NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Bucs softball began its 2026 season on Thursday in South Carolina against old friend, VTSU Johnson. The Buccaneers got big contributions from not only their solid core of older players but also from their freshmen players. In Buzzards Bay-esque rainy and windy weather, Maritime swept the Badgers, 9-3 and 11-6. 

Game One

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 9, Badgers 3

Records: Maritime 1-0

               VTSU Johnson 0-1

In the Circle

Maritime: Jennamarie Klemp (W, 1-0): 7 IP | 6 H | 3 R | 1 ER | 1 BB | 6 K

VTSU Johnson: Hannah Corvino (L, 0-1): 6 IP | 10 H | 9 R | 7 ER | 4 BB | 9 K

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Freshman outfielder Nyomi Simental led the way for Maritime at the plate with two hits in the game. Eight other Buccaneers recorded hits in the win.
• Freshman Abbey Doherty and sophomore Natalie Gale each had doubles in the game. 
• Ab'c'de Patane drove in three runs while Lexi LeBlanc, Mikale Lemons, Klemp, and Simental each drove in one run.
• Hannah Burton scored a team-high three runs in the game, Doherty scored twice, and four other players scored once.
• On the base paths, Reagan Kerecz, Burton, LeBlanc, Gale, Cassie Lynch, and Simental all stole a base.

VTSU Johnson

• Kamryn Devero had two hits in the loss for the Badgers. Four other players recorded one hit each.
• Audrey Tembreull had a triple, the team's only extra-base hit.
• Kristie Zator, Madyson Stingle, and Taylor Reddick all drove in a run. 
• Tembreull, Grace Allen, and Devero all scored a run.

How It Happened

Maritime struck in their first at-bats of the season in Myrtle Beach, plating two runs on a Patane single that scored Burton and Kerecz. The Bucs led 2-0 after one inning of play. 

In the bottom of the second, Simental recorded her first-career base hit and RBI on a single that brought in Gale to make it 3-0 after two.

The Bucs kept it going in the third with three more runs. The first on a Patane sacrifice fly, then LeBlanc recorded her first-career hit and RBI on a single that scored Doherty.  Klemp added one more run on a single that scored LeBlanc, and after three innings, the Buccaneers led 6-0.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Badgers erased the shutout when Reddick singled to score Tembreull, who had tripled to lead off the inning. The Bucs lead was cut to five runs, 6-1. Maritime got that run back and added another in the bottom of the fourth frame. Doherty recorded her first-career extra-base hit with a double that scored Burton, followed by Lemons singling down the right field line to bring in Doherty. After four, the Buccaneers led by seven runs, 8-1.

Johnson scored two more runs to open the fifth inning. Zator reached on an infield single that allowed Allen to score, and Stingle drove in another run on a groundout to second base. The deficit for the Badgers was down to five runs, 8-3. In the bottom of the fifth, the Bucs caused chaos on the base paths and scored one more run on a throwing error which brought in Lynch to score. The Bucs went up 9-3 and held on to that lead to earn their first victory of the season.

Game Two

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 11, Badgers 6

Records: Maritime 2-0

               VTSU Johnson 0-2

In the Circle

Maritime

Maritime: Jennamarie Klemp (W, 2-0): 4.1 IP | 2 H | 0 R | 0 ER | 2 BB | 0 K

VTSU Johnson: Madyson Stingle (L, 0-1): 7 IP | 15 H | 11 R | 8 ER | 4 BB | 4 K

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Reagan Kerecz, and Hannah Burton each recorded three hits in the win. Abbey Doherty, Ab'c'de Patane, and Natalie Gale all had two-hit games. Riley McKnight, Mikale Lemons, and Ryleigh Ward each recorded one hit.
• Kerecz, Gale, and McKnight all had doubles in the game.
• Kerecz drove in three runs while Burton, Doherty, Patane, Ward, and Gale all had one RBI.
• On the base paths, Lemons recorded three stolen bases, Kerecz, Burton, Doherty, and Simental all had one stolen bag.
• Kerecz, Burton, and Lemons all scored twice in the win. McKnight, Doherty, Patane, Gale, and Simental each scored once.

VTSU Johnson

• Kristie Zator had a two-hit game in the loss. Madyson Stingle, Audrey Tembreull, and Taylor Reddick all had one hit.
• Five different players had RBI, and six scored runs.
• Zator had a double, the only Badger extra-base hit.
• Zator also had a stolen base in the game.

How It Happened

As they did in game one, the Buccaneers scored runs in each of the first three innings, one per, with Burton, Gale, and a Badger miscue responsible for each of the runs. Then, in the bottom of the third, Johnson surged for six runs to take a 6-3 lead after three innings.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Bucs began their comeback, scoring two runs on a Kerecz single to right field, scoring Simental and Lemons. The Bucs trailed by one after four, 6-5.

In the fifth, Maritime tied the game at 6-6 on another Badger error, allowing Doherty to score. 

The Buccaneers retook the lead in game two in the sixth with a four-run inning. Kerecz singled to left center to bring in Gale, Doherty grounded out to third, bringing in Kerecz, Patane singled through the left side to score Burton, and Ward singled up the middle to bring in Patane. The Bucs led 10-6 after five. 

In the seventh, the Bucs added one more for insurance on a Badger error that allowed McKnight to score. The Bucs led 11-6 and went on to shut down Johnson in the bottom of the inning and take two games from the Badgers.