No. 1 Mustangs record 20th straight win while sweeping ACCC series

The Northeast Alabama Community College softball program has a new winning streak record.

The No. 1 nationally-ranked Mustangs posted their 19th and 20th consecutive wins by sweeping visiting Coastal Alabama-South 9-0 and 9-1 during a doubleheader Saturday at NACC's Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium.

After opening the 2026 season with a program record 19-game winning streak, the Mustangs surpassed the previous record with its Game 2 win that closed out another four-game Alabama Community College Conference series sweep. NACC, which improved to 39-1 on the season, is now 20-0 in conference play and leads the ACCC Division I softball standings by four games.

Freshman Marti McCluskey drove in a career-high five runs, she and sophomore Chloe Hatch both homered and Addie Edwards pitched her 12th shutout of the season as NACC claimed a 9-0 run-rule shortened five-inning Game 1 victory.

The Mustangs jumped on top 5-0 quickly in the bottom of the first inning. McCluskey followed Hatch being hit by pitch and sophomore Kiley Weston drawing a walk by smashing the first pitch she saw over the center field wall for her team-leading 11th home run. After sophomore Francesca Lumpp and freshman Olivia Acuff singled and sophomore Emmorie Burke reached on a Coastal Alabama-South error, Lumpp scored on freshman Morgan Perkins' RBI sacrifice fly. Sophomore Emma Hindmon's groundout moved Burke and Acuff into scoring position, and Burke closed the big inning by scoring on freshman Lorelai Sullivan's RBI fielder's choice.

The Mustangs tacked on two more runs in the second. After Hatch singled and Weston doubled to start the inning, reigning ACCC Player of the Week McCluskey drove them in with a two-run single. Hatch then launched a two-run home run, her seventh of the season, to center field in the third inning to up the Mustangs' advantage to 9-0.

That was more than enough run support for Edwards. The reigning National Junior College Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week improved to 20-0 in the circle after tossing her 18th complete game while lowering her NJCAA-leading ERA to 0.51. The right-hander allowed only one hit and two walks while recording five strikeouts over five innings.

Meanwhile, Hatch finished with two hits, reached base three times and scored three runs for the Mustangs while McCluskey was 2-for-3 with five RBIs and Sullivan was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. NACC also got a double, a walk and two runs from Weston while Lumpp and Burke both singled.

Game 2 also featured a dominant pitching performance and more productive at-bats for the Mustangs, who again prevailed in five innings via the mercy rule.

NACC took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when McCluskey walked, went to second base on Lumpp's single and scored when Burke reached on a Coastal error. The lead grew to 3-0 after Perkins doubled and Hindmon walked to start the third inning, with Perkins ultimately scoring on Weston's RBI fielder's choice and pinch runner sophomore Audra Bellomy stealing home when Coastal tried unsuccessfully to cut down Weston's steal of second base. NACC put the game away with a six-run fourth inning highlighted by Sullivan's RBI triple and her stealing home when Hatch swiped second base following a walk, Lumpp's RBI sacrifice fly, Acuff's two-run single and Perkins' RBI double, her second double of the inning.

Perkins finished 3-for-3 with three doubles and two RBIs and Lumpp was 2-for-2 with an RBI for the Mustangs, who also got one hit and two RBIs from Acuff, one hit and one RBI from Sullivan and an RBI from Weston. Hatch and McCluskey also drew three and two walks respectively.

Coastal Alabama-South homered on the first pitch of the top of the fifth inning, but NACC pitcher Erin Harrelson finished off the complete-game win — the freshman right-hander improved to 10-1 — in which she allowed one run on four hits and one walk while totaling four strikeouts.

NACC is back in action Thursday to start another ACCC series, hosting Northwest Shoals for a doubleheader starting at noon. Tickets are available at gofan.co/app/school/AL100680. Students receive free admission by showing a current NACC ID.