Box Score SPARTANBURG, S.C. (May 8, 2025) – East Tennessee State University softball lost its elimination game 11-3 to Mercer in the SoCon Championship on Thursday.  

In the final game of her career, senior Cameron Young had two hits and an RBI. She drove in Leinani Lutu with the bases loaded in the third for the Bucs' first run of the day. Young ended her illustrious career with the best hitting season in ETSU history, hitting .401 and reaching base at a .480 clip, both new program records. Her 67 hits rank fourth at ETSU in a single season, and she extended her lead as the program career record holder for batting average.

After losing in nine innings to Chattanooga earlier in the day, Mercer's bats were hot in the early innings. The Bears scored four runs on a pair of RBI singles and a triple from Kiki Daniels that scored two. 

The Bucs made it through the second inning unscathed, but the hot streak from Mercer continued in the third. The Bears hit a trio of bombs from Hannah Rivers, Daniels and Hallie Langford – a solo shot, two run blast and three run homer – to seize control of the elimination game and take a 10-1 lead. 

Mercer added an insurance run via its fourth home run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, but the Bucs rallied in the fifth. Nayana DeAmelia reached on a fielder's choice in the final at-bat of her career and came around to score after Riley Nayadley and Young advanced her before Muir drove her in. Whitney Boone kept the fifth inning going and Taylor Suchy delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to score Nayadley. 

However, it wouldn't be enough to push the game to the sixth inning, as Mercer recorded the final out via a flyout to the warning track to close the run-rule victory, 11-3.

This loss marks the end of the 2025 ETSU softball season.

For more information on Buccaneer softball, follow @ETSUSoftball on X (Twitter), @etsubucssoftball on Instagram and visit ETSUBucs.com.