GRAPEVINE, TX. – 4-seed Wayland Baptist opened Tuesday night at the 2026 NCCAA Softball World Series with an offensive explosion, defeating 7-seed Kentucky Christian 9-6 behind a six-run first inning and a balanced attack at the plate. The Pioneers pounded out 13 hits and held off a late rally to earn the win and keep their NCCAA National Championship hopes alive.
Wayland wasted no time setting the tone offensively in the bottom of the first inning.
Reagan Davis-Pena started the rally with a single before the Pioneers strung together six runs on six hits.
Berkley Bradley put Wayland on the board with an RBI bunt single,
Kailee Sanchez drew a bases-loaded walk, and
Kynleigh Kirby followed with an RBI single to extend the lead.
Mikenzi Carlo added another RBI knock before
Lia Lozano delivered a sacrifice fly and Davis-Pena capped the inning with an RBI single for a commanding 6-0 advantage.
Kentucky Christian chipped away with single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings, including a solo home run from Madison Penrod in the fourth. However, the Pioneers answered in key moments to keep momentum on their side.
Mikayla Carrillo drove in Lozano with an RBI single in the third inning, and Wayland added two more runs in the fourth behind RBI hits from Kirby and Lozano to stretch the lead to 9-3.
Kirby led the Pioneer offense with a 2-for-4 performance and two RBIs while also starting in the circle. Bradley finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Lozano went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a sacrifice fly. Davis-Pena added two hits and two RBIs from the leadoff spot, and Carrillo contributed an RBI hit of her own.
After Kirby worked the opening two innings,
Logan Schultz provided stability out of the bullpen, tossing 4.2 innings with six strikeouts to secure the victory. Schultz battled through several Kentucky Christian scoring threats and recorded key outs late to preserve the World Series win.
Kentucky Christian pulled within three runs after scoring twice in the fifth and once more in the sixth, but the Pioneers kept the Knights off the scoreboard in the seventh to close out the victory.
With the win, Wayland Baptist will advance to play the winner of 1-seed Columbia International and 6-seed University of Northwestern at 1:00 PM tomorrow.
