The final two quarterfinal games of the 2026 NESCAC Softball Tournament were played on Saturday at Bowdoin's Pickard Diamond. Fifth-seeded Williams defeated No. 4 Bowdoin, 2-1, while No. 3 Colby handed No. 6 Trinity a 4-1 loss. The two semifinal games scheduled for Saturday were moved to Sunday, May 10 due to inclement weather.
On Sunday, the first semifinal of No. 5 Williams versus top-seeded Tufts will begin at 9:30 a.m. The second semifinal of No. 3 Colby against No. 2 Middlebury is slated to begin at Noon. The winners will meet in the championship game at 2:30 p.m. All games will be webcast via the NESCAC Network.
Tufts, the defending NESCAC Champion, returns to the semifinals for the seventh consecutive year, while Williams is in the semifinal round for the fourth time in six tournaments. The Jumbos swept the regular-season series against the Ephs, winning 4-3 and 9-6, on the final weekend of the regular season. The semifinal will mark the 29th meeting between the teams in the NESCAC Tournament. Williams won the last matchup, 3-1, in Game 7 of the 2023 tournament.
Colby is making back-to-back trips to the NESCAC Semifinal round while Middlebury is appearing in its first semifinal since 2015. The teams split the regular-season series on April 17 at Colby. The Mules won the opener, 9-5 in nine innings, and the Panthers won the nightcap, 2-1. Colby is 2-1 against Middlebury in the NESCAC Tournament. The teams squared off last season in Game 3 with the Mules earning an 8-5 win.
No. 5 Williams def. No. 4 Bowdoin, 2-1 | Box Score
Sadie Leonard struck out nine in a complete-game effort, and Haley Barrett's RBI single in the fifth inning proved to be the decisive hit as Williams edged Bowdoin 2-1 in the NESCAC Quarterfinals.
Leonard, who improved to 15-5, retired Bowdoin batters in order in both the fourth and fifth innings. She held the Polar Bears to four hits while stranding 10 baserunners.
Williams scored first in the third inning when Lauren Davis came around to score on a bases-loaded walk issued to Dani Jackman. Barrett's single in the fifth extended the advantage to 2-0.
Bowdoin pulled within one in the sixth inning when Elise Siciliano singled home Ella Davies, but Leonard slammed the door. The Polar Bears threatened in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs, but Rosie Panenka flied out to end the game.
No. 3 Colby def. No. 6 Trinity, 4-1 | Box Score
Sophia Meade scattered four hits and struck out six over seven innings, and Julia Berry's two-run triple highlighted a three-run second inning as Colby defeated Trinity 4-1 in the final NESCAC Quarterfinal game.
Meade, who improved to 11-2, retired 13 of the final 16 batters she faced and surrendered just one earned run.
Colby broke open the game in the bottom of the second when Berry laced a two-run triple to left-center, scoring Avery Lyman and Kelsey Sullivan. Emma Burnham followed with an RBI double to make it 4-0.
Trinity's lone run came in the third when Abby Alper stole second and scored on Emily Goddard's RBI double down the left-field line. But reliever Kaysen Shikar kept Colby off the board the rest of the way, allowing just two hits over her 4.1 innings of work.
