ATLANTA - Entering the final three weeks of the season, the App State softball team is slated to hit the road for the second-to-last time this season this weekend, taking a trip to Atlanta for a Sun Belt series with Georgia State. It will be the second consecutive season that Georgia State will host the Mountaineers. Thursday and Friday's game are slated to start at 6 p.m. while Saturday's game will kick off at 1 p.m. All three games can be streamed on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers enter the weekend against Georgia State having won five of the last six games in the series, which includes a series sweep in Atlanta last year. Over the past six games between the Mountaineers and Panthers, App State has scored 8.6 runs a game. App State has also won four of the last six games played in Atlanta against the Panthers.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (17-23, 7-8 SBC) at Georgia State (11-33, 2-13 SBC)
- Where: Atlanta, Ga. // Bob Heck Softball Complex
- When: Thursday, April 17 – Saturday, April 19
Tune In
- Watch: ESPN+
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
App State took one of three from the ULM Warhawks at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium this past weekend, taking the opener before falling in the final two contests. App State had the game-tying run standing at second base in the seventh inning of the finale, but the Warhawks turned a game-ending double play to claim the series victory in a tight battle.
Grace Barrett and
Taylor Chumbley led the Mountaineer bats against the Warhawks as the two combined for 11 hits in 16 at-bats, while also tallying a home run, two doubles and five RBIs. Chumbley hit App State's fifth grand slam of the season in the series opener last Friday and Barrett posted a three-hit game in the finale. Additionally,
Summer Simpson and
Leah Gore both homered, with Simpson hitting her first career home run last Saturday and Gore homering in the first inning last Sunday.
Sophie Moshos posted another stellar weekend in the circle for the Mountaineers as she hurled 14 innings and allowed just four earned runs, which is good for a 2.00 ERA. Moshos' prowess at working around traffic on the basepaths helped her post the low ERA as ULM hitters hit just 6-for-30 with runners on base against her. Her win last Friday was her 12th of the season, putting her in a tie for the seventh-most wins in a season by a Mountaineer pitcher.
Leading Off
App State's series-opening 8-4 victory over ULM last Friday marked the team's seventh Sun Belt win of the season. That win broke a tie for second place for head coach
Whitney Jones for the most conference wins posted by an App State first-year head coach. She trails only Shae Wesley on that list, who posted 15 SoCon wins in her first season in 2011.
The Mountaineers enter play with one of the hottest offenses in the country as over their last 10 games, they have scored 74 runs. Since March 22, the Mountaineers have recorded four games scoring 10 or more runs, with all of them coming against Sun Belt opponents. The four 10-run games against SBC opponents are the most in a season since App State joined the league in 2015.
Entering play on Thursday in Atlanta, App State has hit at least one home run in seven straight games. The last time the Mountaineers homered in at least seven consecutive games was from March 30 to April 12, 2022, when App State hit at least one homer in nine straight games. App State has hit 24 homers in its last 12 games, which is good for an average of two per game, and sits fourth in the SBC in that category entering Thursday.
The Mountaineers posted back-to-back Sun Belt series wins over James Madison (March 28-30) and Marshall (April 4-5). It was the first time in just over three years that App State has won back-to-back series against Sun Belt opponents. The Mountaineers beat ULM and Georgia Southern in back-to-back weeks back in 2022.
Chumbley hit App State's fifth grand slam of the season last Friday. All five of the Mountaineers' grand slams have come by different players (Barrett, Gore,
Macy Hamby and
Marti Henkel). App State's five grand slams are tied for the ninth-most nationally entering Thursday.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Since the calendar flipped to Sun Belt play, App State has been one of the better offensive teams in the league as it is in the top five in batting average (fourth - .289), runs scored (third - 90), hits (fifth - 112), home runs (third - 23), RBIs (second - 85), slugging percentage (third - .509), on-base percentage (fifth - .387) and walks (fourth - 54). Junior infielder
Makayla McClain has been one of the hottest individual hitters in the league in SBC play, as she is in the top 10 in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, runs, hits, RBIs and home runs.
Overall, App State has been one of the best extra-base hitting teams in the Sun Belt this season as it enters Thursday with top-five marks in homers (fourth) and slugging percentage (fifth). Head coach
Whitney Jones came to the High Country with a hitting pedigree as across stints at UCF and Ohio State the last three years, her teams posted top-five conference marks in homers-per-game, triples-per-game and slugging percentage.
Entering play against Georgia State on Thursday, App State carries top-10 program marks in slugging percentage (.471), home runs (43), triples (8) and on-base percentage (.373). As of Thursday, the 2025 App State team currently holds the top spot in program history in two different categories (slugging percentage and on-base percentage). App State's .471 team slugging percentage is currently 37 points clear of the previous program record (.434).
App State's depth has been a bright spot this season as entering Thursday, all 13 of the Mountaineers' hitters who have taken an at-bat this year have recorded at least one hit. Simpson's third-inning home run last Saturday against ULM made her the ninth different player to hit a homer this season. Of the Mountaineers' most-used starting lineup this season, every player has hit at least one home run.
Although App State boasts a young team - 58 percent are underclassmen - the young core of freshmen and sophomores have thrived so far this season as underclassmen have accounted for 76 percent of the team's 299 hits, 75 percent of its 208 RBIs and 74 percent of its 43 homers. Entering Thursday, underclassmen take up eight of the top 10 marks in hits, eight of the top 10 marks in RBIs and seven of the top nine marks in home runs.
Moshos has been the workhorse in the circle for the Mountaineers this season as she boasts the ninth-best ERA in the Sun Belt entering Thursday. The last time a Mountaineer carried a top-10 ERA through a whole season was Kenzie Longanecker, who pitched to the ninth-best ERA in the league in 2021. Moshos is also in the top 10 in the league in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched and starts.
Entering the Sun Belt series vs. Georgia State, Barrett sits just four hits away from 100 for her career. If she gets there this season, she would become the second Mountaineer to achieve the feat in 2025 (McClain on March 8).
Series History
- App State vs. Georgia State
- Last Meeting: March 17, 2024
- Record: 12-14
- Trends:
- Entering Thursday, App State has beaten Georgia State in five of the last six contests.
- In Barrett's first Sun Belt series as a freshman against the Panthers last year, she posted a six-hit, nine-RBI series in Atlanta, which led to her being named Sun Belt Player of the Week.
Up Next
Once play concludes on Saturday in Atlanta, the Mountaineers will return home for their second and final midweek competition of the season, hosting the North Carolina Central Eagles at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium on Tuesday, April 22. It will be the first game of a four-game week for App State. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Admission to Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is free.
