TROY, Ala. (February 6, 2025) – For the fourth consecutive year, the University of North Alabama softball team won its first two games of the season, defeating Middle Tennessee 5-1 and Chattanooga 12-4 to open the 2026 season in Troy, Ala.
North Alabama (2-0) outscored its two opponents by a combined score of 17-5 in a dominant offensive display at the Trojan Classic, hosted by Troy. The pitching was equally successful, led by the efforts of fifth-year senior Alivia Wilken with just one run allowed and 13 strikeouts for a complete game victory.
The Lions have enjoyed tremendous success in season openers under head coach Ashley Cozart, owning a 12-1 record in season openers since her arrival in 2014. UNA has won eight straight season openers since 2019 — all eight seasons of the NCAA Division I era.
Eight of the nine hitters in UNA's starting lineup had at least one hit over the two games. Seven of the starters had multiple hits. Cozart used the same nine starters in the batting order and with only a slight shuffle in the 7-9 spots.
Senior Laura Leigh Wheeler and junior Bayleigh Rouse both had solo homers on Friday, with Wheeler doing so in the 5-1 win over Middle Tennessee. Rouse smashed hers in walk-off fashion, ending a 12-4 win over Chattanooga in five innings.
Both MTSU and UTC begin the season 0-1.
Game 1: North Alabama 5, Middle Tennessee 1
For the second time in three seasons, Alivia Wilken treated the Troy Softball Complex to a historic performance.
The senior ace earned a complete game victory with just one run allowed and 13 strikeouts for a 5-1 win over Middle Tennessee in Friday morning's season opener. The 13 strikeouts were just two shy of a Division I school record last set by Wilken in 2024 at Queens.
The last time Wilken pitched in this facility was February of 2024, where she tossed the first perfect game in program history in a 1-0 victory over Samford. She now owns a 3-1 record in games at Troy.
While Wilken took care of business in the circle — keeping MTSU scoreless until the six inning — UNA posted five runs of offense and got all it needed in the first inning.
Senior outfielder Gyvan Hammons set the tone with a single to center, then later stole home on a rundown for the first run. A few batters later, sophomore transfer Holly Merritt made her UNA debut with an RBI single to score Rouse.
The 2-0 lead stuck until the fifth inning, as Wheeler hit the team's first home run of the season to make it 3-0. Her homer was a shot to dead center, marking her eighth homer since joining UNA last season.
Hammons and junior infielder Briley Dover hit back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth inning to push the lead to 5-0. Middle Tennessee finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single — one of just three hits allowed by Wilken. She popped out the side in the seventh to clinch the win.
Merritt was the offensive star with three hits in her debut. Wheeler and Hammons added two-hit days along with senior catcher Natalie Shaw. Shaw also drew a walk to finish 2-3 and reach in three of her four plate appearances.
Pitchers of Record
W – Alivia Wilken (1-0)
L – Mary Martinez (0-1)
S – None
Game 2: North Alabama 12, Chattanooga 4 (5 innings)
The first inning set the tone for game two of the day, as the Lions escaped a bases loaded jam and went on to score nine runs in the opening frame to spark a 12-4 win over Chattanooga in five innings.
Senior Katie Simon got the start in the circle, pitching four innings with no earned runs. Those runs came in her final two innings. She had plenty of run support to work with, as Chattanooga was forced to make a pitching change just two outs into the opening frame.
UNA batted 13 times in the first inning, getting various RBI from Wheeler, junior Emma Kate Wright, true freshman Livy Huter and senior Caroline Cartron one time through the lineup. Huter picked up her first career hit with a chopper to the pitcher, scoring Merritt. One at-bat later, Cartron was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Five more crossed after a pitching change, including an RBI walk to Hammons and a two-RBI single by Rouse.
Later in the game, a couple of defensive miscues allowed four unearned runs to score for Chattanooga. However, UNA got a couple of those back with a two-RBI single from Huter in the bottom of the fourth to make it 11-4.
Senior transfer Rylee Tittle made her UNA debut in the fifth inning, tossing a scoreless inning with one hit and two walks allowed but nothing else. The former Deshler High School standout also tallied a strikeout. This allowed Rouse to come up in the first at-bat of the bottom of the fifth and jack a walk-off homer to force the mercy rule.
Rouse had two hits and three RBI to match both of her career highs. Huter and Dover also had two hit games.
Pitchers of Record
W – Katie Simon (1-0)
L – Taylor Long (0-1)
S – None
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions continue the Trojan Classic tomorrow with games against Southern at 8:30 a.m. and Troy at 1:30 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
