BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University softball (24-22, 15-7 SoCon) dropped the first game of its doubleheader against Furman (17-33, 9-15 SoCon) 8-7, but rallied back to defeat the Paladins, 4-1 in the second game to secure the number two seed in the upcoming Southern Conference tournament on the final day of the regular season at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium on a sunny Monday afternoon in Boone.
With the win, the Mountaineers took two out of three games from Furman and set the Appalachian State program record for most SoCon wins in a season at 15. ASU also finished second in the conference for only the second time in program history. The previous time was during the 2009 campaign, which was also the last time Appalachian had 14 SoCon victories.
After falling to the Apps in the first game of the series, Furman used three of the first five frames to go ahead 3-0 in the first game until Appalachian made a charge in the bottom of the fifth powered by senior Katie Boyd's 43rd home run of her ASU career.
Senior Hannah Dow led off the inning with a single down the left field line. Following a strikeout, senior McKenzie Phillips reached on an error by Morgan Hughey at second base and a double to left center by senior Sarah Rappe brought around Dow for the first Mountaineer run of the game. In the next ASU at bat, Boyd hammered a FU pitch ontop of Sofield, giving Appalachian a 4-3 lead.
Neither team scored in the sixth inning, but with SoCon Tournament seedings on the line, both teams made the final stanza interesting.
Furman put up five runs on four hits and one error to move the tally of the game to 8-4, but ASU did not go away.
Following a strikeout, M. Phillips singled through the left side and Rappe followed with her second double of the game, moving M. Phillips over to third. Boyd garnered a walk, but junior Megan Rembielak singled down the left field line, scoring M. Phillips and allowing ASU to chip away at the Paladin lead. With an 0-2 count, sophomore Meghan Smith singled off the left center wall, plating Rappe. Sophomore Allie Cashion hit a hard fly ball that scored Boyd, but that was all the damage that the Black and Gold to do and fell 8-7 in the effort.
Junior Caitlin Wainright, who came in to relieve Dow, was charged with the loss and moved to 6-6 on the season.
Rappe led ASU with two hits and Boyd added three RBI.
Boyd led off the second game by grounding out to shortstop, but Rembielak reached on an error by FU's Emily Boyer for the first base runner of the game. Rembielak stole second, but following a foul out by Smith, Cashion reached on another error by Emily Boyer. Lighton reached on another Paladin miscue and Rembielak came around to score the first run of the game. Dow laced a ball through the left side of the defense, but a groundout ended the ASU rally.
Furman tied up the game in the top of the third. Stephanie Field walked to begin the frame and was sacrificed over to second by Katie Legg. Jessie Homesley doubled to left center in the next Paladin at bat to record the RBI from Field touching home, but a groundout and strikeout stopped the Paladin offense.
M. Phillips singled through the left side of the field to start off the fourth and following a Mountaineer out, Boyd reached on a fielder's choice and made a diving slide into second for a stolen base. Rembielak singled and advanced on the throw that attempted to get Boyd out at the plate. A strikeout ended the attack, but ASU grasped a 2-1 advantage heading into the fifth.
Cashion led off the bottom of the fifth by singling off the right center wall and a Dow double down the right field line moved Cashion over to third. S. Phillips grounded out to second base, but picked up the RBI on Cashion touching home. M. Phillips doubled through the left side, bringing in Dow, putting ASU ahead 4-1. And that was all that the Mountaineers needed to secure the victory.
Sophomore Louise Gibson threw the complete game to move her overall record to 6-7 on the season.
M. Phillips led ASU offensively with her first three-hit outing of the season and third multiple-hit game of the season.
The Mountaineers will face #7 Samford on May 11 at 5 p.m. at Eagle Field in Statesboro, Ga. For more information on tickets and game times, visit www.SoConSports.com.
