BRUNSWICK, Maine – The third-seeded Colby College softball team was eliminated from the 2026 NESCAC tournament by second-seeded Middlebury College, 6-4, in 11 innings in a semifinal matchup at Pickard Softball Diamond on the campus of Bowdoin College on Sunday afternoon.
Senior
Emma Burnham nudged Colby (26-11) ahead in the opening inning, depositing a solo home run over the wall in left-center for a 1-0 edge. Middlebury (32-8) knotted the game at 1-1 in the home half of the opening frame on an RBI single through the right side.
In the third inning, sophomore
Julia Berry led off the inning with a single through the right side before Burnham guided her to second with a sacrifice bunt. Junior
Ella Wilcox doubled Berry in before junior
Juliana Kiley delivered a two-run round tripper to extend the Mules' advantage to 4-1.
The Panthers responded quickly in the bottom half of the third, cutting their deficit to one (4-3) off two RBI singles before sending the contest into extra innings with a two-out RBI double to right field in the bottom of the seventh.
After four scoreless extra innings, Middlebury called game with a two-out home run to left field in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Sophomore
Sophia Meade (11-3) took the loss in the circle for the Mules after allowing three earned runs off six hits with six strikeouts in 7.1 innings of relief work. Â
Kiley finished 4-for-6 with two RBIs, a home run, a double and a run scored, while senior
Carissa Cassidy recorded three hits in the setback.
The Mules will now wait and see if they will earn at-large bid into 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament, which will be announced on Monday at 11:00 a.m. on the NCAA website, with regional action getting underway on Thursday.
