ATHENS, Ga. – Despite taking an early lead and then coming from behind to tie the game in the fourth inning, App State Softball dropped its Georgia Classic finale 6-3 on Sunday to the Syracuse Orange. The Orange tallied three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead and win the game.
App State's (3-11) three-run loss marked its fourth loss by three runs or fewer to a Power Four school already this season. The Mountaineers held a lead against the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs on Friday but fell in the Bulldogs' final at-bat. App State has also suffered one-run losses to Auburn and North Carolina, which both came on. Feb. 8 at the Tiger Invitational.
Freshman
Madison McIntyre crushed the first home run of her career to tie the score at 3-3 in the fourth inning. McIntyre's home run was the Mountaineers' fifth home run of the Georgia Classic. The other home run hitters were
Taylor Chumbley, who hit two for the weekend,
Makayla McClain and
Leah Gore. Gore also hit her first career home run in the win over Utah Valley on Friday.
The Mountaineers smashed three hits against the Orange (12-1) in the finale as Gore, Chumbley, McClain and McIntyre each tallied a base knock. Along with her home run, McIntyre reached base all three times she came to bat against the Orange.
Macy Hamby,
Summer Simpson,
Jaylee Williams,
Olivia Cook and
Julia Girk also reached base via a walk as App State drew nine walks on the day.
How it Happened
App State started the scoring immediately on Sunday as it used two hits and an error to take an early lead. McClain started the game with a leadoff single before Gore's double down the left-field line sent her home. Hamby walked to put two runners on base, but Syracuse got out of the inning with a couple of strikeouts.
The Orange didn't take long to respond to the Mountaineers' run as they tied the game in the bottom of the first. Syracuse's leadoff hitter Madelyn Lopez reached on a throwing error and scored an unearned run against App State starter
Ava Beamesderfer on a single. With the score tied, App State had two runners reach via walk in the second, but couldn't answer back.
Syracuse took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning, plating two runs. The Mountaineers threw out a runner trying to steal second base for the first out, but two straight singles put two runners on. After a strikeout, Lopez plated both runners with a double to put the Orange on top by two after two innings.
Chumbley smoked the Mountaineers' third hit of the game in the third, but she couldn't get past first base.
Bel Varadi entered the circle in the third inning and posted a zero to keep the score within two, working around a bases-loaded jam to do so.
The Mountaineers wasted no time to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning. Simpson led off the inning by drawing a walk and after working a full count, McIntyre slugged a deep home run to dead center field to force a 3-3 tie. McIntyre became the second Mountaineer this weekend to hit their first career home run (Gore).
Syracuse got out of the inning, but Varadi sat down the Orange hitters in order in the fourth to keep it tied. Varadi struck out two hitters through her first two hitters of work in relief.
App State saw two runners reach in the fifth inning thanks to walks from Cook and Williams, but couldn't score. Syracuse used that momentum to score three times in the fifth to take the lead. A single by Angie Ramos and a two-run homer by Madison Knight broke the tie with one out. A strikeout marked the second out, but a walk and an RBI single scored the third run to give the Orange a 6-3 advantage after five.
Needing an answer, the Mountaineers used walks by McIntyre, McClain and Girk to load the bases with nobody out. Facing a tough jam, Syracuse induced a double play to record the first two outs, and a strikeout ended the threat with nobody crossing the plate.
Sophie Moshos entered the game to pitch in the sixth inning and kept the Orange off the scoreboard by tallying two strikeouts. Needing three runs to tie it, App State sent the middle of its order to the plate to try and tie the game. But Syracuse retired App State in order and closed out the game with a 6-3 win.
Sunday Notes
Home runs
App: McIntyre (1)
SU: Knight (1)
WP – Jackie Pengel (2-0): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV – Julianna Verni (1)
LP –
Sejal Neas (0-1): 1 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Up Next
The Mountaineers will next embark to Lynchburg, Va., for a five-game slate at the Liberty Softball Invitational next Friday-Sunday (Feb. 28 – March 2). The tournament, hosted by the Liberty Flames, will include Lehigh, Drexel, Liberty and Georgetown. App State will first play a doubleheader against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Friday. First pitch of game 1 on Friday is at 4 p.m.
