NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University Softball team (35–11, 21–5 MVC) returns home for its final weekend of the season, hosting a nonconference series against Saint Louis at E.S. Rose Park. The Bruins will face the Billikens on Friday, May 1 at 3:30 p.m. CT and Saturday, May 2 at 1 p.m. CT.
Saturday's game will serve as Senior Day, with Belmont honoring six seniors prior to first pitch.
Belmont enters the weekend after its scheduled midweek games at Indiana State were canceled and following a 2–1 series win over Northern Iowa, marking the Bruins' eighth series victory of the season.
The Bruins also clinched the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship — the first in program history.
Live stats will be available on belmontbruins.com.
What's Bruin
- Belmont currently sits No. 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference standings and has been ranked No. 1 in both the D1 Softball and Softball America Mid-Major Polls for four consecutive weeks.
- The Bruins have also received votes in the D1 Softball and NFCA Top 25 for four straight weeks and have appeared in mid-major polls for 12 consecutive weeks.
- Defensively, Belmont leads the conference with a .974 fielding percentage, totaling 912 putouts.
- At the plate, the Bruins are hitting .298 with 226 RBI and a .385 on-base percentage.
- Belmont has recorded shutouts over 16 teams this season, including 12 by ace Maya Johnson, which is tied for first nationally.
- Maya Johnson continues to dominate in the circle. The redshirt senior holds a 24–2 record with a 0.71 ERA, 331 strikeouts, and just 18 earned runs allowed.
- Johnson received AUSL's Golden Ticket, becoming the first mid-major player to earn a professional draft bid.
- She has also been named a Top 25 Finalist for USA Softball's National Player of the Year.
- Johnson leads the NCAA in total strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings (13.1), strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.03), and ERA (0.71).
- She has been named NFCA Pitcher of the Week five times this season — the most by any Division I player in a single season — and has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors in nine of 12 weeks, along with multiple national weekly honors.
- Johnson was ranked the No. 1 overall pitcher in Softball America's May positional rankings.
- Earlier this season, Johnson surpassed 1,000 career strikeouts during a doubleheader against Murray State (March 24), becoming the 101st player in NCAA Division I history to reach the milestone. She currently has 1,120 career strikeouts and is one of only two active players to do so.
- Rylee Spindler ranks second in the MVC in batting average at .446.
- Emily Konz ranks second in the MVC in stolen bases with 22.
- Belmont is coming off a historic 2025 campaign, finishing 41–16 overall and 20–7 in MVC play while capturing the MVC Tournament Championship for the first time in program history.
- The Bruins are led by head coach Laura Matthews, now in her sixth season at the helm.
Against the Field
Belmont holds a 1–0 all-time record against Saint Louis. The Bruins won the single match up, 6–2, in February 2015 during preseason play.
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