A week ago today, working with the Pfeiffer University softball team, Line Drive shared their amazing pumpkin decorations they created for Halloween. 

The team members were broken into six groups and each chose a theme to be creative with in taking a simple, unassuming pumpkin and making it a brilliant work of art.

We offered the softball community the opportunity to vote for their favorite and, wow, was the response amazingly strong!

So, after closing the voting last night, we have a winner… scroll down and you’ll find out which masterpiece was the popular choice…

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… and the winner is… Gumball Machine!

This brilliant work of art received 60% of the overall vote total with Groot coming in 2nd place and Pumpkin Spice coming in 3rd. 

Congratulations to the artistes involved on Team Gumball Machine: 

• Charly Cooper, a senior OF from Bullock, N.C.
• Reese Caranna, a sophomore P from Bend, Ore.
• EA Nance, a freshman C from Cleveland, N.C. 
• Heather Vaughn, a freshman C from Eli Whitney, N.C.

And, finally, we thought it’d be fun to show a sampling of the comments included with the votes that were emailed in (no editing done other than names removed):

• My favorite pumpkin is the Groot pumpkin! 
• I would like to vote for the gumball machine pumpkin! I love it so much!!
• Hi!  I’d like to vote for The Grinch please.  No. 6 gets my vote!
• I vote Gumball Machine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• hey this is (name) and i think the gumball pumpkin is really cool and it has my vote and should win
• i want to vote for the gumball machine it looks like the most creative
• I have looked over the many options of pumpkins in which to vote for, And after a time of thinking. I have come to my decision to vote for the “Gumball Machine” themed pumpkin. I enjoy the colors of each ‘gumball’, along with the machinery you would find on the actual machine
• i want the gumball machine to win
• I vote GROOT
• I want to vote for the grinch pumpkin!
• I want to vote for the gumball machine pumpkin please.
• The Gumballs machine is the best
• Papa Smurf is the best!
• Scooby Doo gets my vote
• i think the gumball one should win this contest because it looks very well done and it must’ve taken a very long time!
• Voting for Groot
• Pumpkin Spice!!!
• I am voting for the Papa Smurf pumpkin.
• I’d like to submit 2 votes for gumball machine (1 from me and 1 from my dad). Thank you.
• Hello, my husband and I would each like to cast our vote.  We both like Gumball Pumpkin.  #2

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Holiday Fun: Pfeiffer Softball’s Halloween Decorated Pumpkin Contest! (October 31, 2025)

The Pfeiffer softball team is as creative off the field as they are successful on it.

The Falcons have won three straight USA South Conference championships and automatic bids to the NCAA Regionals and in 2025 went 37-9 which included an undefeated record in conference.

Still, there’s work to do to prepare for the 2026 season.

“This Fall campaign has been one for rebuilding,” says Assistant Coach Alexis Walter, “as nine great players graduated from the program and new players begin to leave their mark. We played Clemson this Fall which was a great experience and will set the tone for the Spring 2026 season.”

And what does the team like to do to maintain the competitiveness in the off-season off the field, but in a fun and team-building way?

Why, separate into six teams with each coming up with a decorated pumpkin of course!

Below are each of the half dozen entries along with which players were on each team and a comment from a team spokesman from each as to what the thinking was behind each submission…

We’re making this a contest and are inviting YOU – the softball community – to submit your vote for the Best Pumpkin!

Email Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com and simply say which of the six you like best:

1. Scooby Doo
2. Gumball Machine
3. Pumpkin Spice
4. Papa Smurf
5. Groot
6. Grinch

The deadline to submit your vote is Thursday Nov. 6^th @ MIDNIGHT!

We’ll announce the winner on Friday, Nov. 7! 

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Team Members for Each Pumpkin Design

• Scooby Doo: Emily Dickerson, Kyndal Morrison, Kiki Herman
• Gumball Machine: Charly Cooper, Reese Caranna, Heather Vaughn, EA Nance
• Pumpkin Spice: Landry Stewart, Mollie Bulla, Anna Jordan, Abby Bowman
• Papa Smurf: Natalie Auman, Hailey Griffin, Brooke Piper, Sydney Holder
• Groot: Micah Felts, Camryn Kaminski, Calissa Clendenin, Maya Mougin
• The Grinch: Ky Perdue, Devon Kelly, Peyton Lane, Ivye Francis, Faith Wisniewski

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Player Statements: The Thinking Behind the Creation

Scooby Doo – Kyndal Morrison (Fr.)
“Our group chose to do Scooby Doo for a couple of reasons. One reason we chose to do Scooby Doo is because a lot of people are familiar with the character and with the popular tv show. We thought it would be an easy concept for everyone to contribute to!”

Gumball Machine – EA Nance (Fr.)
“My team decided to have a realistic and sweet take on this contest, spending hours gluing individual gumballs to the pumpkin! We chose this pumpkin to add a little creative twist to the competition. It was a great way to bond with my teammates as we worked together to build our amazing gumball machine!”

Pumpkin Spice – Anna Jordan (So.)
“The Pfeiffer Softball pumpkin painting contest is a great way to cultivate competition and teamwork. Our group loved working together to create our Starbuck’s inspired pumpkin! We chose to do the Starbucks pumpkin because of our love for Starbucks and we thought it was a super cute idea!”

Papa Smurf – Hailey Griffin (So.)
“Our group chose to do Papa Smurf for our pumpkin! We thought it would be simple but still cute. I love doing the pumpkin contest every year because it allows each team member to show their creativity off the field. It is great team bonding and fun for everyone. I look forward to it every year!”

Groot – Maya Mougin (Fr.)
“My team decided to create Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. We thought it would be creative because it wasn’t just the pumpkin, but included other materials to make the structure. This contest allowed each team member to bring out their creativity and become closer throughout this festive project.”

The Grinch – Peyton Lane (So.)
“For my group’s pumpkin, we chose to make the Grinch because we are super excited for Christmas time! We had a lot of fun putting this together. Although all the pumpkins are cute, we’re hoping we can win first place!”