EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Fifth-seeded Rockhurst earned the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Softball Championship on Saturday at EastSide Centre, defeating third-seeded McKendree twice to win the trophy. The Hawks secured its first league title in the sport and are the first No. 5 seed to win the Championship in conference history.
Game One
No. 5 ROCKHURST 2, No. 3 McKENDREE 1
BOX | RECAPS:
RU,
MCK
- RU’s Emily Berry ripped a two-run homer in the first inning that proved to be the game-winning hit.
- Laynee Tapp drove in the Bearcats’ lone run on a sacrifice fly in the third frame.
- Avery Huffman was once again dominant in the circle for RU, allowing four hits and one earned run in a complete-game performance.
- Three RU hitters – Taylor Sedam, Mya Bristow, and Jazmyne Moreno – contributed two hits apiece.
If Necessary Game
No. 5 ROCKHURST 6, No. 3 McKENDREE 3
BOX | RECAPS:
RU,
MCK
- RU and MCK traded single runs in the first inning, as McKenna Lester knocked an RBI single for the Hawks and GLVC Player of the Year – Bearcat shortstop Lauren Harris – smacked a solo shot over the right field fence.
- Eva Fulk gave RU the lead in the second frame with an RBI single.
- MCK’s Molly Bartz clobbered a fourth-inning, solo homer to tie the game at two.
- Claire Tipton’s RBI double in the sixth gave RU the advantage once again.
- In the seventh stanza, RU tallied three insurance runs to push the lead to four before Avery Huffman closed out the victory.
- Taylor Sedam led the RU offense with three hits, while Claire Long tallied a team-high two RBIs.
- Huffman powered through all seven innings with 127 pitches, five hits allowed, five walks, and three strikeouts to earn the win.
The Hawks now await the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, May 11 at 10 a.m. ET to determine their regional fate. The 2026 NCAA Division II Championship will be played May 28-June 3 at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, following regionals on May 14-16 and super regionals on May 21-22.
All tournament games can be found on
GLVCSN.com, the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, as well as the GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.
Visit the above link for final results and other Championship details.
2026 GLVC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Emily Berry, RU
- Mya Bristow, RU
- Eva Fulk, RU
- Avery Huffman, RU
- McKenna Lester, RU
- Taylor Sedam, RU
- Lauren Harris, MCK
- Ali Grenzebach, MCK
- Sami Huck, MCK
- Jasmine Myers, MCK
- Cara Cooper, UINDY
- Cheyenne Eads, UINDY
- Kaley Adzick, DU
- Emma Niemczyk, DU