SPARTANBURG, S.C.  – Two thousand twenty-six Conference Carolinas Player to Watch Olivia Jones was the hero of game two of the 2026 Valkyrie Classic for the Converse University softball team as she hit a walk-off home run to push the Valkyries past Clark Atlanta by a final score of 9-8. Freshman pitcher Gracee Stucki also earned her first career win in the game for one inning of relief work.

The Valkyries improved to 1-1 on the season by defeating the Panthers. They dropped game one of the day 14-2 to USC Beaufort.

Junior Karlie Gibson set a new program record for singles in a game with three two-baggers in the win against Clark Atlanta. Senior Aubree Leonard had the lone multi-hit performance in game one for the Valkyries, collecting a double in the third and a single in the fourth.

Game One: USC Beaufort 14, Converse 2 (5 Inn.)

The Sand Sharks struck first in the top half of the first inning. The game was quiet until they put up seven more runs in the top of the third inning.

They added two more in the top of the fourth which were countered with the Valkyries' only two runs of the game as freshman Alexis Felker hit her first career long bomb.

USC Beaufort added four more runs in the top of the fifth and won 14-2.

Game Two: Converse 9, Clark Atlanta 8

Clark Atlanta struck first in the top of the first with five runs and were stopped by an inning-ending throw from freshman Tyler Karabach to prevent a sixth run.

The Valkyries scratched back two runs as Jones picked up her first RBI of the day on a two-out single into right field.

The first of Gibson's doubles was followed by a single up the middle by Leonard, cutting the lead to 5-3 heading into the third inning.

Both teams went down in order in the third before Clark Atlanta added three more runs to their lead in the top of the fourth.

A throwing error allowed the first Valkyrie run to score in the bottom of the fourth right before Gibson notched her second double of the game. Leonard immediately followed with an inside the park home run, scoring three runs and cutting the lead to just one.

After quiet sixth and seventh innings from both teams, Karabach led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a triple and came around to score with a sac fly from sophomore Charlie Swartzel. Two batters later, Jones knocked a home run past the fence in left-center field and secured the Valkyries' first win of the season.

On deck for the Valkyries
The Valkyries will take part in the Big Region Preseason Invitational hosted by King University in Johnson City, Tennessee. They begin that tournament against Tusculum on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 2 P.M.

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