Senior Peyton Duncan of the Presbyterian College softball team was named the Big South Conference Pitcher of the Week for the third time this year, according to a May 4 announcement. Duncan earned this recognition after pitching her seventh career complete game shutout against USC Upstate, helping Presbyterian secure the #4 seed in the upcoming conference championship tournament.
This award highlights Duncan’s strong performance and marks her as one of only two pitchers in the conference to win three Pitcher of the Week honors in 2026, alongside Radford’s Morgan Cooper. She is also the first Presbyterian player since Jenna Greene six years ago to achieve this distinction three times.
Duncan’s recent outing at USC Upstate was notable as she allowed just one hit over her last 15 batters faced and did not permit any runner past second base. Her efforts contributed to ending a four-year postseason drought for Presbyterian, who will play Gardner-Webb on Wednesday evening in Spartanburg as part of their conference tournament run.
Throughout this season, Duncan has been recognized twice before as Pitcher of the Week—in February and April—and currently holds a streak of 17 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run against divisional opponents. Over her last three starts versus conference teams, she has thrown nearly nineteen innings with no earned runs allowed, five walks issued, and fourteen strikeouts recorded.
As a senior leader on her team, Duncan leads all Presbyterian pitchers with 128 innings pitched and ranks among league leaders with twelve wins and eighty-seven strikeouts. She recently became just the fourth pitcher in school history to surpass both three hundred career strikeouts and thirty victories.
Presbyterian players have received eight weekly awards from the Big South so far this year—two short of their single-season record set in 2022—with many coming under head coach David Williams’ tenure. The Blue Hose will open tournament play against Gardner-Webb; if victorious they will face top-seeded Winthrop next.
