BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State softball travels to Mobile, Ala., for a three-game series against Sun Belt opponent South Alabama. The series will begin on Saturday, April 21 with a doubleheader at 2 and 4 p.m. ET and finish with a single game on Sunday, April 22 at 1 p.m. ET.
The Apps displayed strong performances this week in a midweek doubleheader at UNCG and hope to continue this streak at South Alabama. In fourteen innings, the Mountaineers committed only one error. The series was highlighted by four home runs from
Ally Walters,
Baylee Morton,
Jenny Dodd and
Heather Josey.
The Mountaineers face the Jaguars this weekend in a Sun Belt showdown. Last season the matchup presented three close games resulting in wins for the Jaguars. In game one, the Mountaineers saw Devin Brown, a current senior.
Haley Stewart and
Sidney Russell were two of the Mountaineers three hits against the right-handed pitcher. The Apps only allowed South Alabama to score in two of seven innings during game one. In the second game, App State had a 3-0 lead until the Jaguars tied it up in the seventh to force extra innings. The Jaguars overcame 5-3 in the eighth for a close victory. Game three resulted in the same 3-5 score and outcome, but the Mountaineers fought back after the Jaguars started with a 5-0 lead. App State put up two runs in the fourth inning and one in the seventh, but it was not enough to defeat the Jaguars. Walters was 2-3 in game two, and Stewart was 2-3 in game three.
Dodd continues to be a statistics leader in the Sun Belt conference this season. Her .694 slugging percentage is good for second best in the SBC. She is also second in the conference with a .556 slugging percentage. She is tied for fourth in batting average at .388 overall. Dodd has been walked 32 times this season, the most in the conference as well.
Baylee Morton is a leader behind the plate with four runners picked off this season for the most in the Sun Belt Conference. Stewart has 317 putouts this season to top the category for the conference.
As a team, App State has the most walks in the conference with 145. The Apps also have the fourth highest on base percentage in the Sun Belt at .362.
Scouting the Jaguars
Kaleigh Todd, the anticipated leadoff batter, is a player to watch from the Jaguars lineup. She is tied with Dodd for fourth highest batting average in the Sun Belt at .388.
Devon Brown, the senior pitcher, has the third lowest ERA in the Sun Belt with a 1.95 ERA. She also holds the second highest number of strikeouts with 172 behind Texas State's Randi Rupp. She has pitched 175.2 innings for the Jaguars, second most in the Sun Belt. Alexis Reid follows Brown with 116 innings in the circle for USA. Brown has started 23 games while Reid has started 21.
Their Sun Belt series victories include UTA (2-0), Georgia State (2-1) and ULM (2-1). They were swept by both Texas State and Louisiana.
The games will be streamed
here. Live stats will also be available via the links on our
schedule.
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