HARRISONBURG, Va. – With two on and two out for
Sophie Moshos in the sixth inning and Payton List stepping to the plate, a one-score game fell in the balance of the left hand of Moshos. After falling behind 2-0, the lefty twirled up something for List to hit, and the big Duke bat sent a deep fly ball to right-center field that threatened to put JMU on top. But
Julia Girk was there to flag it down to end the inning, leaving two stranded and preserving App State's slim lead.
Moshos wrapped up the game in convincing fashion, posting a perfect bottom of the seventh inning to help App State win 2-1, completing the series sweep of James Madison in Harrisonburg. It was App State's (13-20, 4-5 SBC) fourth win in its last five contests. The win also marked App State's fourth win in SBC play through its first nine games, which matches the team's conference win total from each of the past two seasons.
App State's standout left-handed pitcher had her A+ stuff on Sunday against the Dukes (11-20, 0-9 SBC) as Moshos struck out nine hitters, which tied her season high, and allowed just one run. She threw 125 pitches for the day and worked around seven Duke hits to strand 10 runners in her complete-game effort. Moshos boasted incredible numbers at JMU this weekend as she tallied a 3-0 record and pitched to a 1.34 ERA in 15.2 innings and struck out 14 hitters. She gave up just 11 hits across her three appearances.
RBIs apiece by
Julia Girk and
Madison McIntyre were all the Mountaineers needed to win the game on Sunday. Girk drove home the go-ahead run in the fourth inning, sending a sacrifice fly to center field to plate
Jaylee Williams, while McIntyre drove home a run on a fielder's choice with one out in the fifth. McIntyre's RBI proved to be crucial as JMU scored an inning later to make it a one-run game.
Although the Dukes outhit the Mountaineers in game 3 (7-5), App State's patience at the plate forced several tough jams that JMU needed to navigate through. The Mountaineers drew seven walks, led by
Makayla McClain's three and
Grace Barrett's two. Additionally, timely hits helped add to the pressure as
Leah Gore, McIntyre, Girk and
Taylor Chumbley each tallied hits. Gore posted her third consecutive multi-hit game and finished the three-game series with six hits in 10 at-bats (.600 batting average).
How it Happened
It was a quiet start for both sides to open the contest as Moshos and JMU's starting pitcher List both posted clean innings. Moshos worked around a two-out single with three of her nine strikeouts to open her outing. Gore tallied App State's first hit in the top of the second, but couldn't make it past second base, leaving the first Mountaineer stranded in the game.
The Dukes saw two runners reach in their half of the second frame, seeing a single drop in and a walk to put women on first and second. Unfazed by the traffic, Moshos wound back and forced weak contact to retire the side. She had already stranded three runners to that point.
App State loaded the bases in the third inning courtesy of a lead-off single by Girk and walks to McClain and Barrett. Matching Moshos, List struck out two Mountaineers in the inning to leave two stranded despite seeing hard contact off the bat of Gore to end the inning.
Feeding off the momentum their defense helped gather, JMU loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning with a hit and two walks. The home plate umpire's zone tightened up in the third frame, but Moshos was still able to get a strikeout, her fifth to that point. After a walk to load the bases, Moshos fell behind 3-1 with two outs, but battled back and struck out the final batter of the inning on a nasty pitch, which drew a fist pump from the normally stoic lefty.
With the scoreboard still reading zeros after three, the Mountaineers looked for an answer to their starter's gutsy performance. They found that in the form of two walks and a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth. McIntyre led off the frame with a four-pitch walk.
Marti Henkel laid down a pretty bunt to advance Williams, who pinch-ran for McIntyre, to second and a wild pitch moved her to third. Chumbley added another runner with one out and then Girk sent a deep fly ball into center that scored Williams, making the score 1-0.
Now pitching with a lead, Moshos quickly moved through JMU in the fourth inning to maintain the advantage. She struck out her eighth and ninth hitters of the game to get there. The Mountaineers again loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning, using two walks and a single by Gore with one out. With McIntyre at the dish, the lefty put the ball in play to first base on a line. The ball was dropped by the first baseman, which allowed Hamby to score from third to put App State up 2-0 after five. It was McIntyre's fourth RBI of the series.
JMU responded with its first run of the game in the fifth inning, seeing two singles and a sac fly to get there. App State looked to answer in its half of the sixth, but despite a single by Chumbley and a walk to McClain, the Mountaineers were held scoreless. The Dukes put together one of their best scoring chances of the afternoon and threatened to take the lead late.
In her sixth inning of work, Moshos got the first two outs in rapid succession, but a 10-pitch walk drawn by a pinch-hitter and a single to left by the Duke lead-off hitter set up a pivotal showdown between Moshos and List. List worked her way ahead, but Moshos dialed up an off-speed pitch on the outer half which fooled List just enough to force a flyout to the center-field wall. The ball was caught by Girk to end the inning, preserving a tight one-run lead for the Black and Gold.
McIntyre slugged a two-out hit to mark App State's fifth hit of the game in the top of the final inning, but the story fell back to Moshos who dominated the seventh inning to help the Mountaineers clinch a series sweep of the Dukes. App State hadn't beaten JMU since the Dukes joined the Sun Belt in 2023 but swept them in convincing fashion in Harrisonburg.
Sunday Notes
Home runs
App: N/A
JMU: N/A
WP:
Sophie Moshos (9-6): 7 IP, 7 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Payton List (3-5): 4.1 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 6 walks, 3 strikeouts
Up Next
The Mountaineers will kick off a stretch of six home games in seven games next Friday. App State will first welcome the Marshall Thundering Herd to the mountain for a three-game series. All games of the three-game set will start at noon and can be streamed on ESPN+. Admission to Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is free.
