WISE, Va. – The Mansfield Mountaineers softball team (1-3) opened their 2025 season with an opening weekend tournament in Virginia, hosted by Virginia Wise University. The Mounties picked up the first win of the season over Lees-McRae College (3-14) by a score of 3-1, but dropped game two against UVA Wise (10-6), 4-1.

Melissa Demo finished the day with a 4 for 7 performance, including four hits in game one.

Annabella Putnam picked up her first win of the season behind her sixth career complete game of one earned run or less.

GAME 1: Mansfield 3 – Lees-McRae 1

Demo and Alex Reisinger each started off with a hit in the first inning to set up pressure, but Lees-McRae's infield kept the score blank.

With a shot up the middle, the Bobcats looked to score first, but Demo sent a laser home to catch the runner, wanting an early lead after the first.

In an excellent display of baserunning, Madison Bailey stole second with two outs, allowing Emma Wonsick to steal home plate after starting with a single to give Mansfield the 1-0 advantage. Demo and Bailey copied that idea, with Bailey scoring for the 2-0 lead.

With bases loaded and one out, Putnam and the Mounties got out of a jam to still hold the shutout after the second inning. 

Another bases loaded and one out situation started the bottom of the third for Lees-McRae, but the defense of the red and black passed the second attempt of blocking an explosive inning, still holding the 2-0 edge. 

To start the fourth, Mansfield found their first chance of a bases jam behind hits from Kylie Bornman, Bailey, and Demo, but a strikeout and a runner caught stealing kept the Bobcats still within two runs.

In the bottom of the fourth, Lees-McRae set up two runners in scoring position and finally cashed in with their first run scoring off a wild pitch. Putnam shut the Bobcats the rest of the inning to keep the 2-1 hold.

To begin the top of the sixth, the Mountaineers found another run through a Sarah Shupp at-bat that scored Bornman to give the red and black the 3-1 advantage and finished the scoring to solidify their first victory of the 2025 schedule. 

Demo finished game one with a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate, her third career four-hit game, and added a stolen base. 

Putnam went two straight days with a complete game, allowing just one earned run in her first win of the season.

GAME 2: UVA Wise 4 – Mansfield 1

UVA Wise struck first in their early trips to the plate, posting the first run off an error and a wild pitch to give the Cavaliers the first run of game two.

Mansfield responded in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly from Katelyn Mesch to bring in Aubrey Reinert to even the score at 1-1.

The host put the pressure back on the Mounties, setting up a bases loaded jam, and retaking the lead with an RBI walk in the bottom of the third. 

With Rachel Sherman on second, a fielder's choice turned into a Cavalier cut off and halted runners in scoring position for the Mountaineers to begin the fifth inning.

UVA Wise added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth with a field error pushing a single to the limits and another RBI single to give the Cavaliers the 4-1 victory.

Mesch was credited with the solo RBI. Reinert earned a run and her, Olivia Ackerson, and Natalie Blackstone were all credited with a hit.

Reilly Storer finished her first complete game of her career, allowing just one earned run and had three strikeouts.

UP NEXT:  
Mansfield returns to Pennsylvania with a doubleheader against Lincoln University (Pa.) on Saturday (Mar. 8). The two-game battle with the Lions is scheduled for 1 p.m. with game two set for 3 p.m.