BOONE, N.C. - Jockeying for position in a crowded Sun Belt Conference, the App State softball team welcomes the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to Boone to wrap up the 2025 home and regular-season schedule this Thursday-Saturday. App State and Coastal Carolina sit just one game apart in the Sun Belt standings entering this weekend's action with three games to play. All three games at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium will start at noon and can be streamed on ESPN+.
App State will honor its two seniors,
Sejal Neas and
Olivia Cook all weekend long. There will also be a Senior Day celebration to honor them after the game on Saturday.
App State and Coastal Carolina will square off for the fifth consecutive season when play opens up in Boone on Thursday. In last year's series, App State took the first game in Conway 5-2, using late-inning lightning to prevail, but the Chanticleers won the final two to claim the series. The two teams have split the previous four meetings with one another, but Coastal Carolina enters the weekend having won 23 of the 29 contests between the two programs.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (21-25, 11-10 SBC) vs. Coastal Carolina (36-15, 12-9 SBC)
- Where: Boone, N.C. // Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium
- When: Thursday, May 1 – Saturday, May 3
Tune In
- Watch: ESPN+
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
It was a record-breaking series for the Mountaineers in Hattiesburg this past weekend as the team single-season doubles record went down on Saturday and a new single-season runs scored record was set by
Makayla McClain on Sunday.
Leah Gore was responsible for breaking the single-season doubles record, which was 68 set in 2024, after sending a fifth-inning double to the right-field wall on Saturday. McClain broke the single-season runs scored record after bashing a leadoff home run on Sunday, which broke a tie with Emma Jones and Katie Boyd atop the list, who both scored 48 runs.
The Mountaineers saw five players tally at least three hits against Southern Miss in Gore, McClain,
Grace Barrett,
Madison McIntyre and
Macy Hamby. Barrett drove home two runs on an RBI single in Saturday's contest while McIntyre crushed a two-run home run in the first inning of Sunday's game, which proved to be the deciding run to help the Mountaineers win. Additionally,
Grace Taylor, who made the start in Saturday's game, stroked a double down the left-field line on Saturday, marking her first hit since March 7.
Sophie Moshos and
Bel Varadi spearheaded the Mountaineers' pitching attack at Southern Miss as the two combined to allow just six runs in 17.1 innings. Varadi, who made her first appearance in the circle since April 5 on Saturday, allowed just one run in 4.1 innings and struck out three. Moshos allowed just five hits and two runs in the series finale to post her team-leading 14th victory of the season.
Leading Off
With one win this weekend or a James Madison loss, the Mountaineers will claim a berth in the 2025 Sun Belt Tournament, something the team hasn't done since the league expanded to 12 teams before the start of the 2023 season. Additionally, App State currently sits in a tie for sixth place in the Sun Belt standings and will look to earn a top-five seed in the tournament for the first time since 2021.
Entering the weekend, App State owns an 11-10 record in Sun Belt play. The last time the Mountaineers finished their conference schedule with a record of .500 or better was 2019 when that team finished 13-13. The Mountaineers have only finished above .500 in league play five other times in program history (2019, 2013, 2011, 2009 and 2007).
App State's 3-2 victory in the series finale over Southern Miss last Sunday marked its 11th victory in league play this season. The last time the Mountaineers won at least 11 games in league play was the 2019 season when that team won 13 games. The 2025 team's 11 wins marks just the seventh time in program history that App State has posted 11 or more conference wins. If the Mountaineers post three wins this weekend, they will set the new record for Sun Belt wins in a season.
The Mountaineers' victory at Southern Miss last Sunday also marked the conclusion of the 2025 regular-season road schedule. App State tallied eight wins in hostile territory, which included two road sweeps for the first time since 2019. The Mountaineers' eight wins in true road games marked the most they have posted since also claiming eight true road wins in 2022.
McClain and McIntyre's home runs in the series finale at Southern Miss marked App State's 50th and 51st home runs of the season. With three games remaining in the 2025 regular season, App State needs just three more long balls to set the new program record for home runs in a season (53 is the current record).
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State has relied heavily on its high-powered offense this season to win games. Entering the series with the Chanticleers, the Mountaineers sit in the top five in the league in runs (fifth - 249), doubles (fourth - 69), home runs (fourth - 51), RBIs (fifth - 238), slugging percentage (fifth - .474) and walks (fourth - 167). The Mountaineers haven't finished a season in the top five in runs scored since 2022.
Since the calendar flipped to Sun Belt play, App State has taken its offense to another level as the Mountaineers enter Thursday with top-five marks in the league in batting average (fourth - .283), runs (second - 121), hits (fifth - 157), homers (second - 31), RBIs (first - 115), total bases (second - 279), slugging percentage (second - .503), on-base percentage (third - .381) and walks (second - 78).
The youth of the Mountaineers has shined bright this season as underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) have accounted for 76 percent of the team's 344 hits, 80 percent of the team's 69 doubles, 73 percent of the team's 51 homers and 74 percent of the team's 238 RBIs. Entering Thursday, underclassmen take up eight of the top 10 marks in hits, doubles and RBIs and seven of the top nine marks in home runs.
In addition to the youth, depth has played a key role in App State's success this season as all 13 players who have taken an at-bat this season have recorded a hit. Additionally,
Summer Simpson's home run against ULM on April 12 made her the ninth person to hit a home run this season. Entering Thursday, App State sees six different players with five or more home runs this season, which hasn't happened since 2022.
App State has become one of the better slugging teams in the Sun Belt Conference this season. It carries top-five conference marks in doubles (fourth), home runs (fourth) and slugging percentage (fifth). Since March 28, App State has seen its team slugging percentage rise to .474. This mark would be a program record if the season ended today and would be 40 points clear of the current program record (.434).
All offseason long, Coach Jones and her staff have stressed patience and discipline in the box. This has led to the Mountaineers drawing 167 walks and 22 hit-by-pitches this season, good for 189 free passes. App State's 167 walks are the fourth-most in the SBC entering Thursday. Since 2017, an App State team has bested the 2025 team's mark just twice (2018 - 169 and 2022 - 222). It's already more than each of the previous two seasons.
McClain, who set the program record for runs scored in a season last Sunday, has continued to lead the Mountaineer offense entering this weekend vs. Coastal Carolina. She is putting together one of the best offensive seasons in program history as she is currently in the single-season top five in home runs (T-third), RBIs (second) and slugging percentage (fourth).
In the circle, the Mountaineers boast one of the best pitchers in the Sun Belt Conference in Moshos, who sits fourth in the league in strikeouts (109), 10th in ERA (3.33), fifth in shutouts (two) and owns 14 wins. Her 14 wins this season makes her one of just five players in program history with 14 or more wins. She also sits ninth in program history for strikeouts in a season.
Series History
- App State vs. Coastal Carolina
- Last Meeting: April 14, 2024
- Record: 6-23
- Trends:
- App State took a game from Coastal Carolina in Conway last season, marking the first Mountaineer win in Conway since 2019.
- The Mountaineers and Chanticleers haven't met each other in Boone since 2023. App State is 3-6 all time against Coastal Carolina at home.
Up Next
With a win or a James Madison loss, the Mountaineers will head to Troy, Ala., for the Sun Belt Tournament, which is hosted by the Troy Trojans, once play concludes on Saturday. If App State earns a 7-10 seed, it will play on Wednesday, May 7 at either 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT) or 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT). If it earns a 1-6 seed, it will play Thursday, May 8. All games until the championship contest on May 10 will be streamed on ESPN+.
