GREENVILLE, N.C. – The App State Mountaineers trek to Greenville, N.C. to take on the Purple-Gold Invitational hosted by ECU for their last non-conference tournament this weekend. App State will play a five-game set against three different teams, including doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. Frist pitch against Saint Joseph's is set for 11:15 a.m. on Friday.
Who: App State (8-6) vs. Saint Joseph's / ECU / Youngstown State
Where: Max R. Joyner Family Stadium // Greenville, N.C.
When: Friday, March 1 – Sunday, March 3
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers took to Johnson City, Tenn., to renew one of the longest-standing rivalries in program history with the ETSU Buccaneers on Tuesday. The Mountaineers split the pair of games with the Buccaneers, dropping game 1 before claiming game 2 in a pitcher's duel.
For the day, the Mountaineers tallied 15 hits as the lineup put pressure on the ETSU staff with several baserunners.
Abby Cunningham's four hits across the two games highlighted the offensive production for App State as she drove in a run in game 1 and picked up another single in game 2, which raised her season batting average up to .333. Overall, three players tallied multi-hit games at ETSU as
Olivia Cook and
Grace Barrett joined Cunningham.
Back in her hometown,
Sejal Neas delivered a dazzling performance in game 2 as she allowed just two baserunners and one hit in a complete-game shutout. Neas didn't give up a hit until there were two outs in the seventh inning while also striking out a career-high nine batters. At one point, she sat down 18 batters in a row.
Jenna Samuel pitched well in relief in game 1 as she allowed just one run and struck out a career-high six in 3.2 innings. She recorded the final 11 outs for the Mountaineers and did well to keep the Mountaineers close in game 1.
First Pitch
- The Mountaineers are 8-3 in their last 11 games, using a high-powered offense to get to that record. In the last 11 games, the Mountaineers have scored 68 runs, which is an average of 6.1 runs a game in the last 11 games.
- The Mountaineers have already recorded three double-digit run games this season. For the entire 2022 season, App State recorded just two games where they scored at least 10 runs.
- Neas' dominant one-hit performance was the second game this season where the Mountaineers allowed two or fewer hits. App State had three such games last season. It was also the App State staff's third shutout of the season already, which is just one shy of last year's mark.
- The Johnson City native's nine strikeouts on Tuesday marked the first game of her career where she struck out more than six hitters.
- The Mountaineer staff has allowed just 15 runs in its last seven games, which is just over two runs allowed a game in the last seven. App State pitchers have struck out 45 hitters in those seven games, bolstered by a 10-strikeout performance from Kaylie Northrop against Iona and a nine-strikeout performance from Sejal Neas against ETSU.
- Head coach Shelly Hoerner sits just two wins away from 150 career wins at App State. She already holds the record for most wins by a Mountaineer head coach. She needs just 14 more wins to get 700 for her career.
- Kayt Houston needs just two hits to become the fourth Mountaineer in program history to record 200 career hits. She also sits just 11 doubles shy of the all-time mark for doubles in a career. She has recorded a hit in each of the last 11 games, with seven of those games being multi-hit efforts.
On the Mountaineers
- The App State offense has been potent to start the season as they enter the weekend in the top five of the Sun Belt in home runs (second), slugging percentage (first) and batting average (first).
- App State slugs the ball as good as anyone in the country as they enter the weekend with the top slugging percentage in the Sun Belt Conference and the 41st-highest slugging percentage in the country. The Mountaineers have tallied 34 extra-base hits through the first 14 games.
- The duo of Houston and Darnell have provided App State with one of the best 1-2 punches in the conference as they have combined for 34 of App State's 47 RBI this season and have hit nine of the 12 home runs.
- Peyton Darnell has fit right into the third spot of the Mountaineer lineup, providing a nice balance of power and average to the team. Entering the weekend, she is in the top five in the Sun Belt in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, RBI and home runs.
- As a team, the Mountaineers apply pressure on the defense by putting the ball in play. App State has struck out the fifth-fewest times in the Sun Belt entering play this weekend, while freshman Grace Barrett has struck out just one time in 48 at-bats this season. Among qualified hitters, Barrett is the ninth-toughest hitter in the country to strike out.
- After Abby Cunningham's three-hit day on Tuesday against ETSU, five different Mountaineers have tallied at least a three-hit game this season. Entering the weekend, seven different players have at least a .300 batting average, which has pushed App State to the highest batting average in the SBC.
- In the circle, Northrop has given the Mountaineers several quality innings recently as she has allowed just six earned runs in her last six appearances. She leads the team in ERA entering the weekend.
Series History
- App State vs. Saint Joseph's:
- Third meeting
- Last meeting: Feb. 15, 2020
- Record: 2-0
- Trends:
- The Mountaineers have never lost to Saint Joseph's, playing them twice and winning both times.
- This weekend's games between the Mountaineers and Hawks will be the first games not played in the state of Florida between the two teams. The two prior matchups were both played at neutral sites in Florida.
- App State vs. Youngstown State:
- Second meeting
- Last meeting: March 11, 2003
- Record: 0-1
- Trends:
- App State and Youngstown State will meet for the first time in nearly 21 years on Saturday.
- Youngstown State beat App State in the only ever meeting between the two programs at a neutral site in Florida.
- App State vs. ECU:
- Second meeting
- Last meeting: March 17, 2001
- Record: 0-1
- Trends:
- App State's two games against ECU in Greenville this weekend will mark the first ever meeting between the two teams in Greenville.
- ECU won a tight contest over App State in Rock Hill, S.C. in the only meeting between the two teams.
Up Next
The Mountaineers head back to Raleigh for a midweek brawl against the NC State Wolfpack, marking the second time in the past 10 days that the two teams will meet. First pitch from Dail Softball Stadium is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
