Games 1-2
Lindenwood (0-0, 0-0 OVC)
vs. Nicholls State (0-0, 0-0 Southland) / at Alabama State (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Games 3-4
Lindenwood (0-0, 0-0 OVC)
vs. Murray State (0-0, 0-0 MVC) / Northern Kentucky (0-0, 0-0 Horizon)
Tournament Central Page
Season Preview
The Lindenwood Softball team will begin their 2026 campaign this weekend at the Stinger Classic in Montgomery, Alabama hosted by Alabama State. The Lions will play two games on both Friday and Saturday with both days getting underway at 9 AM CT. LU will play Nicholls State on Friday morning at 9 a.m. followed by their second game of the day which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. against Alabama State. Lindenwood will then wrap up their first tournament of the season by playing back-to-back games against Murray State at 9 a.m. and Northern Kentucky at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Coming off a 24 win season in 2025 and making an appearance in the OVC tournament, Lindenwood returns their top four hitters from a season ago in
Nicole Henson,
Jolie McMinn,
Tori Hatton, and
Dallis Darnell. Hatton and Darnell appeared and started in every game last season while McMinn and Henson had the top two batting averages in 2025 with a .295 and .354 respectively. On the defensive side of the ball, the Lions return all three of their pitchers including All-OVC Second Teamer
Avery Wapp.
Ryleigh Owens is among the returning pitchers as well and the Junior from Edwardsville, Ill. was named an OVC preseason player to watch for the 2026 season.
Newcomers
The Lions welcome six newcomers to the 2026 squad with five of the six being Freshman. Among the newcomers is Freshman Pitcher
Ava Risum from Brodhead, WI. who as a Junior in high school allowed just four earned runs in 87 innings (0.33 ERA) and struck out 153 batters which led her to be named the Rock Division Pitcher of the Year. Risum was also a three time Wisconsin First Team All-State selection from 2023-2025.
Stella True is another incoming Freshman that will join the squad in 2026 after recording 121 career RBI and 133 career hits across four years at Olathe North High School in Kansas. True holds the Olathe North single season RBI record with 42 RBI in just 20 games played.
Up Next
Lindenwood will travel to Alabama for the second weekend in a row as they will hit the road to Birmingham, AL for the Samford Univeristy Tournament on February 13-15.
