Top-2 Seeds in Lower Columbia, Mt. Hood to Clash in NWAC Final on Sunday

PORTLAND, Ore. - The top-two seeds of the 2026 NWAC Softball Championship in #2 Lower Columbia and #1 Mt. Hood will meet in the final on Sunday after each moving their way through the bracket during Saturday's action at Delta Park.

Lower Columbia will have two opportunities to defend its title on Sunday as the Red Devils won the final winner's bracket matchup with Mt. Hood by a 5-4 score. Lower Columbia trailed 4-1 through five innings, but loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth for Kendall Humphrey. The shortstop wasted no time as she crushed the first pitch for a grand slam to give LCC the 5-4 lead. Starting pitcher Ava Eib did the rest as she held the Saints' lineup scoreless over the final two frames to secure the win and the Red Devils' spot in the final.

Mt. Hood rebounded quickly in the final loser's bracket game, taking on #7 Clackamas. The Saints exploded for 12 runs in the first two innings, going onto win by run rule, 14-4 in five innings to setup the rematch on Sunday with LCC. 

The third day of the tournament started with a pair of postponed games as #3 Edmonds took on #5 Spokane, and #4 Southwestern Oregon faced Clackamas. Both games ended in upsets as Spokane won 7-5 while Clackamas was victorious 3-1. Spokane led 7-0 as they scored all their runs in the first four innings before Edmonds got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Cadence Hyndman had four RBI to lead the Sasquatch, recording a pair of two RBI hits. Edmonds attempted a late rally as they scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh thanks to home runs by Shelby Baguio and Scarlette Chapman and brought the winning run to the plate, but Spokane's Cassy Seifert shut the door to earn the win.

Clackamas won a pitchers' duel against Southwestern Oregon in the other loser's bracket matchup by a 3-1 score. After leading 2-1 after one inning, neither team could get much going offensively. Clackamas' Kenzie West was strong as she pitched a complete game, allowing the one run on six hits with three punchouts to advance the Cougars to the top-four.

The Cougars and West were not done there as they next took down Spokane by another 3-1 score. Another pitcher's duel ensued as West went toe-to-toe with Spokane's Samantha Rensvold. Neither pitcher gave up a run until the top of the sixth until Clackamas scratched across the first run to take a 1-0 lead. The Cougars then scored two important insurance runs in the seventh to take a 3-0 lead, as Spokane answered with one in the bottom of the inning. West recorded her second-straight complete game to clinch a top-three finish for the Cougars.

Spokane finished their season with a fourth place finish, going 34-15 overall.

Sunday's first championship game is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Delta Park. If Lower Columbia wins, they will be crownded NWAC Champions for the second-straight year. If Mt. Hood wins, one final game will be played approximately 30 minutes after the first game to determine the 2026 champions. The Saints are looking to earn their third title in the past five seasons, while the Red Devils look to take home back-to-back titles. 

The game(s) can be live streamed on nwacsports.network.com