SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – Appalachian State University softball got the second day of the Blues City Classic underway with its first game against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs and came away with a win, 11-2. The later game was against the Missouri State Bears and the Mountaineers fell 6-0.
Game One: App State 11, Alabama A&M 2
The Mountaineers got off to a lightning fast start with singles and stolen bases from Dani Heichen and Cynthia Gomez. With Heichen on third and Gomez on second, Heichen scored on a groundout from Lindsay Loudermilk to take an early 1-0 lead. Alex Sohl, who received the start behind the plate, placed a single perfectly through the right side of the infield to score Gomez from third to extend the inning and the lead to 2-0. After a passed ball, Cara Parker and Caroline Rogers raked back-to-back RBI triples into the left field corner followed by Whitney Johnson's first hit and RBI of the season to give the Apps five runs and six hits to close the top half of the first.
Sydney Laws was in the circle to start the game for the Mountaineers and allowed one single and a runner to advance to third, but kept the Bulldogs scoreless in the bottom half. In the second, Gomez reach on an error and stole her second base of the game and season, but was left stranded. The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the second and scored their first run of the game via a wild pitch to make it 5-1 App State. A&M would score again on a wacky play that saw Sohl not touch home plate on a force play to keep the inning alive and the Bulldogs would end the inning scoring two and cut the Appalachian lead to 5-2.
Parker would single in the third followed by a Rogers double to put the Apps in great position to score with runners on second and third and just one out. Johnson would continue the App State hit parade with a two-run triple to drive in both Parker and Rogers. Johnson would score on a throwing error by A&M to make the score 8-2 in favor of the Mountaineers. Laws would then set down the Bulldogs in order to head to the fourth.
Meaghen Gray would settle in for the top of fourth and put down the Mountaineers in order. Laws would replicate Gray in the bottom half and ended the inning on her third strikeout of the game getting Chelsey Furgeson to swing and miss. Parker would reach base for the third time in the game on an error by Taiya McInnis in right field that allowed Parker to advance to third base. Parker would steal third prior to Rogers' second RBI of the game on a single through the left side to extend the Appalachian lead to 9-2. Laws would put down the Bulldogs in order to end the fifth inning.
Heichen would lead off the sixth inning with a hit and promptly steal second base to put herself in scoring position. Caroline Chambers would follow up by ripping one into center field for an RBI double to make it 10-2 Mountaineers. The hit and RBI for Chambers were her first of the season. Katie Mathewson would bat next for the first time this season and her career and drive in Chambers on an RBI single for an App State lead of 11-2. The single and RBI were her first of her career as well.
Laws would finish off the Bulldogs in the sixth and the game would end on a 6-3-5 double play. The true freshman pitched six innings allowing just three hits and zero earned runs with three strikeouts. Rogers led the team with three hits going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Heichen and Parker both had two hits and scored two and three runs, respectively. Johnson also had two hits going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Chambers, Loudermilk, Mathewson, Sohl and Parker all tallied one RBI each in the triumph.
Game Two: Missouri State 6, App State 0
Getting the starting nod in game two, Shivaun Landeros would allow a walk with the bases loaded before registering the next two outs via the strikeout. Heather Duckworth would single to drive in a pair of runs and extend the Bears lead to 3-0. Landeros would strikeout Braxton Coil to end the inning. Warnock would draw a base on balls in the first, but the Mountaineers were unable to string something together against Erin Struemph in the first.
Landeros would allow a single and walk in the second, but made good pitches and escaped danger. In the bottom half, the Mountaineers worked their second walk against Missouri State starter Erin Struemph, but nothing more would come of the inning for the Apps. Landeros began to settle in even more in the third making quick work of the Bears. Johnson connected on Appalachian's first base hit to lead off the bottom half followed up later by a Heichen walk. Both would advance to give the Apps second and third but would not score.
The Bears would go down quietly in the fourth with the Mountaineers tallying a base hit off the bat of Parker in the bottom half before moving to the top of the fifth. Missouri State would add a run in the fifth inning to extend their lead and make it 4-0. The Mountaineers would go down in order in the bottom half. In the sixth, Ashley Brentz would tack on a two-run double to extend the Bears' lead to 6-0. Gomez lead off the sixth with a walk that was followed up later with a Loudermilk single up the middle, but App State couldn't not advance either runner on Struemph.
Landeros would pitch a perfect seventh getting the Bears down in order 1-2-3. The Apps would work just a walk in the bottom half and would fall 6-0. Landeros pitched seven innings allowing seven hits and five earned runs. The Sparks, Nev. native would also strike out seven in the game.
The Mountaineers will return to action on Sunday with a single game against Evansville to close out the Blues City Classic. First pitch is set for 10 a.m.
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