LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bellarmine softball continues its early season tournament stretch with another five-game weekend, heading to Chattanooga, TN for the Chattanooga Challenge February 13-15.
Hosted by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the event will be played at Frost Stadium.

The Knights will open their weekend on Friday, February 13 against the host Mocs at 3 pm E.T. before taking on Middle Tennessee at 5:30 pm E.T. On Friday, February 14, Bellarmine will face off against Canisius at 12:30 pm E.T. with a second game against Middle Tennessee at 3 pm E.T. BU will close out the event on Sunday, February 15 against Ohio at 11 am E.T.

All five games will have live stats available online while none of the games will be available on streaming.

Bellarmine opened its season last weekend at West Georgia's Opening Weekend Event. Despite an 0-5 record to begin the year, the Knights turned in their best offensive opening weekend in the Division I era, producing program highs in hits (48), runs (30), extra-base hits (13), doubles (8), home runs (5, 2 grand slams) and recorded the most hits in a single game with 15 against Drexel in the season opener.

The Knights saw production come from both veterans and freshman alike, with freshman Jayla Manning leading the team in hitting after the first weekend, owning a team best .471 batting average. Manning is tied for first on the team with eight hits, adding a double, three RBI and three runs. Senior Madison Davis is second on the team, hitting .444 with a team-best tying eight hits and team leading two home runs. The senior belted her first career home run in the season opener before besting herself with a grand slam on Sunday. She leads the team in runs scored (6) and is second in RBI (6). Freshman Tia Ice also turned in a strong first collegiate weekend, hitting .389 with a double, home run, five RBI and two runs. Senior Jacklyn Zuege picked up where she left off in ASUN play last season and began the year hitting .333 with a team-leading three doubles and seven RBI, adding four runs and a stolen base.

About the Mocs
Chattanooga is off to a 3-2 start in 2026 after an impressive 41-15 record in 2025. The Mocs took a 15-5 SoCon record into the conference tournament, making it to the championship game before being knocked out by Mercer. This season, Chattanooga was tabbed to finish second in the SoCon's coaches' poll. Senior Taylor Long was picked as one of two pitchers on the league's Preseason All-Conference Team after posting a 12-3 record with nine complete games, four shutouts and two saves in 2025. Long was second in the SoCon with 160 strikeouts and held opponents to a .206 batting average while owning a 2.56 ERA. Offensively, five Mocs are hitting over .300 after one weekend of play, led by sophomore Annika Segedi with a .385 average. Fellow sophomore Abu Bunt leads the team in extra-base hits with three doubles and a homer, adding a team best eight RBI. Overall, Chattanooga is hitting .321 in the early going with eight extra-base hits and 28 runs. In the circle, the Mocs pitching staff owns a 5.96 ERA with 24 strikeouts to 25 walks. Bellarmine and Chattanooga will meet for the first time on Friday.

About the Blue Raiders
Middle Tennessee kicked off its season last weekend with a 1-4 record after a 26-27 season last year. The Blue Raiders ended the year on a high-note sweeping their final three-game conference series. This season, MTSU was picked to finish ninth in the Conference USA preseason poll and had two players selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team in senior Ansley Blevins and sophomore Jana Want. Blevins, a two-time First-Team All-Conference honoree led the Blue Raiders in slugging percentage (.618) and home runs (14) last season while hitting .267 with four doubles, 37 RBI and 18 runs. Want, the 2025 C-USA Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-Conference and C-USA All-Freshman Team honoree, led MTSU in hitting (.342), OBP (.479), hits (50), RBI (37), runs scored (33) and walks (37) in 2025. Through five games, Want is hitting .286 with a double, RBI and run scored while Blevins is hitting .200 with a run scored. As a team, Middle Tennessee is hitting .195 with seven extra-base hits and 17 runs. In the circle, the Blue Raiders own a 4.72 ERA with 16 strikeouts to nine walks. Bellarmine and Middle Tennessee have met twice before, with both meetings coming in the 1993 season. The teams split the two games with Bellarmine winning game one 8-4 and Middle Tennessee taking game two 7-0.

About the Golden Griffins
Canisius will begin its 2026 campaign this weekend after turning in a 26-26 record a year ago. The Golden Griffins made the MAAC tournament with a 15-10 record, winning their first-round game against Sacred Heart before falling in back-to-back games to end the season. Canisius was picked to finish eighth in the league's preseason coaches' poll while also having one player named to the Preseason All-Conference Team in junior Ella Johel. Johel was named First-Team All-MAAC and NFCA All-Northeast Region Second team in 2025 after leading the team in hitting .395. Overall, she ranked among the top five hitter in the MAAC in average, hits (68), doubles (15), triples (9), RBI (45), runs (43), SLG (.674) and OPS (1.101). Last season as a team, Canisus hit .290 with 129 extra-base hits and 257 runs. In the circle, the Golden Griffins owned a 4.23 ERA with 213 strikeouts to 193 walks. Bellarmine and Canisius will meet for the first time on Saturday.

About the Bobcats
Ohio is off to a 4-1 start to its season after going 37-19 a year ago. The Bobcats earned the No. 2 seed in the MAC Conference Tournament and won each of its first two games, including a 5-2 win over No. 1 Miami before the Redhawks won the next two games to end their season. Ohio was picked to finish second in the league once again in the preseason coaches' poll, receiving one first place vote and five votes to win the MAC tournament. Senior Belle Hummel was named the MAC Player of the Week after opening the season with a 13-for-17 weekend (.765), adding two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, 12 runs and three stolen bases. As a team, Ohio is hitting .436 with 20 extra-base hits and 56 runs. On the rubber, the Bobcats own a 3.03 ERA with 27 strikeouts to eight walks. Bellarmine and Ohio will meet for the first time on Sunday.

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