HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A pair of home runs in the top of the first inning by
Makayla McClain and
Madison McIntyre were all the App State softball team needed to close out its road schedule with a 3-2 win against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Sunday. Left-handed pitcher
Sophie Moshos was brilliant in the circle, making the support she got before even throwing a pitch stand up with a complete game.
App State's (21-25, 11-10 SBC) Sunday victory over Southern Miss (23-25, 10-10 SBC) marked its eighth win in a true road game this season, the most true road wins for the Mountaineers since also tallying eight in 2022. The Mountaineers finished their road schedule with an 8-11 record, with the 11 road losses being the fewest since 2021.
After breaking the program record for doubles in a season on Saturday, another program record went down on Sunday as McClain's leadoff homer marked her 49th run scored of the season. Her run broke a tie with Emma Jones (2022) and Katie Boyd (2011) at 48. McClain's home run was also her 13th of the season, making her one of four players in program history to hit at least 13 home runs in a single season.
In addition to McClain's record-breaking day, McIntyre's two-out, two-run home run in the top of the first marked the Mountaineers' 51st of the season as a team, putting them two away from tying the program record of 53 set in 2022. 31 of the Mountaineers' 51 homers this season have come against Sun Belt opponents, marking the first time App State has hit 30 or more homers in Sun Belt play as a member of the league.
How it Happened
It only took four pitches for the Mountaineers to strike first in the series finale as McClain connected on a pitch and sent a long home run well over the bleachers in left field to make the score 1-0. It was the third time this season that McClain has led off a game with a homer.
Macy Hamby followed the home run by shooting a single into left field, putting another runner on first with no outs.
Southern Miss recorded two outs from the next two batters, but McIntyre made sure to keep the pedal to the floor as she took an 0-2 pitch deep over the right-field wall for her ninth home run of the year.
Marti Henkel walked to bring a seventh Mountaineer to the plate in the inning, but a strikeout limited the damage.
Making her team-leading 24th start of the season, which is also the 10th-most starts in a season in App State history, Moshos allowed a leadoff single but forced a popup on a hit-and-run situation with nobody out, which led to a double play. The lefty retired the next hitter to post a clean inning, keeping App State in front after one.
The Mountaineers went quietly in the second inning, and Southern Miss loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom half despite not recording a hit to do so. Seeing their best scoring chance of the game, the Golden Eagles plated a run on an infield hit to make the score 3-1 with one out, but Moshos forced a popout and a flyout to limit the damage. Southern Miss never had a better chance to score in the game.
Both teams went down in order in both the third and fourth innings as Moshos and Golden Eagle starter Kayla Giardina dialed it in after shaky starts. Moshos' fourth-inning flyout marked the eighth hitter she had sat down in the last nine hitters. Southern Miss saw two batters reach base in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Moshos again showed her tenacity and forced a weak popout to end the threat.
App State's first hit since McIntyre's home run in the first inning dropped with two outs in the sixth frame off the bat of
Grace Barrett, but Southern Miss kept her at first base. Moshos continued her brilliant outing by striking out the Golden Eagles' cleanup hitter to lead off the bottom half, her second of the game, and retiring the next two batters on two pitches.
Although
Marti Henkel drew a walk to start the final inning, the Mountaineers couldn't add any runs, which sent action to the home half of the seventh with App State clinging to a two-run lead. Looking to close out a dominant performance, Moshos forced weak contact to the first two batters, resulting in outs, but an infield hit by the ninth hitter turned the lineup over with two outs.
As she had done all series, Hannah Christian, the Golden Eagles' leadoff hitter, burnt App State by sending an RBI triple down the right-field line to make it 3-2. Seeing the tying run suddenly appear at third base, App State met in the circle to discuss strategy. This meeting proved effective as Moshos forced a weak groundout to second to end the game, sealing a 3-2 win in the Mountaineers' road finale.
Sunday Notes
Home runs
App: McClain (13), McIntyre (9)
USM: N/A
WP:
Sophie Moshos (14-8): 7 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Kayla Giardina (7-5): 7 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Up Next
The Mountaineers will wrap up the regular season by welcoming the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to Boone for a three-game series this Thursday-Saturday. The Mountaineers will honor their two seniors after the game on Saturday. All games at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium are slated to start at noon. Admission is free.
