Six programs – No. 4 Tennessee, No. 13 Clemson, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Alabama and RV Auburn – posted two wins on the first full day of the 2026 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic presented by MaxBP on Friday at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.

Here’s a look at how each of the half dozen went 2-0 for the day.

*****

Tennessee

The Lady Vols, who opened with a 10-0 triumph on Thursday, collected wins against No. 21 Liberty and Rutgers to improve to 3-0 at the tournament.

They broke a 1-1 deadlock courtesy of back-to-back home runs by Emma Clarke (two-run) and Taelyn Holley in a three-run fourth and added two more in the fifth for a 6-1 victory.

Here’s a UT-produced clip of freshman outfielder Tayelyn Holley’s home run:

UT used a six spot in the bottom of the first and cruised to a 9-1 five-inning win over the Scarlet Knights.

Penn State

Penn State opened with a thrilling 7-4 victory over Missouri in 10 innings, followed by a 7-0 shutout of Boston College.

In a back-and-forth contest with the Tigers, the Nittany Lions pushed across three runs, two courtesy of Allison Oneacre’s long ball, in the top of the 10th to win their season opener.

Against BC, Bridget Nemeth and Mackenzie Duncan combined on a three-hit shutout with Duncan earning the win in relief (4 IP, 2 H, 6 K, 2 BB).

Hitting cleanup, first baseman Kirsten Finarelli went 2-for-4 with a home run in the win over Boston College.

Nemeth picked the win against Mizzou.

Tournament Central | Schedule (PDF) | Download GameChanger App |  Purchase Tickets 

Clemson

Clemson improved to 3-0 at the Leadoff with nationally-ranked wins over No. 5 Oregon and 21^st-ranked Liberty.

The Tigers opened with a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Ducks. Trailing 5-3 entering the top of the sixth, Mac Pavese launched a one-out solo home run to deep center.

With two outs, consecutive Oregon errors aided in the game-tying run. One batter later, Jamis Brockenbrough knocked in the eventual game-winning run with a single.

They capped off the evening with a 9-4 triumph against the Flames.

Pitt

Pitt trumped North Carolina Central, 11-3, in its opener and blanked Longwood, 4-0.

The Panthers exploded for 11 runs on 11 hits and pulled away late for the win against the Eagles. They broke the game open with a four-run fifth and added four more in the seventh.

Panther hurler Gwen Sparks shut out the Lancers on three hits with six punchouts and two walks.

South Alabama

South Alabama won a pair of close contests, 4-3 over Eastern Kentucky and 2-0 versus Southeastern Louisiana.

Against the Lions, a two-run first and a Ryley Harrison shutout keyed the Jaguars to victory. Harrison allowed four hits, struck out four and walked two.

In its opener, USA rallied from 3-2 down with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings and Harrison earned the win with 2.1 innings of shutout relief.

Auburn

Auburn rebounded from a season-opening loss at RV North Florida on Thursday by edging Notre Dame 5-4 and staving off Michigan State 9-6.

In the nightcap, they trailed 2-1 early against the Spartans, but Alyssa Hastings launched a grand slam to put the Tigers up 5-2. They would extend the lead to 8-2 and hold on for a 9-6 win.

Two No-Hitters

Also picking up wins were No. 5 Oregon, Boston College, Southeastern Louisiana, Rutgers, Michigan State and BYU.

Two of those victories – Oregon and Rutgers – were highlighted by no-hitters.

Oregon’s Lyndsey Grein twirled a 14-strikeout no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over Missouri. She walked two, facing just two batters over the minimum.

Rutgers’ Kelsey Hoekstra notched her first no-hitter with a career-high nine strikeouts in a 5-0 shutout of North Carolina Central. Facing two batters over the minimum, she walked one and hit a batter.

Other Winners

BC’s 8-4 victory over Eastern Kentucky was the first for head coach Beth Krysiak in her Eagle debut.

SLU picked up its first win of the season, 9-0 over Longwood.

BYU secured its first win of the tournament, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth to top Notre Dame, 8-5, while Michigan State defeated BYU 8-4 in its season opener.

How to Watch

All games will be streamed live for free courtesy of NFCA Official Sponsor GameChanger, the sole streaming provider of the tournament.

Additionally, GameChanger, NFCA Official Sponsor Major League Baseball and the Association are teaming up to broadcast games, Saturday, Feb. 7 and Sunday, Feb. 8, on MLB Network.

Saturday’s first pitch is at noon with three games – Michigan State vs Longwood, South Alabama vs Rutgers and Eastern Kentucky vs Penn State.

At 1:00 p.m. Liberty and Missouri open the tripleheader on MLB Network at 1:00 p.m.

The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its competitive Leadoff Classics, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from a highly-regarded Awards Program to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and a National Convention.