North Adams softball wins first SHAC title, sets school wins mark

North Adams softball reached a place no previous Lady Devils team had ever been. With a 12-0 road win at West Union on April 29, Paula Armstrong’s 2026 squad clinched the Southern Hills Athletic Conference big-school title outright, finished 11-1 in league play and pushed its season win total to 18, a mark Armstrong believed was likely the school record.

That breakthrough carried the weight of a program that has climbed step by step for four straight seasons. North Adams went 0-15 in 2022, improved to 4-16 in 2023, then 8-15 in 2024 and 10-13 last spring before turning that steady progress into a championship run. The Lady Devils had already made school history in 2024 when they won their first-ever tournament game, a 15-4 victory over Nelsonville-York that was completed at Hillsboro after weather interrupted play. Now the program has added a conference crown to that list of firsts.

Armstrong said the title was built on a shared commitment that deepened year after year. The players did more than get better in the circle and at the plate. They embraced offseason work, sharpened their mental approach and made the small preparation changes that add up over a long season. Assistant coach Andrew Garrison was part of that turnaround as the Lady Devils built a culture that demanded consistency, accountability and chemistry.

The results were visible well before the West Union clincher. By April 15, North Adams was 9-3 overall and 3-0 in the SHAC, with opponents outscored 79-29 through 12 games. Freshman Chloe Armstrong was hitting .500 with three home runs, while Carlee Garrison and freshman Marnie Tolle combined for 87 strikeouts in 76 innings and a 0.91 ERA. A 5-3 comeback over Peebles on April 23, one day after a loss to Eastern Brown, also showed the resilience Armstrong said has defined this group.

The reward for that run was a No. 5 seed in Division V of the Southeast District and a home district quarterfinal against Albany Alexander scheduled for May 13 at 5 p.m. Armstrong called Division V “very loaded” and said, “We are excited to have a home game.” For North Adams, the SHAC title did more than fill a line in the record book. It reset the standard for every Lady Devils team that follows.