TIGERVILLE—The Lady Trailblazers of North Greenville kicked off the 2026 softball season February 5 with a win 10-2 over the Lady Trojans of Anderson University in the first of a two-game series.
In game one, Anderson struck first with a run. Trojan outfielder Kara Davis singled, advanced to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a ground out double play, then scored on a Kadence Barrick double to right field.
The Trailblazers answered with two of their own in the bottom half of the first. Shortstop Emily Blackwell singled and Haylee Whiteside walked before both scored on a single to left field by Lexie Metcalf. North Greenville led 2-1 after the first.
NGU added another run in the bottom half of the second inning. Jordan Slocum singled and later scored on a single down the left field line by Karley Green.
Anderson tied the game at two with a run in the top half of the third. Carson Hobbs walked and her courtesy runner Jolie Davis scored on a double down the left field line by Chaney Crosby.
North Greenville put the game out of reach with six runs in the third inning and one in the fifth.
In the third, NG scored six runs on five hits and two errors. Those scoring runs in the inning were Metcalf, Craig, Slocum, Green, Blackwell and Brooklyn Amble. In the fifth, Green crossed home plate.
From the mound, Whiteside pitched five innings, gave up two runs on three hits, and struck out four. For Anderson, Katie Morris pitched four innings, gave up eight hits and four runs. Three of those runs were earned. She struck out five. Sarah DaPaola came off the bench and gave up four runs and four runs. Anderson committed four errors in the game, which led to three runs.
In game 2, NGU grabbed an early lead and held on for a 5-4 win.
North Greenville scored three runs in the first inning. Blackwell singled and later scored on fielders choice. Whiteside walked and later scored on a single by Metcalf. Green singled and later scored on a single by Fowler.
The Traiblazers scored two more in the fourth inning when Sydney Price singled and later scored on a Whiteside sacrifice fly to left field. Blackwell reached on a fielders choice and later scored on a double by Maddie Stone.
For Anderson, they scored three runs in the fifth inning. Harbour walked and later scored on a Shelby Bandt walk. Kinsley Dunn walked and later scored on a single by Hobbs. Lily Daveport pinch hit for Kara Davis and reached on a fielders choice, then Davis pinch ran for Davenport and later scored on the Hobbs single.
Anderson scored an additional run in the top half of the seventh inning when Dunn singled and later scored on a wild pitch.
For Anderson, Hobbs pitched three and two thirds innings and gave up seven hits and five runs. She walked three and struck out three. For North Greenville, Owyen Lyall and Georgia Lieb combined for four hits, seven walks and four strikeouts. Lieb earned the save and Lyall earned the win.
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Women’s Basketball
ANDERSON – The Anderson Lady Trojans (10-11, 6-9 SAC) wasted no time with conference opponent Newberry College (11-11, 5-10 SAC) 79-52 at home February 4.
The Trojan’s dominated the battle early with a 30-5 routing in the first quarter. Anderson led 48-28 at halftime. Anderson led 66-43 after three quarters and went home with the easy win.
“Really proud of our team tonight,” head coach Jonathon Barbaree said. “But it started yesterday. I thought we had one of the best practices we’ve had in a long time. We were hungry and paying attention to detail. I thought that really helped us get a great start tonight especially still being shorthanded.”
Barbaree added that good defense helps win any game, and “that first quarter couldn’t have gone any better defensively. From there the game settled in, but I thought we kept our head above water like we were supposed to and we gave everyone an opportunity to play. We have to build on that and continue to get ready.”
Anderson had 30 points off turnovers and had 19 points from the bench.
From the Anderson bench, Jessica Cooper had six points and two rebounds. Amilya Taft had five points and one rebound. Jayla Cal had four points with a rebound. Khiara and Ashlynn Bleisath each had two points and two rebounds each.
Of the starting five Lady Trojans, Ciara Harris had 23 points with six rebounds and seven steals. Harris also hit 7-of-8 free throws. Kyla Cain had 15 points with seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. Ashley Hill had nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Alana Eakle had eight points and three rebounds while Jaida Brooks had five points, three rebounds and four assists.
As a team, Anderson was 49.2 percent (31-for-63) from the field and 72 percent (13-for-18) from the free throw line.
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NGU Falls to Lees-McRae
BANNER ELK, N.C.—The North Greenville Lady Trailblazer basketball team (8-13, 3-9 CC) kept up with Lees-McRae for the first quarter, but LM slowly inched away and defeated NGU 86-61 February 4 at Banner Elk.
Lees-McRae outscored NGU 20-15 in the first quarter, 16-5 in the second, 25-19 in the third and 25-22 in the fourth quarter.
Lady Trailblazer Janyia Williams topped the scoring effort with 17, She had nine rebounds. Quinn Johnston had 10 points and four rebounds. Emery Lindsey had nine points. Maliyah Mason came off the bench and scored seven points and had three rebounds. As a team, North Greenville was 40 percent (23-for-57) from the field and 71 percent (10-for-14) from the free throw line.
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CSU Loses Tough One to UNC Asheville
CHARLESTON—UNC Asheville (9-14, 4-6) came out strong against Charleston Southern (7-16, 5-5) in women’s basketball action February 4. The result was a Asheville win 60-48.
Asheville led 15-8 after one quarter and led 35-20 at halftime. Charleston edged Asheville 16-13 in the third quarter and both teams scored 12 in the last quarter.
For CS, Tyonna Bailey led with 17 points and six rebounds. Asha Sra had 15 points and a team high 10 rebounds. She also added three assists to her stats. Caelan Ellis had seven points and Mya Dotson had five points to round out the starting five. Sydney Bradley came off the bench and scored three points.