ELON, N.C. — App State Softball opens its 2022 season Saturday with the first of four weekend games to be played in the Elon Softball Classic.
The Mountaineers make their season debut Saturday at 9:30 a.m. against Saint Francis and play again at 5 p.m. that day against IUPUI.
On Sunday, App State plays at noon with a rematch against Saint Francis and wraps up the weekend with a 2:30 p.m. game against Elon on its home field.
All four games will be available via stream to FloSoftball subscribers. Live stats will be available by
clicking HERE.
App State has moved forward from its third straight winning season under head coach
Shelly Hoerner and its first-ever Sun Belt Tournament victory. The Mountaineers finished the 2021 season with a 27-19 record.
Among the returning starters from that team are catcher
Baylee Morton, who hit eight home runs a year ago.
Other returners who started at least 18 games last season are middle infielder
Emma Jones (.397 average in an injury-shortened year), utility player
Taylor Thorp and a trio of outfielders in
Kayt Houston (.326 average in 2021),
Emily Parrott and
Mary Pierce Barnes.
Delani Buckner (four wins and two saves in 57 innings last season) has the most returning experience on a staff with five pitchers available.
The 2022 opener comes against a Saint Francis program that has traveled south from Pennsylvania. The Red Flash went 40-10 last season, including 22-2 in league play, before advancing to an NCAA Regional with a run to the NEC Tournament title. Saint Francis lost to Texas and Oregon in Austin, Texas.
The only previous meeting between the Mountaineers and Red Flash was a 4-1 win for App State in 2004.
IUPUI out of Indianapolis went 14-31 last season, with 12 of those wins coming in Horizon League play, while Elon went 18-21 overall with a 10-8 conference record in 2021.
