PEMBROKE, N.C. — The Davis & Elkins College softball team opened the 2026 season on Friday with a nonconference doubleheader against UNC Pembroke at Willoughby Field, falling 12-4 in both games.

Despite the losses, the Senators showed offensive flashes and early-season resilience in their first action of the year.

Game One
UNC Pembroke used a pair of big innings to pull away as the Braves earned a 12-4 win in the opener.

After three scoreless frames, UNC Pembroke broke through with three runs in the third inning. Davis & Elkins responded in the fourth, plating four runs to briefly take a 4-3 lead.

Gweny Wessling got the Senators on the board with an RBI single, followed by an RBI single from Madison Smith. Cayden Warfield and Cortney Dobbs each drew bases-loaded walks to cap the four-run rally.

UNC Pembroke answered immediately with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and added four more in the fifth to secure the win.

Wessling and Smith each recorded an RBI, while Wessling, Ashlyn Zapach, Audrey Higgins and Trinity Fleming scored runs for D&E. Saylor Kneeland took the loss in the circle, striking out three over 3.2 innings, with Alyssia Munoz pitching the final inning.

Game Two
Davis & Elkins jumped out to an early lead in the second game of the doubleheader but saw UNC Pembroke erupt for 10 runs in the fifth inning to claim another 12-4 victory.

The Senators struck first when Zapach doubled to left-center field in the opening inning, driving in two runs. Christina Montgomery added a solo home run in the second inning, and D&E carried a 3-2 lead into the fifth.

After the Braves tied the game, Wessling brought home Higgins with a sacrifice fly to give D&E a brief 4-2 advantage. UNC Pembroke then scored 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by a grand slam from Mackenzie Etling, to end the contest.

Zapach finished with two RBIs, Montgomery homered, and Wessling recorded a sacrifice RBI. Sammie Jarvis suffered the loss after 4.1 innings in the circle, with Kendal Tellings recording the final out.

Up Next
Davis & Elkins continues its preseason schedule at the Big Region Preseason Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 7, facing Lincoln Memorial University at 12 p.m. in Johnson City, Tenn., at the James K. Ellis Softball Complex.