Greyhounds Rally Comes Up Short in 2026 NCAA Super Regional with Setback to No. 5 Linfield (Ore.)

McMINNVILLE, Ore. -The Moravian University softball team saw its 2026 season come to a close with a 9-5 loss to No. 5 Linfield (Ore.) University on the second day of the 2026 NCAA Division III McMinnville (Ore.) Super Regional Friday afternoon.

How It Happened

The Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a two-run homer and a pair of RBI singles
Linfield added an RBI double in the top of the second frame for a 5-0 edge
The Hounds got a leadoff walk from senior catcher Marcie Silberman to start the bottom of the second; however, a double play ended Moravian's inning
The Wildcats pushed the advantage to 6-0 with an RBI single in the top of the third
The Blue & Grey had a leadoff single from sophomore first baseman Kaley Hoffman to start the bottom of the third. However, Linfield turned another double play before freshman left fielder Natalie Chloros singled in an 11-pitch at-bat. The Wildcats recorded the third out to keep the Greyhounds off the scoreboard
Moravian scored five times in the bottom of the fourth to pull with a run at 6-5. Junior center fielder Shayla Morgan and junior right fielder/pitcher Kyra Holtje hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the fourth frame. Silberman followed with an RBI single up the middle as Morgan raced home as Silberman set the Moravian and Landmark Conference records with her 166th career RBI. After a fielder's choice by senior pitcher Sarah DeStefano, senior shortstop Samanta Derickson ripped an RBI double down the left field line to chase Silberman home. Hoffman followed with a three-run homer to right field, her first home run of the season and third of her career to score DeStefano and Derickson and pull the Hounds within a run. Freshman designated player Nicole Giglio connected on a single but was stranded on base
Linfield got a run back in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to make the edge 7-5
DeStefano led off the bottom of the sixth with a double but would be stranded at third
The Wildcats added a pair of an insurance runs in the top of the seventh for a 9-5 advantage
The Greyhounds put two runners on in the bottom of the seventh with two-out singles from Morgan and Holtje before the contest ended

Inside the Numbers

Moravian recorded 11 hits in the game with Hoffman going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a homer and a run
Morgan and Holtje were both 2-for-4 with Morgan scoring once
Silberman was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and in addition to setting the school and Landmark Conference record for RBIs in a career, she finished her career tied for sixth in program history with 191 hits
DeStefano and Derickson were both 1-for-3 with a double and a run each with Derickson adding an RBI. Derickson also had two assists at shortstop to finish the year with a school record 154 assists while DeStefano became just the second player in program history to reach 180 career games played
Giglio and Chloros each added one hit in the contest
Holtje started in the circle and tossed the first inning with four runs on five hits. DeStefano came in from right field

NCAA Super Regional History

The Hounds were making their fifth appearance in the Super Regionals since the NCAA adopted the format in 2014 including the third berth in four seasons under fourth-year Head Coach Josh Baltz. The Blue & Grey have played in the Super Regionals in 2015, 2018, 2023, 2025 and 2026 with the 2023 squad winning the program's first and only Super Regional title. Moravian is now 4-9 in Super Regional games. The Hounds went 2-1 versus Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 2023 NCAA Division III Cambridge (Mass.) Super Regional before going 1-2 versus Randolph-Macon (Va.) College in the 2025 NCAA Division III Bethlehem (Pa.) Super Regional and dropping two games at Linfield this week
Moravian has won eight NCAA regional championships including three in the last four years including the 2023 Medford (Mass.) Regional, the 2025 Bethlehem (Pa.) Regional and the 2026 Bethlehem (Pa.) Regional
The Hounds have advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Finals four times in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2023
The Greyhounds are now 60-49 all-time in NCAA Tournament action in 22 appearances with an 8-6 mark in extra-innings, and Baltz is now 14-10 in NCAA play since taking over the program in 2023

Up Next for the Greyhounds

Season Complete