CLEMONT, Fla. -- The 2026 season for the Heidelberg University Softball team kicked off with a pair of wins. Carmen Moore hit a walk-off single in a 6-5 win over Carthage, and Haley Gockstetter flirted with a no-hitter in a 14-7 win over Pitt-Greensburg.

Heidelberg hit .453 as a team on the day -- with the 9-1-2 hitters (Adyson Bowe, Leah Arnett, and Hannah Hashman) going a combined 12 for 20 with eight runs and 10 stolen bases. 

GAME ONE:  BERG 6-11-2   CARTHAGE 5-8-2

Carthage scored once in the first and the third and led 2-0 in the bottom of the third. There, the Student Princes used their speed to wreak havoc on the basepaths. Adyson Bowe led off with a walk and stole second. She advanced to third on a bunt single by Leah Arnett.  Arnett took off for second on the first pitch, and Carthage threw to second but quickly relayed the ball back to the plate. Bowe, however, snuck her hand onto the plate while sliding in, scoring HU's first run. Hannah Hashman followed with another bunt single, putting runners back on the corners. Hashman broke for second and the Firebirds threw to second, but this time, Carthage elected to quickly throw behind Arnett at third. The throw was off the mark, allowing Arnett to scamper home with the tying run. The Student Princes took the lead with a run off a high, wind-blown pop-up that dropped in shallow right center. 

The Firebirds tied the game in the fifth. After Heidelberg squandered an opportunity to go ahead in the bottom of the sixth, Carthage plated two in the top of the seventh.  

Down to their final three outs, the pesky Student Princes went to work. Hashman dropped in a single to right and moved to second on a one-out walk drawn by Alexis Burton. Abbie Marshall lined a single off the pitcher, loading the bases.  Cara Meyer launched a sac fly to left that scored one. With two outs, Brie Williams calmly lined a single to center, plating pinch runner  and noted Lisa Fernandez historian Ashlynne McAdow with the tying run. On a 1-0 pitch, Carmen Moore delivered a walk-off single up the middle, scoring Marshall. As the team celebrated, they were greeted by their biggest fan with a big smile. 

Taylor Forrest (1-0) went the distance, allowing five runs on eight hits. Hashman, Arnett and Williams all had multiple hits. 

GAME TWO:  BERG 14-18-4   PITT-GREENSBURG 7-4-2

Heidelberg started strong in game two. Arnett lined a single up the middle, then scored from first on a throwing error off a sac bunt from Hashman. Ellie Tressler scorched a single up the middle, scoring Hashman. 

Three straight singles helped HU plate another in the third. Tressler lined a base hit to left, then Burton and Marshall followed with singles up the middle.  HU led 3-0.  

The Student Princes broke the game wide open in the top of the fifth.  Marshall and Cara Meyer opened with walks, then advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Alyse Swartz. Moore drove in the pair with a single to left, then scored on a triple to the gap in left center by Bowe.  With two outs, Hashman pulled an RBI single to right before scoring on a double by Tressler. Burton capped the inning with an RBI base hit to center. 

Heidelberg led, 9-0, with a chance to close out the run-rule in the fifth. Pitt-Greensburg had other plans, though, scoring six runs in the frame.  

Undeterred, The Berg tacked on a couple insurance runs in the sixth. Meyer and Swartz singled to start, before a fielder's choice erased Meyer at third. A double steal put two in scoring position with one out. Bowe and Arnett contributed RBi singles to left.  

HU plated three more in the seventh. Meyer had a double to deep center that scored Burton. McAdow scored on a groundout by Swartz. Meyer later scored on a wild pitch, giving the Student Princes a 14-6 advantage. 

Greensburg added one in the seventh, but was unable to get close.  

Starter Haley Gockstetter didn't allow a hit until the fifth. She ended up allowing four earned runs on three hits in 4.2 innings. She fanned nine.  Kamryn Rastigue worked the final 2.1 innings, allowing one unearned run.  

UP NEXT: 

The Berg gets back after it bright and early on Monday, playing twice on "Schools that have four letters and start with H Day" in Central Florida. They'll battle Hope College at 9 a.m., then Hood College at 1:45 p.m.