MACON, Ga. - East Tennessee State softball fell in the final game of the 2026 season on Sunday afternoon at Mercer. The Bucs (21-28, 8-13) fell 1-6 to the Bears (20-29, 8-13) at Sikes Field. ETSU clinched the series win but were unable to secure the series sweep.
The series win is the third of league action for the Bucs, with the prior two being the sweep over Furman and the win over Wofford.
NOTABLES (L, 1-6)
How It Happened:
ETSU was first to the board in the top of the first, scoring the lone run on a double to left field by Porter who was advanced on a bunt by Taylor and scored on a single from Moore. A pair of Buccaneer errors in the bottom of the second allowed three runs to score for Mercer. The Bears grew the advantage in the bottom of the fourth from an ETSU error, a single, a sac bunt and a single to center to score two additional runs. Mercer's sixth run arrived in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run and Mercer clinched the series finale, 6-1.
- Hailey Porter, Whitney Boone and Abigail Taylor each doubled in the contest for the three total by the team.
- Taylor, Payton Moore, and Tiare Rieger collected two hits apiece to combine for six of the team's nine total.
- Moore owned the only RBI of the outing from a single to centerfield that drove Porter across the plate.
- Whitney Boone and Riley Martens led the team in putouts with five apiece while Riley Croley posted the team-high of two assists.
- The team totaled 29 at-bats, one run , nine hits, one RBI, three doubles and collected six assists through the 18 putouts.
UP NEXT
ETSU will be the No. 6 seed in the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament and will face No. 7 seed Mercer on Wednesday, May 6 at 1 p.m. in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
