BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University softball will head to the east coast to play five ballgames at the Hampton Inn University Area Seahawk Softball Classic in Wilmington, N.C. Feb. 24-26 at Boseman Field.
On Friday, Appalachian will face off against UMBC for the third time this season at 10 a.m., then will battle against North Texas at 5:30 p.m. On day two, the Black and Gold will open up with UNCW at 12:30 p.m. and play a night game versus North Texas at 5:30 p.m. On the last day of the tournament, the Apps will tee off against North Texas or UNCW based off seeding.
Appalachian (5-4) is currently on a three-game winning streak picking up their last victory on Wednesday against the North Carolina A&T Aggies. App State outlasted the Aggies 3-2 in extra innings and three different Mountaineers knocked in RBI. In the circle, Kenzie Longanecker shut out the Aggies in 5.2 innings and fired out two strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS
• Friday will mark the fourth meeting between UMBC and App State and the third time this season the two teams will face off on the diamond.
• At the Aggie Invitational, UMBC edged the Mountaineers 1-0, but App bounced back and topped the Retrievers 9-2 in the Sunday rematch.
• UMBC enters this weekend 3-6 after going 2-3 in Greensboro, picking up wins against App State and Howard, 12-6.
• After nine games, Morgan Peyou has proved to be their best offensive threat batting .419 with 13 hits, two runs, one triple and two RBI. Right behind her is Kaelin Jackson who averages .393 at the plate after amassing 11 hits, six runs, four doubles and a pair of RBI.
• After opening weekend, the Retrievers swept the first America East awards of the season with Kaelin Jackson earning America East Player of the Week from both the conference and College Sports Madness, Kim Puccio winning Pitcher of the Week and Evvie Buehlman grabbing Rookie of the Week honors.
• The Retrievers ended last year's season with a 25-31 overall record, went 5-11 in conference play and finished fifth in the final ECAC standings. UMBC welcomes back 17 letterwinners and seven starters and adds four fresh faces to the 2017 roster.
• 2017's softball squad is led by first-year head coach Heather Gelbard and her assistants Carla Shepherd and Colin Christiansen.
SCOUTING THE MEAN GREEN
• The Mountaineers have only played North Texas once before, and in that 2011 meeting, the Mean Green defeated Appalachian 6-0.
• North Texas is coming off of a 3-2 upset victory over No. 24 Baylor on Feb. 19 in extra innings. Kelli Schkade recorded a multi-hit game, smashing out two hits and scoring on one run for NT, and Harley Perella knocked in two RBI to edge out the top 25 team.
• NT enters this weekend with a 4-5 overall record and went 3-2 at the Baylor Tournament seizing two wins against Lamar and a single victory against the Baylor Bears.
• After nine games, the Mean Green averages a .226 batting average with 53 hits, 29 runs and 28 RBI and owns a 4.63 ERA. Lacy Gregory has put out the best offensive performance hitting .481 (13-for-27) with 10 RBI and two home runs. In the circle, Stacey Underwood is responsible for the best ERA at 3.37 and owns a 3-2 record.
• North Texas brings in six newcomers to the team and welcomes back their top hitter from 2016, Kelli Schkade, and returns their entire starting rotation of pitchers from a year ago. Schkade hit .393 which included 70 hits, 16 doubles, 13 home runs and 42 RBI. She also set the program's hitting streak record at 19-straight ballgames.
• At the helm of the Mean Green softball team is four-year Head Coach Tracey Kee, Associate Head Coach Natalie Kozlowski and Assistant Coaches Christina Merrida and Stephen Holton. Under the instruction of Kee, the 2016 team owned a 22-33 record, went 5-19 in Conference USA, set a program record for steals (81) and matched the highest batting average at .279.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
• Saturday will mark the tenth ballgame between UNCW and App State, and the Seahawks hold the 6-3 advantage. In the last meeting in 2011, Appalachian overwhelmed UNCW 11-3.
• UNCW owns a 3-1 record and has victories against Virginia, Charleston Southern, and East Tennessee State.
• After their opening weekend at the Charleston Southern Tournament, the Seahawks have batted .297 and have recorded 33 hits, 20 runs, four doubles, five home runs and 17 RBI. Their pitchers are responsible for a 2.47 ERA and have thrown out 15 strikeouts.
• The Seahawks were picked to finish seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association Coaches Poll after wrapping up 2016 with a 29-21 record and going 8-10 in conference play.
• UNCW welcomes back 17 letterwinners, nine starters and their entire pitching staff from last year which ranked second in the CAA with a 2.38 ERA. Leading the pitching core will be two-time Second-Team All-CAA member Peyton Jordan who recorded a 2.06 ERA in 133.2 innings pitched and owned a 14-6 winning record.
• Head Coach Kristy Norton enters her fifth season at the helm of the UNCW softball program, along with Associated Head Coach Kama Tucker and her assistants Brittany Robinson and Garrett Furnal.
