CLERMONT, Fla. (March 8, 2026) - The Buena Vista softball team began its spring trip on Sunday morning with a strong 9-1 (5 inn.) victory over Regis College but was then dealt a 7-1 setback by Brandeis University.

In the opener with Regis, the Beavers jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one inning and never looked back. BVU had five hits and three stolen bases in the frame and took advantage of three defensive miscues. Senior Keirsten Trayte put BVU on the board with an RBI double with junior Jillian Garcia coming through later in the inning with a 2-run single. Freshmen Jaylynn Craun and Arielle Bowers both chipped in with RBI singles.

Sophomore Avery France drove in her first run of the year with an RBI single in the second while freshman Karlee Noe made it a 9-0 cushion in the third with an RBI single to right. Neither team scored in the fourth and Regis was able to scratch across an RBI triple for its only run in the fifth.

Garcia was 2-for-2 with a double, two RBI and a run scored with Noe going 2-for-3 with the RBI and a run scored. Bowers, sophomore Jordan Fabirkiewicz and freshman Maddy Raveling all stole one base.

Sydney Grund doubled and triple for Regis to record two of the team's three hits. Sophomore Paige Mahler went the distance in the circle for the Beavers and had her best outing of the year. She allowed just the one run and three hits walked only two and struck out a season-high nine.

BVU came out and scored the game's first run against Brandeis in the first inning when Bowers led off with a single, stole second and then advanced to third on a ground out. Rylee Garner then drove her in one batter later when she reached on an error by the pitcher.

Brandeis (4-1) came back in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs for a 2-1 lead before adding another run in the second and broke the game open with four more in the fifth, including a two-run homerun to cap the scoring.

BVU was held to only three hits in the contest and got singles from Bowers, Raveling and Craun. Noe pitched 4.1 innings and was charged with all seven runs on 11 hits while striking out two.

The Beavers (1-5) are back in action on Monday with games against Blackburn (10:15 a.m. CT) and North Central College (IL) (12:30 p.m. CT)