Clarksville, Tenn. – In the final tournament of the team's regular-season schedule, the App State Mountaineers trek to Clarksville, Tenn., for the Cathi Maynard Invitational this Friday-Sunday. It will mark the team's first trip to Clarksville in program history.
While at the Cathi Maynard Invitational, the Mountaineers will face the Bucknell Bison and the UMass Lowell River Hawks for the first time in program history. Additionally, the Mountaineers will play the Austin Peay Governors for the first time since 2015 on Friday.
Who: App State (7-12) vs. Bucknell (5-8) // Austin Peay (17-3) // UMass Lowell (2-10)
Where: Cathi Maynard Park // Cathi Maynard Invitational // Clarksville, Tenn.
When: Friday, March 7 – Sunday, March 9
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers posted a 4-1 showing at the Liberty Softball Invitational, downing Lehigh twice, Drexel and Georgetown. App State scored at least eight runs in three games (Lehigh, Drexel and Georgetown), which included its first 10-run game of the season against Georgetown to wrap up play.
App State saw three players tally a .500 or better on-base percentage in
Olivia Cook,
Makayla McClain and
Taylor Chumbley. McClain reached base 13 times in 17 plate appearances while Chumbley tallied a team-leading eight hits. Three players also hit home runs in Lynchburg in McClain, Chumbley and
Leah Gore. Gore hit two long balls, which led the team.
Pitching played a huge role in the Mountaineers' successful weekend as the team gave up just nine earned runs in 31.1 innings pitched.
Sejal Neas recorded the team's first complete-game shutout of the season against the Dragons while allowing just one hit and
Sophie Moshos struck out 15 hitters in two appearances. The Mountaineer staff struck out 23 hitters for the weekend.
Leading Off
App State's win over Lehigh to open play last weekend was its 500th win in program history.
McClain was named App State's first Sun Belt Player of the Week of the season on Tuesday. She became the first Mountaineer in the Whitney Jones era to be named Sun Belt Player of the Week.
Of the 20 players on App State's roster, only eight are upperclassmen (40 percent). The Mountaineers returned just 35 percent of its hits, 19 percent of its homers and 34 percent of its RBI from a season ago. So far this season, App State has seen nine underclassmen start at least five games.
The Mountaineers are set to play on the road for the fifth consecutive week when they open play in the Cathi Maynard Invitational on Friday. App State will not play a home game until March 21, meaning the team will play 27 consecutive games away from home to open the season. The last time the Mountaineers played at least 27 straight games on the road to open the season was 2007 (30 consecutive games).
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State went 4-1 last weekend at the Liberty Softball Invitational and outscored its opponents 30-15 over the five games. The Mountaineers recorded both their first run-rule victory over Drexel on March 1 and their first 10-run game against Georgetown on March 2.
The Mountaineers' coaching staff stressed discipline in the batter's box prior to the season and that has paid off through 19 games as App State has drawn 76 walks, good for the third-most in the Sun Belt. The Mountaineers have tallied three games this season with at least eight walks, which includes an 11-walk game against Miami (Ohio) on Feb. 14.
App State's core of freshmen and sophomores have thrived so far this season as underclassmen have combined to scorch 78 percent of its hits and 79 percent of its 14 home runs. App State underclassmen take up eight of the top nine marks in hitting on the team entering play in Clarksville this weekend.
The Mountaineers enter the weekend with 30 doubles through 20 games, good for the third-most in the SBC and the 61st-most in the country. App State hit 11 doubles last weekend, the most in the Sun Belt. Entering this weekend, the Mountaineers see four players in the top 20 of the league in doubles.
Speed has become a major factor in the Mountaineer offensive attack this season as they have stolen 14 bases on 15 attempts through 20 games this year. App State stole just 19 bases all of last year.
Julia Girk and McClain both sit in the top 20 in stolen bases heading into play in Clarksville.
The Mountaineer pitching staff was excellent in Lynchburg as they combined to tally a 2.01 ERA for the weekend. This was the third-best ERA in the SBC last week. Moshos was lights out across two appearances, allowing just one run in 13 innings (0.54 ERA) and striking out 15 hitters.
McClain and
Taylor Chumbley led the offense last weekend, swatting 15 hits in 27 at-bats (.556 batting average) and tallying seven extra-base hits. McClain got out just four times in 17 plate appearances and secured Sun Belt Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.
Series History
- App State vs. Bucknell
- App State vs. Austin Peay
- Record: 1-1
- Last Meeting: Feb. 28, 2015
- Trends:
- App State will make its first trip to Austin Peay this weekend to meet the Governors.
- The two teams have met twice before, with the Mountaineers claiming a 13-7 win in the last contest in 2015.
- App State vs. UMass Lowell
Up Next
Once play concludes on Sunday, App State will open Sun Belt Conference play by visiting San Marcos, Texas, for a three-game series with the Texas State Bobcats. Next weekend's road series will conclude a 27-game road trip to start the year. The series starts Friday night at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) and all three games can be streamed on ESPN+.
