KOKOMO, Ind. – The first day of the 2026 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Softball Championship wrapped up on Thursday, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, Transylvania University and Earlham College, advancing unbeaten to the second day of competition.
2026 HCAC Softball Championship Page
In the first game of the tournament, No. 4 Earlham College defeated No. 5 Bluffton University, 10-2 and advanced to face No. 1 Franklin in the third game, later in the day.
In game two, the No. 3 seed Transylvania University Pioneers defeated the No. 6 Manchester Spartans, setting up a late afternoon game four appearance for the Pioneers.
In the third game of the day, top seed and regular season HCAC Co-Champion Franklin faced off against No. 4 Earlham, with the Quakers securing the upset win in the contest, 5-3 to advance to Day 2 remaining atop the winners bracket. The Grizzlies now drop down to the losers bracket and hope to regain the momentum that led them to their co-regular season title.
In Thursday’s final game, the third seeded Transylvania Pioneers sent No. 2 Mount St. Joseph to the losers bracket with a 10-5 victory to conclude the evening and day one of the championship.
Friday will feature four games, with the first contest showcasing No. 5 Bluffton and No. 6 Manchester. First pitch for that contest is slated for 10 a.m. Friday's second game will feature No. 1 Franklin against No. 2 MSJ at 12:30 p.m. That will be followed by the 3 p.m. contest when the winner of the morning's Manchester/Bluffton matchup will play the winner of the Franklin/MSJ contest. In the final matchup of day two, the only remaining unbeaten teams will go toe-to-toe, with first pitch between No. 3 Transylvania and No. 4 Earlham slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.
For more information on HCAC softball, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.