BOONE, N.C. – The App State softball team fell in two close Sun Belt Conference games on Sunday, taking a 3-2 loss to Troy in game one and an 8-6 loss in game two. With the wins, Troy moves to 32-10, 15-3 in the conference. App State falls to 24-13 and 6-8 in Sun Belt play.
Game 1
The first game was a defensive battle as two of the top pitchers in the Sun Belt faced off with Troy's Leanna Johnson and App State's
Kenzie Longanecker in the circle.
The Mountaineers took the first lead of the game with one swing of the bat as
Kayt Houston hit her fourth home run of the season in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead.
Baylee Morton reached safely on a walk the batter before and was able to score on the long ball.
Troy answered in the next frame, scoring two runs on two hits as Logan Calhoun and Jade Sinness both singled to bring in a run. The game-winner for Troy was scored in the top of the third as Kelly Horne sent a ball over the center field fence for the 3-2 advantage.
App State continued to battle, leaving two runners on in the bottom of the sixth but could not push the tying run across.
Johnson received the win for the Trojans, pitching the complete game and giving up two runs on three hits. She moves to 18-5 on the season. Longanecker struck out one in her seven innings of work, giving up three runs on four hits. She is now 12-5 on the year.
Game 2
The second game was a back-and-forth affair with four lead changes. The Trojans were able to score two runs in the top of the seventh to secure the series win.
A home run got things going for Troy in the first, with Katie Webb sending one over the center field fence to take a 1-0 lead. The Mountaineers answered in the bottom of the third as
Mary Pierce Barnes started things off with a single up the middle.
Taylor Thorp walked and then
Emily Parrott moved both runners over with a sac bunt.
Keri White then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Barnes.
The Mountaineers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, with Morton starting the rally with a walk. Good base running on a sac bunt from Houston moved pinch runner
Addison Jones to third to set up for the score when
Sidney Russell singled down the left field line. An error by the first baseman put
Gabby Buruato on board and Barnes singled through the right side to score Russell, giving the Mountaineers a 3-1 lead.
The lead did not last as Troy scored two in the top of the fifth to tie up the game. A single followed by an error put runners on first and second. Katie Lively hit a single to right field but the run was able to score on a fielding error by Buruato. Webb then doubled to bring in another run and the Mountaineers threw out the second base runner who attempted to score on the play.
Troy followed up its next inning at the plate with three more runs to take the lead. A single and a wild pitch would put a runner on second for Kennedi Gaton, who singled to the shortstop to score the first run. Two more singles from Lively and Webb would score the next two runs.
The Mountaineers were not out as they evened the score yet again in the bottom of the sixth. Russell walked, Buruato singled to the pitcher and Thorp walked to load the bases. Parrott then hit a single to left center, scoring Russell. Buruato would also come in to score on a throwing error by the center fielder. White then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in pinch runner
Sidney Martin.
With the game tied up heading to the seventh, Troy plated the final two runs of the game off a two-run home run from Gaton to take the lead. During the bottom of the seventh, Houston walked and Russell singled, but two strikeouts would end the threat for the Mountaineers.
Troy used three pitchers in the win, with Kynsley Blasingame making the start and pitching 3.1 innings, giving up three runs on three hits. Libby Baker (6-3) came on in relief to earn the win, pitching through the sixth inning and giving up three runs on two hits. Johnson came in at the top of the seventh to close things out, earning her second save of the season.
The Mountaineers used two pitchers, as
Sydney Holland made the start in the circle, pitching 4.1 innings. She gave up three runs on six hits.
Delani Buckner (4-3) came on in the fifth, giving up five runs on nine hits, receiving the loss.
App State returns to action next weekend, taking on UTA in a three-game series beginning on Saturday.
