BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College softball team is set for its first trip to the ODAC Championship since 2012, as it clashes with No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan on Friday and Saturday in Virginia Beach.

The Eagles and Marlins tangle in a best-of-three series over the weekend, with game one slated for Friday at 3 p.m. and games two and three set for Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.

BC and VWU met back on March 29 in the Valley with the Marlins sweeping the two games as they avoided a pair of upset bids in 4-2 and 10-4 victories. The eight-run combined margin of victory is the smallest of any two-game set for the Marlins this season, while the 4-2 scoreline in game one was the tightest contest of the season by score for VWU this season that wasn't a shutout. Bridgewater's four runs and eight hits in game two are tied for the most surrendered by Brandon Elliott's squad this season in both departments. No team has tallied 12 hits across two games against VWU this season in their 43-0 campaign up to this point. 

Bridgewater is 1-14  against Virginia Wesleyan under head coach Megan Pleskovic, with the lone win coming last season in Virginia Beach. Nine of the 10 starters from last season's victory in the Tidewater are set for the return trip to the 757. Sixteen Eagles have played in multiple contests against the Marlins during their time in Crimson and Gold, led by McKenna Mueller's nine games against VWU.

The Marlins have been one of the most dominant teams in recent memory from top to bottom. Seven players have seen action in all 43 games for VWU this season, and all of them are hitting .381 or better at the dish in 2026. Morgan Tucker leads the Marlins offensively as she leads Div. III in RBI per game (1.72) and is among the national leaders in batting average, swinging .517. The VWU duo in the circle has been a key factor. Hannah Hearl and Emma Adams rank first and second in Div. III in WHIP and ERA. 

For the Eagles, the talk of the weekend was a 3-0 performance by Mackenzie Cauthorn in the circle as BC clinched its return to the ODAC Championship. Cauthorn helped her own cause on Saturday as her two-run home run sealed the deal on a 6-1 victory over Averett to punch BC's ticket to Virginia Beach. Lily Moyers, Caroline Malandra and Kaelyn Ramsey fueled the BC offense in Salem, led by Moyers' .500 batting average over all three games. Malandra's two home runs to go along with four runs driven in were huge in the Star City, while Ramsey's clutch hits drove in three runs on just five at-bats. 

Bridgewater is seeking its first ODAC Championship in program history in its eighth appearance in the league title matchup. This is the Eagles' first appearance in the ODAC Finale under coach Megan Pleskovic, and the program's first under the current tournament format. The softball program is the third Bridgewater Athletic program to make an appearance in the ODAC Championship round this season (women's volleyball and equestrian), as the College looks to end a five-year ODAC Championship drought.