Mosteller helps Pfeiffer win conference tourney, reach nationals

The Pfeiffer University baseball team made history this spring, winning the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time ever before making only the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

The Falcons, who finished 26-22 overall and 14-7 in league contests and were the No. 2 seed in the USA South Tournament, ended up sweeping fifth-seeded William Peace in the best-of-three championship series to qualify for the NCAA Division III Tournament. Once there, Pfeiffer went 1-2 — sandwiching an 8-6 win over Mary Washington around a 9-6 loss to host Johns Hopkins and a 19-8 defeat at the hands of Pomona-Pitzer — during the double-elimination regional round.

Pfeiffer’s other NCAA Tournament appearance came as a Division II member in 2004 after the Falcons captured the Conference Carolinas Tournament title.

Freshman Mason Mosteller, who previously played at East Burke High School and was a 2025 Burke Middle College graduate, made six pitching appearances including one start for the Falcons in 2026. The right-hander was named USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Week early in the season after earning his first collegiate win, and he also totaled nine strikeouts and seven walks while hitting a pair of batters in 10 2/3 innings.

Mosteller was also used as a designated hitter and a pinch hitter on several occasions, making one appearance at third base as well. For the season, the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder had two singles in nine at-bats to go with two walks and three RBIs.

Mozeley at

UNC Pembroke

Mason Mozeley (Freedom 2022) batted .318 (fourth on team) for the Braves (33-18, 21-12 NCAA D-II Conference Carolinas) as a redshirt junior, recording 57 hits (third) including seven home runs (T-third), 11 doubles (T-fourth), and one triple (T-fifth).

Mozeley saw time at three different positions across 47 games (46 starts), appearing as a designated hitter, catcher, and first baseman. In the end, the Valdese native also had 37 RBIs (fourth), scored 34 runs (eighth), and drew 22 walks (fifth).

Jensen at L-R

Lenoir-Rhyne (37-13-1, 23-9-1 NCAA D-II South Atlantic Conference) was very successful at home in 2026, finishing with a 24-5 record in Hickory as it improved to 53-7 at Durham Field over the last two years.

Redshirt sophomore outfielder Trey Jensen (Draughn 2023) played in nine games (four starts) for the Bears, tallying three hits including a double in 15 at-bats while also knocking in a run and scoring three times. Jensen also walked twice and stole a base.

Morrison, Shook

at Brevard

Cannon Morrison and Barger Shook, both of whom graduated from East Burke last year, recently completed their freshman seasons with the Tornados (16-23, 5-16 NCAA D-III USA South Athletic Conference).

A utility player who received three at-bats, Morrison scored two runs as a pinch runner while also stealing three bases. Meanwhile, Shook made three relief appearances and one start as he struck out four, issued three walks, and hit three batters in 4 2/3 innings pitched.

TRACK & FIELD

Byrd at Louisville

After finishing first in the men’s pole vault during the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor track and field championship meet in February, sophomore KJ Byrd (East Burke 2024) also won the pole vault during the ACC outdoor championships, which were hosted by the Cardinals May 14-16.

Also the heptathlon winner during the 2025 ACC indoor championships, Byrd set a new program record in the pole vault on May 14 by clearing a final bar of 18 feet, 1.75 inches. Then on May 15, Byrd added a personal-best mark of 24 feet, 3.5 inches in the long jump (eighth) before clearing 6 feet, 8.25 inches in the high jump (13th).

Other top-five performances for Byrd this spring included a fourth-place point total of 7,891 in the decathlon during the Mt. SAC Relays in mid-April in Walnut, Calif., and a fifth-place toss of 136 feet in the javelin throw during the Jim Vargo Invitational on March 28 at Bellarmine University, which is also located in Louisville, Ky.

The NCAA Division I East Regional meet is scheduled for May 27-30 in Lexington, Ky.

Clay, Wykle

at Catawba

Senior Madison Clay (Patton 2022) has been a key part of the Indians’ success this spring, as she began the season by posting a first-place time of 16:54.37 in the women’s 5K during the Charlotte 49er Classic on March 20, came in fifth in the 5K (16:22.21) during the Duke Invitational on April 10, and was the 10K champion (35:07.76) and the 5K runner-up (17:13.17) during the NCAA D-II South Atlantic Conference championship meet April 29-30 in Emory, Va.

Also at the SAC championships, the Catawba women finished second in the team standings as they recorded the highest finish in program history.

Freshman Gabe Wykle (Patton 2025) has participated in several meets as well, with his highest finish being a 25th-place time of 10:20.97 in the men’s 3K during the Charlotte 49er Classic on March 21.

Clay and five other Indians are currently competing at nationals, which started on Thursday and continue through today (Saturday, May 23) in Emporia, Kan.

Deacon at Davidson

Katie Deacon (Freedom 2023) has had several noteworthy efforts as a junior for the Wildcats, beginning with a first-place time of 2:17.53 in the women’s 800-meter run during the Davidson Relays on March 28.

Deacon was also the runner-up in the 800 during the Wake Forest Invitational on April 16 with a personal-best time of 2:14.52 after previously finishing third in the event during the Vertklasse Meeting on April 3 in High Point, where she posted a time of 2:16.19. She also joined three teammates to finish 10th in the 4x800-meter relay with a time of 9:15.22 during the NCAA D-I Atlantic 10 Conference championship meet on May 3 in Fairfax, Va.

Roscoe at Lees-McRae

Freshman Cayden Roscoe (Patton 2025) put forth a strong effort during the King University Invitational March 27-28 in Bristol, Tenn., finishing fourth in the men’s triple jump (39 feet, 5 inches), fifth in the 200-meter run (23.08), and seventh in the long jump (21 feet, 2 inches).

Roscoe also took part in the NCAA D-II Conference Carolinas championship meet April 24-25 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He teamed with three others to finish eighth in the 4x100-meter relay (42.69), came in 14th in the high jump (5 feet, 11.5 inches), and took 18th in the long jump (21 feet, 5.25 inches).

SOFTBALL

Winkler at Brevard

Regan Winkler (Draughn 2022) had 102 hits in three seasons with the Tornados (12-24, 4-14 NCAA D-III USA South Athletic Conference) after a standout freshman campaign at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute.

One of only three Brevard players who started every game in 2026, the senior first baseman batted .404 (second on team) with team highs in hits (46) and runs scored (27). Winkler also finished with 20 RBIs (second), 12 doubles (second), nine walks (T-fourth), and a stolen base.

Notably, Winkler also struck out just nine times, which was the second-lowest total among Brevard’s qualified batters.

Ward at CVCC

Freshman utility player Kadance Ward (Freedom 2025) posted a .372 batting average during her first season at Catawba Valley Community College (15-24, 9-9 National Junior College Athletic Association Region 10 D-II), recording 16 hits including a double.

Ward also had three RBIs and scored 11 runs, walked (six) more times than she struck out (three) in 55 plate appearances across 33 games, and stole a pair of bases.

Morrison at Pfeiffer

Kyndal Morrison (East Burke 2025) was one of the Falcons’ top base stealers this spring, registering seven stolen bases to rank second on the team.

Morrison also notched two hits including a double in nine at-bats as a freshman utility player for a Pfeiffer squad that went 40-11 overall and 17-1 in NCAA D-III USA South Athletic Conference games, nabbed its fourth consecutive conference tournament title, and came within two victories of advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals. The Falcons finished 2-2 during the double-elimination regional round, ultimately losing to unbeaten host Virginia Wesleyan by a 3-2 final on May 16.

In addition to the aforementioned statistics, Morrison also had two RBIs and scored 14 runs in 28 games.

Cozort at L-R

Like the baseball team, Lenoir-Rhyne’s softball squad also proved hard to beat at home, earning at least 20 wins in Hickory for the fifth season in a row as the Bears (41-15, 19-3 NCAA D-II South Atlantic Conference) won the SAC regular-season title, lost in the championship game of the conference tournament, and went 2-2 during the double-elimination regional round of the NCAA Tournament.

Katie Cozort (Draughn 2023) saw time in 11 games (two starts), and despite failing to record a hit in seven at-bats, the junior outfielder walked twice and scored three runs.

Crouch at Southern Wesleyan

Maddie Crouch (Draughn 2024) played in 49 games (48 starts) for the Warriors (37-14, 22-5 NCAA D-II Conference Carolinas) as a sophomore shortstop, with her 30 hits in 127 at-bats making her one of nine Southern Wesleyan players to record at least 30 hits during the 2026 season.

Among Crouch’s hits were a homer and two doubles, and she also knocked in 17 runs, scored 33 times to tie for first on the team, drew 16 walks (third), and stole seven bases (T-second).

Campbell, Carter

at Surry CC

Pitcher/third baseman Lani Campbell (Freedom 2025) and outfielder Raegan Carter (East Burke 2025) both provided solid contributions as freshmen at Surry Community College (11-40, 0-9 NJCAA Region 10 D-III) this spring.

Campbell made more pitching appearances (28) and starts (23) than anyone else on the Knights’ roster, and she also threw more innings (124), earned more wins (five), struck out more batters (48), and tossed more complete games (nine). In addition, Campbell appeared in 44 games as a hitter, totaling 25 hits including six doubles (second on team) in 113 at-bats while also driving in 19 runs (third), scoring 22 times (fourth), drawing 13 walks (fourth), and stealing a base.

Carter played in 22 games, registering 12 hits including a homer and a double in 48 at-bats, knocking in 11 runs, scoring 10 times, drawing eight walks, and stealing three bases (T-third).

Robinson, Carswell at Montreat

Daniell Robinson (Freedom 2025) and Marleigh Carswell (Patton 2025) were listed as a freshman pitcher/third baseman and infielder/pitcher, respectively, on the Cavaliers’ 2026 roster, although only Robinson saw time in the pitcher’s circle.

Robinson made three pitching appearances, recording a strikeout and earning a win in 10 2/3 innings out of the Montreat (20-24, 8-18 NAIA Appalachian Athletic Conference) bullpen. As for Carswell, she played in six games (two starts) and had three singles in eight at-bats to go with three RBIs, two runs scored, and a stolen base.

BOWLING

Brown at McKendree

Senior Cierra Brown (Draughn 2021) recently capped a college career that started at Delaware State by helping the Bearcats — an NCAA D-II level program — earn national runner-up honors during the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Championships April 17-19 in Green Bay, Wis.

Despite being seeded 14th out of the 16 women’s teams at nationals, McKendree made a Cinderella run through bracket play, defeating third-seeded Mount Mercy, 11th-seeded Tulane, 10th-seeded Newman, and second-seeded Louisiana Tech before falling at the hands of top-seeded Jacksonville State in the title match.