Marshall, Texas – East Texas Baptist claimed their fourth consecutive American Southwest Conference Softball Championship after going undefeated in tournament play, securing the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. ETBU’s Avery Holland was named Tournament Most Valuable Player, while teammates Emma Boren, Ryan Stratman, and Aleyna St. Jean earned All-Tournament Team honors.
Mary Hardin-Baylor finished as tournament runner-up, closing its season at 22-22 under sixth-year head coach Melissa Mojica. The Cru also placed three players on the All-Tournament Team, with Bralyn Belk, Chloe Booth, and Addy Todd receiving the honor.
East Texas Baptist (36-4) will now await its postseason destination when the NCAA Softball Selection Show airs live Monday, May 11 at 10:00 a.m. CT on NCAA.com.
Game 6 [Championship] | East Texas Baptist 8, Mary Hardin-Baylor 0 | Box Score
East Texas Baptist claimed the 2026 American Southwest Conference Softball Championship with an 8-0 victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday afternoon in Marshall. The Tigers controlled the game from the third inning on, piling up 12 hits while McKenzie Jones tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out four to improve to 11-0 on the season. Ava Rodriguez led the ETBU offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Ryan Stratman and Emma Boren each collected two hits in the championship win.
Scoring Summary
3rd | East Texas Baptist broke through when Katelynn Jones tripled to left field to score Aleyna St. Jean. Ava Rodriguez followed with an RBI single to left, plating Ryan Stratman to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
4th | The Tigers added another run when Ryan Stratman drew a bases-loaded walk, with Julia St. John scoring on the play to extend the lead to 3-0.
6th | East Texas Baptist broke the game open with five runs in the inning. Stratman started the scoring with an RBI single, followed by RBI hits from Izabella Morales and Ava Rodriguez. Makayla Menchue added an RBI double to right field, and Emma Boren capped the inning with an RBI single for the final 8-0 margin.
All-Tournament Team
Avery Holland, ETBU, MVP
Bralyn Belk, UMHB
Chloe Booth, UMHB
Emma Boren, ETBU
Akaysia Grogan, HSU
Emily Jacobs, HSU
Siannah Nava, HPU
McKanne Saenz, HPU
Ryan Stratman, ETBU
Aleyna St. Jean, ETBU
Addy Todd, UMHB