Mountaineers Take to No. 19 Texas State for Road Sun Belt Action

SAN MARCOS, Texas – After posting a 6-0 week, which included a series sweep to open Sun Belt action, the App State Mountaineers hit the road to San Marcos, Texas, for a road series with the Texas State Bobcats this Friday-Sunday. Texas State is ranked ninth in the RPI as of Thursday and owns the best overall record in the Sun Belt. First pitch from Bobcat Softball Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) on Friday and can be streamed on ESPN+. 
   
Last Time Out
App State capped off an unbeaten week with a three-game sweep of the Georgia State Panthers in Atlanta. The Mountaineers' offense fired on all cylinders as they recorded 26 runs throughout the three games, which included a 10-spot in the weekend finale. 
 
For the week, App State tallied 57 runs. Grace Barrett paced the Black and Gold at the plate, tallying 13 hits in 23 at-bats (.565 BA) and slugged seven extra-base hits. Her nine-RBI weekend in her home state earned her Sun Belt Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. 
 
The Mountaineers crushed seven home runs in the three games against the Panthers with five of them coming with runners on. App State had 51 at-bats with runners on base last weekend and batted .353.
 
In the circle, Kaylie Northrop picked up her seventh win on Saturday while Delani Buckner picked up App State's first save of the season. Buckner, who hasn't pitched since Feb. 16 against Le Moyne, slammed the door on both games in the Sun Belt-opening doubleheader, hurling 6.2 scoreless innings in relief while striking out seven. 
 
First Pitch  

• The Mountaineers' current six-game winning streak is the longest active win streak in the Sun Belt Conference. Over the last six games, the Mountaineers are outscoring their opponents by 34 runs. 

 

• Head coach Shelly Hoerner sits just seven wins away from 700 for her career. Last Monday's win over ETSU marked her 150th win as head coach at App State. Hoerner is already the program's all-time winningest head coach and the only App State head coach to reach 150 career wins. 

 

• App State's offense has been red-hot to start the season as it enters the weekend scoring six runs a game, which is the second-highest mark in the Sun Belt. In wins, the Mountaineers score 8.6 runs a game and have scored at least five runs in 13 of their 15 wins this season. 

 

• The long ball has played a big role in the Mountaineers' offensive production as they have hit 24 home runs in 25 games, putting them tied for fourth in the conference in total homers. App State has homered in all but three of its 15 wins and has hit at least one homer in every game during its six-game winning streak. 

 

• As a team, App State is tough to strike out as they enter the weekend with the second-fewest strikeouts in the Sun Belt with only 85. Individually, Grace Barrett has been the toughest hitter in the country to strike out among qualified hitters as she has struck out just once in 88 at-bats to begin her career. 

 

• Because of App State's ability to put the ball in play, opposing teams see traffic on the basepaths in almost every inning they face the Mountaineers. As of Sunday's game, the Mountaineers have seen at least one baserunner reach in all but 30 innings they have played this season, which has led to a team on-base percentage of .389 entering the weekend. App State saw at least one runner reach in 19 of the 22 innings played in Atlanta last weekend. 

 

• Switching sides, the Mountaineer pitching staff pounds the strike zone every at-bat, making the opposing team work to get runners on. Entering play at Texas State, App State owns the 24th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the country at 2.92. The staff has walked just 51 batters on the season and has struck out 149. Northrop leads the Mountaineers in strikeout-to-walk ratio as she has struck out 57 hitters while walking just 12.

 

• Northrop's no-hitter in game 2 against ETSU last Monday was just the fourth no-hitter in program history and the first since 2020. The lefty retired 15 of the 16 batters she faced in the game. 

 
On the Mountaineers 

• The Mountaineer offense has been potent to start the season as they enter this weekend's set at Texas State with the highest batting average in the Sun Belt Conference and the 22nd-highest batting average in the country, batting .326 as a team. Additionally, App State is second in the Sun Belt in RBIs with 145 and third in both OPS and slugging percentage. 

 

• Extra-base hits have fueled the Mountaineers to a .500 team slugging percentage through 25 games as 67 of their 225 hits have gone for at least two bases. Kayt Houston, who is second in the league in both doubles and home runs entering Friday, leads the team with 19 extra-base hits. 

 

• The depth of Coach Hoerner's squad has shined this year as 15 different players have tallied at least one hit and 15 players have driven in at least one run this season. Seven different players are hitting over .300 heading into Friday's game and six players have recorded a three-hit game. 

 

• The trio of Houston, Barrett and Darnell at the top of the Mountaineer lineup has started every game this year and has done nothing but produce. Entering Friday's game, they have combined for 99 hits, 17 homers, 77 RBIs and 23 doubles, while each player is slugging greater than .550 for the year. 

 

• In her first season in the high country, Darnell has fit right into the middle of the Mountaineer order as she leads the Sun Belt Conference in RBIs with 30. She has driven in at least one run in seven consecutive games and all but eight games on the season.  

 

• Sejal Neas and Kaylie Northrop have spearheaded App State in the circle, pitching 121 of the 155 innings this season. The two have kept their opposition to a .252 batting average and sit in the top 15 in ERA in the Sun Belt, with each boasting a sub-3.00 ERA.

  
Series History 

• App State vs. Texas State
  • Record: 2-5
  • Last Meeting: April 2, 2023
  • Trends: 
    • The Mountaineers haven't traveled to San Marcos since March 2022. 
    • App State is 2-1 all time at Bobcat Softball Stadium. 

 
Up Next
After play concludes Sunday in Texas, the Mountaineers will head back to Boone to host their first Sun Belt series, welcoming the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium next Thursday. First pitch on Thursday is slated for 6 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.