SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. - After No. 3 Rio Grande forced a decisive, if-necessary game eleven in the River States Conference Softball Tournament, the IU Southeast Grenadiers won the Tournament Championship after winning 14-6 over the Red Storm in game eleven of the 2026 RSC Softball Tournament.
Rio Grande, who won 5-1 in game ten to force game eleven, opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, hanging five runs on the Grenadiers. Their lead was short-lived, as the Grenadiers' offense roared back in the top of the second.
Savannah Gaither led off the inning with a double, then advanced to third after an infield single by Grace Stapleton. Stapleton then got into scoring position after stealing second. Kaitlyn Leister got IU Southeast on the board with an RBI single, then stole second. Alaina Winzeler loaded the bases with an infield single.
Stapleton scored one at-bat after Winzeler's infield single after Chloee Shewmaker singled to left. Two at-bats later, McKenzie Walters was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 5-3. IU Southeast took the lead one at-bat later when Sofia Guy emptied the bases with a three-run double.
The Red Storm tacked on one run in the bottom of the second, then the Grenadiers retook the lead in the top of the third. Stapleton led off the inning with a single then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Leister put the Grenadiers back in the lead with a double to right center.
IU Southeast had another big inning in the fourth. Walters hit a one-out single, then got to third after Guy doubled to right center, then scored after an RBI single by Gaither. Guy scored to make it 9-6 after a single by Stapleton. Leister recorded a sacrifice fly, and Alaina Winzeler capped off the inning with a single to left to push the lead to 11-6.
Leading by five, the Grenadiers had a chance to end the game on a run-rule and did just that. With two outs and Walters on second base, Gaither singled to center to make it 12-6. Stapleton singled to put runners on first and second, then Leister put IU Southeast up 14-6 with a double to the gap in left center. Hallie Foley retired the Red Storm in order in the bottom of the fifth to cap off the run-rule and claim the tournament title.
The Grenadiers not only claimed their first RSC Tournament Title since 2019 but also clinch a bid to the NAIA Softball National Tournament. IU Southeast will find out where they will be heading for their opening round site during the NAIA Softball Selection Show which will be Wednesday, May 6th at 6:00 p.m. ET.
