Tennessee Wesleyan Remains Lone Unbeaten Team at Softball Tournament

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Three teams remain in contention for the 2022 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Softball Tournament championship with No. 3 seed Tennessee Wesleyan being the last undefeated team left.

The tournament is being held at the Brickyard Ball Fields in Kingsport, Tenn.

It was a wild opener on Thursday as it took over an hour to play the first two innings between Point and Truett McConnell as they combined to score 12 runs through the first two frames. Truett McConnell pushed two runs across in the top of the first, but Point countered with four in the bottom of the frame. The Bears rallied for five in the second for a 7-4 lead, but the Skyhawks cut the margin to 7-5 in the bottom of the inning. However, Point's offense dried up while Truett McConnell kept scoring, adding a run in the third, three in the fourth, and two in the fifth for the 13-5 victory. Kyndall Gipson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI for the Bears.

Reinhardt scored eight runs in its final two at-bats to polish off Brenau in a 9-1 affair. Tied at 1-all, Reinhardt grabbed the lead for good with three runs in the fourth before pushing five across in the fifth to seal the win. Alexis Teems, Lauren Parker, and Ansley Evans each drove in two runs in the win.

In what was a great showdown between two of the AAC's top pitchers, Tennessee Wesleyan was able to put its hits together to push a few runs across to advance to the championship game. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Hailey Hinshaw RBI single. Callie King added an insurance run with a run-scoring single in the fifth, and Malyssa Jeter sealed the win with a solo home run in the seventh. Cheyenne Strong allowed only five hits, walked none, and fanned five in picking up the win. Bryan's Annalise Wood struck out 10 in the loss.

In the final game of the day, Truett McConnell used a six-run second to seize control of the game and never looked back in defeating Reinhardt. Briley Lawson and Gipson each drove in two runs during the six-run outburst. The Bears added a run in the fourth to make the final 7-0.

Truett McConnell and Bryan will square off at 11 a.m. in the losers' bracket final with the winner advancing to face Tennessee Wesleyan in the championship game at 1 p.m. Should Tennessee Wesleyan lose the 1 p.m., a second championship game will be played with the winner of that game claiming the 2022 title.

Tickets are available and can be purchased by clicking here.

If unable to attend in person, all games will be streamed live online. To watch, click here.

Here's the complete tournament schedule:

Tournament Schedule
Monday, April 25 - Single-Elimination Games
Game 1 - No. 8 Columbia (21-17) def. No. 9 Union (16-25), 7-6 (BOX) - Union eliminated
Game 2 - No. 7 Point (31-18) def. No. 10 Kentucky Christian (18-21), 1-0 (BOX) - Kentucky Christian eliminated

Tuesday, April 26 - Double-Elimination Through the Rest of the Tournament
Game 3 - No. 4 Truett McConnell (29-22) def. No. 5 Brenau (27-15), 2-0 (BOX)
Game 4 - No. 1 Bryan (29-14) def. No. 8 Columbia (21-18), 4-2 (BOX)
Game 5 - No. 2 Reinhardt (33-13) def. No. 7 Point (31-19), 2-1 (BOX)
Game 6 - No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan (31-7) vs. No. 6 Milligan (23-14), 4-1 (BOX)

Wednesday, April 27
Game 7 - No. 5 Brenau (28-15) def. No. 8 Columbia (21-19), 3-2 (BOX) - Columbia eliminated
Game 8 - No. 7 Point (32-19) def. No. 6 Milligan (23-15), 2-1 (BOX) - Milligan eliminated
Game 9 - No. 1 Bryan (30-14) def. No. 4 Truett McConnell (29-23), 2-1 (BOX)
Game 10 - No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan (32-7) def. No. 2 Reinhardt (33-14), 2-0 (BOX)

Thursday, April 28
Game 11 - No. 4 Truett McConnell (30-23) def. No. 7 Point (32-20), 13-5 in 5 innings (BOX) - Point eliminated
Game 12 - No. 2 Reinhardt (34-14) def. No. 5 Brenau (28-16), 9-1 in 5 innings (BOX) - Brenau eliminated
Game 13 - No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan (33-7) def. No. 1 Bryan (30-15), 3-0 (BOX)
Game 14 - No. 4 Truett McConnell (31-23) def. No. 2 Reinhardt (34-15), 7-0 (BOX) - Reinhardt eliminated

Friday, April 29
Game 15 - No. 1 Bryan (30-15) vs. No. 4 Truett McConnell (31-23), 11 am
Game 16 - Championship Game 1 - No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan (33-7) vs. Game 15 Winner, 1 pm
Game 17 - Championship Game 2 - Game 16 Winner vs. Game 16 Loser, 3 pm (if necessary)