BOONE, N.C. – The App State softball team earned two non-conference wins Tuesday afternoon, defeating East Tennessee State 4-3 and 8-0 (6 innings). The Mountaineers are now 24-11 on the season, while ETSU falls to 13-19.
Game 1
East Tennessee State took the first lead of the low-scoring first game in the third inning, scoring three runs off of three singles and a Mountaineer error in left field. The Bucs defense would continue to shutout the Mountaineers until the bottom of the fourth when
Kayt Houston doubled to start the Mountaineer offense.
A ground out from
Gabby Buruato moved Houston to third and
Mary Pierce Barnes hit a double to left center to bring her in.
Allie Sewell followed it up with another double to bring in Barnes.
Emily Parrott then knocked a single down the right field line to tie the game up at 3-3.
The pitching duel continued as neither team scored until App State hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Buruato started the rally with a double to right center. Barnes then hit a single to right field to score Buruato and push the Mountaineers to the 4-3 victory.
Delani Buckner earned her fourth win in the circle, throwing the complete game and giving up three runs on four hits, striking out six. Kelly Schmidt (7-8) took the loss in the circle for the Bucs, giving up four runs on 10 hits, striking out two.
At the plate, Houston went 2-for-3 and Barnes finished the game with two hits as well, posting two RBIs. Sewell and Parrott added the other RBIs. For ETSU, Lilly Holston recorded two RBIs as well as a hit.
Game 2
Game two was all App State as the Mountaineers scored early and often to take the 8-0 run-rule victory. The Mountaineers scored in every inning except for the second to record their 24
th victory on the season.
In the bottom of the first,
Keri White opened the game with a double down the right field line.
Caylie Kifer traded places with her, hitting a double of her own to score White. With the bases loaded, Barnes walked to bring in another run to give the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead.
Baylee Morton hit her eighth home run of the season to add another to the run column in the third inning. The Mountaineers followed it up with a two-run fourth as Sewell reached safely on a walk. Parrott and White followed that up with back-to-back singles to score pinch runner
Kati Waalk. Good base running from White, who stole second and third, put her in position to score as Houston singled up the middle.
Free passes came back to bite ETSU in the fifth as well as Barnes and Sewell walked to start the inning. Parrott doubled to bring in both runs to give the Mountaineers the 7-0 advantage. The game-winning run came in the bottom of the sixth as Parrott stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. She singled to left field to bring in pinch runner
Sidney Martin and enforce the eight-run run rule.
Only five Buccaneers reached safely as
Kenzie Longanecker threw her second shutout on the season. She gave up only three hits and struck out four, improving to 12-4 on the year. Houston had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-3 in game two with an RBI. Parrott also added three RBIs, going 3-for-4.
The Mountaineers return to Sun Belt play this weekend, hosting Troy in a three-game series beginning on Saturday.
