BOONE, N.C. -- After stepping out of conference play for a midweek contest at UNC on Wednesday, App State Softball (17-13, 5-4 Sun Belt) returns to Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium on Friday to open a three-game series with Sun Belt foe Georgia Southern (8-18, 3-6 Sun Belt).
This weekend will be the first home Sun Belt series for the Mountaineers and just the second time that App State has played in Boone this season. Friday's Game 1 is slated to start at 3 p.m. ET with Saturday's contest beginning at 2 p.m. ET and the final contest starting at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The Mountaineers are fresh off a trip to Chapel Hill, N.C. where they fell to UNC 8-4. Emma Jones and Baylee Morton both blasted solo home runs before the Tar Heels scored eight runs over the span of three innings. A late push from the Mountaineers in the top of the seventh began when Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week Kayt Houston drove in Addie Wray. Then an RBI double from Mary Pierce Barnes drove in Jones to push the final score to 8-4.
App State ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with the team's batting average at .270 and Houston enters the series batting a team-high .382 on the year while also leading the Sun Belt with 39 hits.Houston and Barnes have combined to drive in 44 runs this season, each tallying 22 RBIs. Also, McKenzie McCullen has 21 hits on the year, accounting for 21 runs batted in.
The Mountaineers' pitching staff ranks fifth in the league with an earned run average of just 2.82. Delaini Buckner's ERA of 3.11 is sixth in the Sun Belt. The sophomore has struck out 63 batters on the year.
This will be the first time the two teams meet since their three-game series in Statesboro, Ga. last season. After dropping the first game of last year's doubleheader, App State reeled off a 6-3 win in Friday's nightcap and a 5-2 victory in the series finale.
