Mustangs top nationally-ranked McLennan, Georgia Highlands to improve to 10-0

The Northeast Alabama Community College softball team's start to the 2026 season is a "Perfect 10."

The Mustangs boast a 10-0 record after posting a total of four wins during the Mustang Invitational Thursday and Friday at NACC's Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium.

Three of NACC's wins came against nationally-ranked McLennan (Texas) Community College, the No. 4 team in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Preseason Rankings.

"I am very grateful to Chris Berry and McLennan for coming to play us," said NACC head coach Joe Guthrie. "I think both teams made each other better this week. They have an outstanding team."

NACC swept McLennan in a doubleheader Thursday, winning the opener 4-2 and the nightcap 14-3 in five innings.

Game 1 Thursday featured some late-inning drama, as freshman Austin McNeece hit a fifth-inning three-run homer for the Mustangs to give them a 4-1 lead. It was the first collegiate home run for the Scottsboro native.

Freshman Marti McCluskey finished 2-for-2 with an RBI single, a double and a walk and sophomore Chloe Hatch doubled and scored a run for the Mustangs, who also got a double from freshman Emmorie Burke, a single and a walk from freshman Morgan Perkins and a walk from sophomore Francesca Lumpp.

Addie Edwards turned in another strong pitching performance for the Mustangs. The freshman improved to 3-0 in the circle after allowing just two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk while recording five strikeouts.

In Thursday's second game, NACC built a 4-2 lead through three innings before securing the win thanks to a 10-run fourth inning. NACC finished with 16 hits from eight different batters. Hatch went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run — her fourth of the season — and six RBIs total while sophomore Emma Hindmon was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Perkins was 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Kiley Weston (walk, RBI, two runs) and McCluskey both finished 2-for-3 while Lumpp and freshman Olivia Acuff had one hit and one RBI each and freshman Breanna Wilson had one hit.

Skylar Branch went the distance in the circle in the mercy-rule shortened win. The sophomore improved to 3-0 after allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four.

NACC took on Georgia Highlands College in its first game Friday, as Edwards improved to 4-0 in the pitching circle after tossing a three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts during a five-inning mercy-rule shortened 9-0 victory.

Edwards got plenty of run support as the Mustangs scored three runs each in the first, second and fourth innings. Lumpp and McNeece both went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and McCluskey hit a two-run home run and drove in three runs total while Hatch tripled and scored two runs, Weston singled, walked, stole a base and scored two runs and Burke and freshman Lorelai Sullivan both singled.

NACC closed out the Mustang Invitational with its third win over McLennan, a 3-2 victory Friday that included a key defensive play.

McCluskey's home run, her team-leading fifth of the season, gave NACC a 1-0 first-inning lead, and Acuff's fourth-inning RBI single upped the Mustangs' advantage to 2-0 before Wilson gave NACC a 3-0 lead in the fifth when she was safe at home plate on a double-steal attempt. McLennan scored a run in the sixth and one in the seventh to cut NACC's lead to 3-2, but Edwards, making her first relief appearance, coaxed a game-ending 5-4-3 double play to strand the tying run at third base. 

Edwards pitched the final two innings and struck out one to get her first career save, and sophomore Kayleigh Warnock got her first win of the season after pitching two innings in relief. Freshman Erin Harrelson started and struck out two while pitching three scoreless innings.

Through 10 games, NACC is averaging 9.3 runs per game and 12.4 hits per game while boasting a team batting average of .443. Meanwhile, its pitching and fielding are limiting opponents to only 2.8 runs and 5.3 hits per game.

Guthrie is thrilled with the Mustangs' early efforts and said they must continue to build on them throughout the season.

"We need to fight complacency, continue to improve and play against the game, not the opponent," Guthrie said. "This team cares about each other and responds to what the game demands."

The Mustangs are back in action Tuesday, hosting a doubleheader with Central Alabama Community College. First pitch for Game 1 is 2 p.m.