Niners Gear Up for American Conference Tournament Quarterfinals Match-Up With In-State Rival

TAMPA, Fla. – After a successful regular season, Charlotte Softball opens postseason play down in Tampa, Fla. for the 2025 American Conference Tournament. The Niners are the third seed and will play in-state rival East Carolina in the second game of the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon. 

Game One (Quarterfinals)

🆚  (6) East Carolina

🗓️  Thursday, May 8

📍  Tampa, Fla.

⏰  2:30 p.m. EDT

📺  ESPN+

📊  Live Stats Link

Game Two (Semifinals)*

🆚  (2) South Florida

🗓️  Friday, May 9

📍 Tampa, Fla.

⏰  3:30 p.m. EDT

📺  ESPN+

📊  Live Stats Link

Game Three (Finals)*

🆚  (1) FAU or (4) North Texas or (5) Wichita State 

🗓️  Saturday, May 10

📍  Tampa, Fla.

⏰  12:00 p.m. EDT

📺  ESPN2

📊  Live Stats Link

*Will be played if Charlotte advances

CONFERENCE RECAP

Charlotte finished conference play with a 17-10 record and finished third overall only behind South Florida and Florida Atlantic, after being selected preseason number eight. 

In Courtney Breault’s first year, the Niners won six of nine conference series, including sweeping three. By finishing third, Charlotte locked down the third seed in the conference tournament and will receive a bye to the quarterfinals. 

AWARDS SEASON

Charlotte managed to rack up six postseason conference awards including Player and Freshman of the Year. 

Jenna Lord – Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team

After one of the most historic seasons in Charlotte Softball history, Jenna Lord was named to the All-Conference First Team as the 2025 American Athletic Conference Softball Player of The Year. Lord is the first Niner to earn the nod following Charlotte’s transition to the AAC, and the first Charlotte Softball player to win conference player of the year since Bailey Vannoy was named Conference-USA Player of the Year in 2022, the same year in which she was named an All-American. 

Lord led the AAC’s regular-season leaderboard in slugging (.868), OPS (1.340), runs scored (57), hits (71), runs driven in (62), and home runs (21). 

Lord led the 49ers in every offensive category, etching her name in Charlotte’s record books in multiple areas. Lord batted .408  in 174 at-bats, which currently ranks third all-time for a single season, and her 71 hits are tied for second all-time. Her single-season RBI mark (62) is a single-season high after also topping the rankings for single-season slugging percentage (.868). 

Not only has Lord made a splash at Charlotte and in the American Conference, and she also ranks top 10 in the nation in home runs and total bases. Lord has 21 home runs on the season which ranks ninth in the nation. It also places her third in Charlotte Softball single-season history behind only Arianna Rodi (22, 2024) and Bailey Vannoy (24, 2022). 

Rodi and Vannoy earned All-American honors in those two seasons. Lord also ranks fourth in the nation in total bases with 151, second all-time for Charlotte. 

Alongside her stellar offensive performance, Lord also proved to be a strong defensive presence. She was ranked the third-best third baseman in the NCAA this season by D1Softball and the seventh-best by Softball America. 

Jaylah Jarrell – Freshman of the Year, All-Freshman Team, All-Conference Second Team

Jaylah Jarrell was named AAC Freshman of the Year alongside Wichita State’s Ryley Nihart. 

Jarrell, who started the year on the bench, made her debut as a starter for the Niners midway through the season at Radford on March 18. 

Through 34 games (27 starts), Jarrell batted .341 in 82 at-bats and racked up 28 hits, three of which were homers. She added a strong presence to the bottom half of the Charlotte lineup and proved clutch, racking up 23 RBI while backing it up with a strong glove at second base. 

Jarrell was also named to the All-Freshman team and All-Conference Second Team. 

Kari Shedrick – All-Conference Second Team 

Kari Shedrick earned All-Conference Second Team honors as a designated player (DP) after a strong season at the plate. 

Shedrick hit .357 in 157 at-bats, racking up 56 hits. She ended the regular season slugging over .500 and hit seven home runs, two of which came in the final series of the year. She ranked second amongst the Niners in on-base percentage (.449). 

Throughout the season she accumulated 11 multi-hit games including two four-hit games, the only Niner to do so this season.

LOVING THE LONG BALL

Charlotte has a total of 60 home runs on the season which currently ranks third in Charlotte program history. Jenna Lord has 21 of the Niners’ 55 while Teagan Ritchie sits not too far behind with 17. 

Kari Shedrick (7), Savanna Nguyen (5), London Dirks (4), Jaylah Jarrell (3), Olivia Williams (2), and Emma Shoemaker (1), have at least one homer on the season as well. 

DON’T MESS WITH BROOKE AND TEXAS

Redshirt Junior Brooke Bowling leads the team in wins with 14. Bowling has also pitched six complete games this season and leads the team in strikeouts with 98. With her third strike out against NC State on March 26 Bowling earned her 100th career K, all of which have come at Charlotte. Bowling also leads the team in innings pitched with 140.2. 

Aubrey Yarnall leads the team in appearances. The redshirt freshman out of Montgomery, Texas has pitched in 39 games, starting in eight, and has pitched 112.1 innings with 33 strikeouts. Yarnall has now pitched three complete games on the season with the most recent occurring in game two against Wichita State in the Niners’ last regular season road series. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

ECU finished the regular season at 29-25 overall and 14-13 in American play finishing sixth in the conference standings. The Pirates ended the season on a three-game winning streak after sweeping North Texas in the final series of the regular season. 

Kanisha Anderson leads the Pirates in average at .391 with 70 hits on the season. Emma Jackson leads the team inslugging at .673 with 18 homers in the regular season. In the circle, Taylor Apple has been the ace earning a 12-8 record and leading the team in ERA at 3.07. 

SERIES HISTORY

The Niners and the Pirates have faced a total of 53 times in the past dating back to 1982. Most recently, the two matched up in Charlotte earlier in the season which saw the Niners take the series 2-1. 

UP NEXT

Depending on the result tomorrow afternoon, the Niners will have a match-up with the South Florida Bulls in the semifinals on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. EDT. 

FOLLOW THE TEAM

Stay up to date with everything Charlotte Softball by following the team on X (Formerly Twitter) @CharlotteSB and Instagram and Facebook @CharlotteSoftball.