No. 4 Florida Atlantic Eliminated by No. 1 USF in American Semifinals

Friday, May 8

Greenville, N.C.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

34-20

No. 1 South Florida

41-15

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Fla. Atlantic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
South Fla.	0	0	0	1	1	1	X	3	7	0

Softball Team Huddle at American Conference Championship Semifinals

Photo by: Andy Mead/American Conference

5/8/2026 7:06:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The No. 4-seeded Florida Atlantic softball team fell to South Florida by a score of 3-0, eliminating the Owls (34-20) from the American Conference Championship on Friday afternoon.

With the last two American Conference Pitchers of the Year facing off, FAU's ace Autumn Courtney dueled with the Bulls' (41-15) Anne Long through the complete seven innings, with the Owls not finding the necessary runs to advance to the championship final.

THE BEGINNING
USF held the Owls' bats at bay early. The Owls drew back-to-back walks in the top of the third for their first scoring opportunity before a flyout ended the frame.

Defensively, sophomore Bella Foran and redshirt junior Kylie Hammonds robbed multiple hits to the outfield to keep the game scoreless.

THE TURNING POINT
A Bulls' leadoff triple to right field followed by an FAU throwing error led to the game's first score in the bottom of the fourth.

South Florida then tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth to go up 2-0.

THE FINISH
In the top of the sixth, a Hammonds walk was followed by a hit from senior third baseman Jesiana Mora to put Hammonds in scoring position, but a deep flyout to centerfield soon left both stranded.

Another USF run scored in the bottom of the sixth, and a 1-2-3 inning top of the seventh ended the game.

NOTES/NOTABLE

Hammonds has reached base in 49 out of 54 games in 2026 and in 102 out of 111 appearances over the last two seasons.
Mora recorded a hit in her final collegiate game. She finishes her four-year FAU career in the program's record book top 10 in RBI batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, hits, runs, doubles, total bases, walks, stolen bases, and stolen base percentage.
Courtney tossed 743 strikeouts over her four-year career and 295 in two years at FAU.

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