final four games of the regular season and seven of their final 10, with doubleheader sweeps of Pitt-Johnstown, Edinboro and Slippery Rock and a crucial split with Seton Hill. Heading into the day of action against the Rock, it was that solitary win over the Griffins that carried the most weight, as it gave the Golden Eagles a potential tiebreaker over Gannon, who had lost four times to Seton Hill.
 
As it turned out, the Golden Eagles earned different tiebreaker as the day went on. With back-to-back extra innings victories against the Rock, they leapfrogged the Golden Knights in the season standings and took the West's fifth seed.
 
The run by the Golden Eagles saw a senior renaissance from pitcher Emma Hipps. The veteran righthander made seven appearances total and five starts since April 18, posting a 2.22 ERA and five complete games in that span. Hipps threw 41.0 innings in that stretch, striking out 29 batters while walking only nine. In the clinching doubleheader she threw a nine-inning, 111-pitch complete game in the opener against the Rock before returning for two innings of one-hit relief in the late game.
 
The offense developed a new stroke as well in that span, with Clarion averaging 6.2 runs per game while batting .355 with a cumulative OPS of .871. The increased offense comes in part as a product of better run manufacturing; the team hit just four home runs in those 10 games but were 24-of-26 on steal attempts and successfully executed 24 sacrifice bunts. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Alexis Valencia hit .421 down the stretch, while shortstop and two-hole hitter Emily Buchleitner hit .353 with nine sacrifice bunts and a team-high 13 runs scored.
 
Those two and other set the table for Sabi Medrano and Delanie Davison, with the latter driving in 11 runs and batting .424 over the last 10 games. Davison had a team-high six extra base hits, including four doubles, a triple and a home run. Medrano, meanwhile, drove in eight down the stretch and led the team with 31 RBIs on the season.
 
Medrano is part of a quartet of Golden Eagle freshmen to make a major impact on the 2026 team. Second baseman Sophie Petrash was a Second Team All-PSAC West selection after batting .324 with 18 runs scored, 11 RBI and six stolen bases. Sami Springman has split time at catcher with senior Jordy Best to create quite the tandem behind the plate; those Golden Eagle catchers are batting .337 with 37 RBI, 14 extra base hits and 34 runs scored. Rounding out the group is pitcher Rian Reed, who finished second on the team in innings pitched (65.2) and earned a 5-6 overall record.
 
Shepherd at a Glance
 
The Rams are the fourth seed in the PSAC East, and they too heated up down the stretch, winning eight of their final 12 games to post an 18-14 conference record. Shepherd ranks 16^th in the PSAC in runs scored with just 141 on the year, but what they may lack in hitting they make up for with pitching. They boast the fifth-best ERA in the PSAC and third-best in the East division at 3.35. Clarion, meanwhile, is 16^th on that front.
 
The ace of the staff has been Madalyne Ruffner, the back-to-back PSAC East Pitcher of the Year in 2025-26 and a 2025 All-American. She enters the weekend with a 14-7 overall record and a 1.22 ERA, striking out 261 batters in just 149.2 innings pitched.