BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to compete in the Florida State Renegade Classic on Friday, Mar. 1. The Mountaineers will play their first game against Troy at 10 a.m.

SCOUTING THE APPS

After a two-week break the Apps will be back in action as they travel to Tallahassee on Friday. App State enters the tournament with a 1-4 overall record on the season after defeating Southern Illinois and falling to No. 1 Alabama, Florida Gulf Coast and Wichita State.

The Black and Gold got off to a good start on the season as they picked up a come-from-behind win against Southern Illinois, defeating the Salukis 10-9 in eight innings. Junior Lindsay Loudermilk started off her career at Appalachian going 4-for-4 at the plate with three runs batted in while scoring twice and drawing one walk against SIU. Freshman Shivaun Landeros picked up the win in the circle as she toed the rubbed for five innings facing 25 batters and striking out three in her first collegiate appearance.

Loudermilk's performance put her name in the record book as her four
 hits in her first game as a Mountaineer tied the school record for hits in a single game.

Senior Allie Cashion recorded the Mountaineers only two hits against the powerful pitching of No. 1 Alabama as she singled and hit a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning. Cashion boasts a .500 slugging percentage with four hits and three RBI's heading into the Renegade Classic. The Waxhaw, N.C. native's home run against No. 1 Alabama moved her one closer to the career record as she now has 32 career home runs and needs 12 to tie the career record, which was set by Katie Boyd (44).

Appalachian is out-hitting opponents 32-21 as it posted 12 hits compared to SIU's six in game one of the 2013 season. App State has also been patient in the box as they have drawn 28 walks with Dani Heichen leading the way with seven and Alex Sohl, Caroline Rogers, and Cashion each taking five. The Apps 14 walks against Southern Illinois broke the single-game school record, which was previously 10 at Gardner-Webb in 2009.

Sophomore Sarah Warnock leads the way for the Black and Gold offensively as she recorded seven hits and two runs batted in at the FCGU/LaQuinta Inn & Suites Invitational. Warnock's six at-bats against SIU etches her name in the individual single-game record as she tied Smith for first place.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS

This is the sixth meeting between the Mountaineers and the Trojans. Troy leads the series, 4-1, with the Trojans defeating Appalachian in the last meeting 6-1 in 2009.

Troy swept the two game series when the Mountaineers traveled to Troy, Ala. on February 28, 2009 for the double-header. The Trojans defeated the Apps 4-1 and 6-1, despite App State out-hitting Troy 7-6 in game two, while Appalachian stranded six base runners in its last outing against the Trojans.

Troy comes into the Renegade Classic posting a 6-6 overall season record with a two-game win streak. 
The Trojans are led by freshman Chandler Griffin who posts a .371 batting average with 13 hits, seven runs batted in and four stolen bases

Senior Caitlin Ortiz has compiled a .364 batting average with eight hits, including a team-high four doubles. 
Troy has three players in its starting lineup that have posted batting aver- ages of .300 or better through the first 12 games.

The Trojans have kept their opponents to a .219 batting average. Troy has proven to be a threat on the base paths as they have stolen 20 bases on 18 attempts with Bailey Blake and Ebony Wright each snagging five a piece.

Six players have started all 12 games for Troy this season.
 The Trojan pitching staff has split duties between Sarah Thomas, Rachel Rigney and Jaycee Affeidt. Rigney and Affeidt have both posted three wins this season, while Rigney 
has a team-leading 25 strikeouts on the season. Thomas has not earned a win in the circle but leads the team with a 3.05 earned-run average.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

Southern Miss enters the Renegade Classic with an 8-11 overall record, while going 5-3 at home, 3-4 on the road and 0-4 at neutral sites.

Last weekend the Golden Eagles posted a 2-2 record as they played host to Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech.
 Southern Miss took two games from Louisiana Tech, but fell twice to Northwestern State. 


Freshman Morgan McKeever leads the Golden Eagles at the plate as she has a .350 batting average in 60 at-bats with 10 runs batted in and 21 runs scored. Junior Mackenzie Sher has been a power in the box for Southern Miss as she boasts a .263 batting average with 15 hits including five home runs and 19 runs batted in.


Five players on the Golden Eagle roster have seen action in all 19 games, while four have started in every game. Southern Miss has seen its struggles 
at the plate as five players have struck out at least 10 times and the team has whiffed a total of 105 times
.

The freshman/senior tandem of Kaitlin Wilson and Kimberly Wagner have been solid in the circle for the Golden Eagles as they have garnered all eight of the Southern Miss victories and have each struckout over 20 batters.

SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES

This is the fourth meeting between the Mountaineers and the Seminoles. 
 Florida State leads the series 3-0 as the Seminoles defeated the Apps 6-0 in the last meeting in 2009.

Florida State defeated the Apps 6-0 on February 13, 2009 when the Black and Gold traveled to JoAnne Graf Field in Tallahassee. Appalachian recorded six hits, with two players tallying two hits.

Florida State hosts the Renegade Classic with a 9-6 overall record on the season as they have gone 7-2 at home
in 2013. FSU currently ranks 25th in the nation after dropping from No. 23 in the previous week. 


The Seminoles are suffering a four game skid after traveling to Palm Springs, Calif. for the Mary Nutter Classic where they fell to No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 16 Stanford. 


Junior Courtney Senas leads the Seminoles in the box, as she is the only player batting over .300 with four home runs, 15 runs batted in and a .667 slugging percentage. 
Kelly Hensley has added 11 hits with
12 runs batted in this season with three home runs and nine runs scored
.

Pitchers Lacey Waldrop and Monica Perry have both had strong showings for the Noles as Perry has five wins in five complete games and Waldrop has four wins with four complete games. 


The Seminoles have stolen 21 bases on 22 attempts on the season. 
 Florida State has outscored its opponents 23-3 in the first inning and 23-6 in the third inning this season.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Appalachian will kickoff its Southern Conference schedule as it travels to Cullowhee, N.C. to take on Western Carolina on Saturday, Mar. 9. The three-game series is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 9 as the Mountaineers play a double-header starting at 1 p.m. before playing a single-game on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 1 p.m.