ATHENS, Ga. – On day 1 of the 22nd Annual Georgia Classic, the App State Softball team split its doubleheader against the Utah Valley Wolverines and the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs, beating the Wolverines in come-from-behind fashion 8-2 before falling in a close battle with the ninth-ranked Bulldogs 5-4. App State (2-9) fell behind two in the opening game after an inning and a half but scored eight unanswered runs to claim the win over Utah Valley (2-10).
In the nightcap, the Mountaineers led from the second inning on after
Taylor Chumbley bashed a three-run homer, but the Bulldogs (11-0) remained undefeated by scoring three runs in their final at-bat to win the game. It was App State's seventh loss by three or fewer runs this season and the second one-run loss to a Power Four program this season (Auburn, Feb. 8).
Chumbley went off on Friday in Athens, smoking two homers and driving in five RBI for the day. The sophomore hadn't hit a homer since Feb. 18, 2024, before hitting her fourth-inning homer against Utah Valley. Chumbley drove home all four Mountaineer runs against Georgia. App State hit three homers across the doubleheader with
Leah Gore joining Chumbley as home run hitters. Gore's second-inning long ball was her first career home run.
Sophomore pitcher
Ava Beamesderfer picked up her first career win against Utah Valley after coming on in relief. She tossed six innings of shutout softball against the Wolverines and only allowed one hit. The Mountaineer pitchers tallied eight strikeouts for the game with
Sejal Neas striking out four against Georgia in the nightcap.
The Mountaineers saw four hitters stroke multiple base hits on day 1 in
Madison McIntyre,
Macy Hamby, Chumbley and Gore. Both McIntyre and Gore posted two-hit games against the Wolverines, and both drove home two RBI in the win. Hamby also posted a two-RBI game against Utah Valley and
Jaylee Williams smoked an RBI triple as part of a six-run fourth inning.
How it Happened
Game 1: App State 8, Utah Valley 2
Despite being down by 2 runs after an inning and a half, the Mountaineers scored eight unanswered runs to beat Utah Valley 8-2 to open the Georgia Classic. App State exploded for six runs in the fourth inning, thanks to a two-RBI triple by Hamby and a solo home run from Chumbley.
The Wolverines saw the first batter of the game reach base via a walk and scored the game's opening run just three batters later as Megan Gibbs stroked a single into center field. The Mountaineers got out of the inning on defense, but couldn't answer the early score as Utah Valley led 1-0 after one.
Utah Valley quickly loaded the bases in the top of the second, using two walks and a single to do so. Head coach Whitney Jones turned to Beamesderfer to relieve
Sophie Moshos with nobody out and the sophomore struck out the first batter she saw. The Wolverines were able to work a bases-loaded walk despite the out to make the score 2-0 in the second. Beamesderfer settled back in and left the bases loaded to keep the Mountaineer deficit at two after an inning and a half.
App State's offense immediately got going in the bottom half of the second. Gore, who batted in the cleanup spot in game 1, took the second pitch of her at-bat and sent it for a ride to deep left-center field to mark her first career home run. The Mountaineers followed that up with a walk to Hamby and an RBI double by
Madison McIntyre to tie the score at two. App State didn't score further, however, but the damage was done to tie the score after two complete.
A clean third inning by both sides quickly sent the contest to the fourth inning where Beamesderfer worked around a one-out double and a walk to post another zero. The Mountaineers used that momentum generated by Beamesderfer and struck for six fourth-inning runs.
Leading off the inning, Chumbley smoked an 0-1 pitch to deep right field for her second career home run to give App State a 3-2 lead, its first of the game. The sophomore's homer was her first since Feb. 18, 2024, against Mount St. Mary's.
Summer Simpson followed up the homer by reaching first on an error and after two outs, Gore struck again, this time for an RBI double to plate Simpson and make the score 4-2 with two outs in the fourth inning.
Not done yet, the Mountaineers saw back-to-back triples by Hamby and
Jaylee Williams plate three more runs to swell App State ahead by five. Capping off the inning, McIntyre singled to right field to plate Williams to push App State up by six before the final out was recorded. App State's six-run fourth inning was its highest-scoring inning of the season.
Beamesderfer went right back to work in the top of the fifth and posted another zero, her third consecutive scoreless inning to keep the Mountaineers ahead. The sophomore tallied another shutdown frame in the sixth inning and helped send the game to the final inning with the Mountaineers ahead 8-2.
App State made quick work of the Wolverines in the seventh inning as Beamesderfer sat down the batters in order to close the contest. App State's 8-2 win over Utah Valley snapped an eight-game losing streak. Beamesderfer was dynamite in relief as she hurled six innings of one-hit softball in relief to earn her first career win.
Game 1 Notes
Home runs
App: Gore (1), Chumbley (1)
UVU: N/A
WP –
Ava Beamesderfer (1-1): 6 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Payge Armendariz (0-3): 2 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs (1 earned run), 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Game 2: App State 4, No. 9 Georgia 5
After a second-inning three-run home run by Chumbley to put the Mountaineers up three early, App State took a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning against the host school. But the Bulldogs scored three times in their last at-bat to take the lead and recorded a clean seventh to steal a 5-4 win on their home field.
Makayla McClain led off the nightcap with a walk, but a double-play quickly put two outs on the scoreboard in the top of the first. Georgia got out of the inning clean after a groundout. Neas took the circle first for App State and posted a 1-2-3 bottom half to keep the game scoreless after one.
App State struck for three in the top of the second. The frame started with a leadoff single by Hamby who then advanced to third base on a throwing error by the pitcher on the next batter. After a strikeout, Chumbley stepped to the plate and scorched a three-run homer to center field to open the scoring. It was her second long ball of the day.
Julia Girk followed Chumbley with a bunt hit, but the Bulldogs forced a fielder's choice to get out of the inning.
Georgia answered the Chumbley homer with a run in the second inning, tallying two hits to do so. Neas retired the first hitter of the frame but two straight hits by Sarah Gordon and Emily Digby plated the Bulldogs' first score. Neas held for the rest of the frame, picking up her second strikeout in the process, and the Mountaineers led 3-1 after two.
A Gore single to lead off the third inning was all the Mountaineers mustered to answer the Bulldogs' score, and Georgia capitalized with another run in the bottom half. After an out to start the inning, a walk and an RBI triple made the score 3-2.
Neas settled back in and recorded a scoreless fourth inning to move the game quickly to the fifth where App State saw four batters walk to extend its lead to two. Gore started the inning with a four-pitch walk, which was followed by a Williams walk and a
Grace Taylor walk. After a pitching change, Chumbley drove home her fourth RBI of the game with a bases-loaded walk to put App State ahead by two after five innings.
The Bulldogs threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning after seeing two runners reach in a row to start their at-bat. A wild pitch advanced both runners to second and third which forced a pitching change. Turning to
Bel Varadi, the freshman worked around the inherited runners in scoring position and posted a zero with two key strikeouts and a weak groundout to Gore. Thanks to Varadi's heroics, App State hung on to its two-run lead as play went to the sixth.
A Girk walk to lead off the sixth spelled early trouble for Georgia, but the Bulldogs worked around it to keep their deficit to two runs. The Bulldogs saw five straight batters reach to tie the score at five in the bottom half. With the bases loaded, Beamesderfer, who entered the game three batters prior, forced a ground ball to second and McClain fired a strike to
Marti Henkel at the plate to keep the score tied.
Now with two outs and the bases still loaded, Jaydyn Goodwin shot a single through the right side that plated the go-ahead run. Georgia pitcher Lilli Backes retired the Mountaineers in order to close the win for the undefeated Bulldogs. It marked the third time this season that App State has dropped a game against a Power Five opponent in the final at-bat.
Game 2 Notes
Home runs
App: Chumbley (2)
UGA: N/A
WP – Lilli Backes (5-0): 2.2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP –
Bel Varadi (0-2): 1.1 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
Up Next
App State is set to continue play at the Georgia Classic on Saturday with another doubleheader, this time against the Buffalo Bulls and a rematch with Utah Valley. First pitch against the Buffalos is set for 1 p.m. with the nightcap against the Wolverines coming at 6 p.m.
