BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - In the team's first of two midweek competitions of the season, the App State Mountaineers will trek to Boiling Springs, N.C., for a meeting with the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs on Wednesday. App State enters play on Wednesday having won five of its last six games after taking the series against the Marshall Thundering Herd at home last weekend, which entered the weekend tied atop the Sun Belt standings. First pitch from Brinkley Softball Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
App State and Gardner-Webb are scheduled to meet for the first time since 2019 on Wednesday. It will also be App State's first trip to Boiling Springs in just under seven years as the last time the Mountaineers and Runnin' Bulldogs met in Boiling Springs was 2018. App State owns a 10-7 edge in the all-time series with Gardner-Webb.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (15-21, 6-6 SBC) at Gardner-Webb (16-23, 1-8 Big South)
- Where: Boiling Springs, N.C. // Brinkley Softball Stadium
- When: Wednesday, April 9
Tune In
- Watch | ESPN+
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
In a high-powered offensive display by both sides, App State claimed a series win over Marshall in thrilling fashion, using a three-run sixth inning in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader to tie the score and an eighth-inning walk-off grand slam by
Marti Henkel to win the game. Between the two teams, 42 runs were scored in Saturday's doubleheader, but App State outscored the Herd by 10 runs for the series.
App State's discipline at the plate helped it to its impressive run totals as not only did the team hit six homers, it also drew 27 free passes (20 walks and seven hit-by-pitches). In Friday's run-rule win, App State needed just four hits to score nine runs while Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader saw nine Mountaineer walks. App State's 133 walks for the season is currently the third-most in the Sun Belt entering Wednesday.
Henkel's heroic grand slam helped cap off the weekend, but the Mountaineers wouldn't have been able to come back in the game without a solid pitching performance by
Ava Beamesderfer. The sophomore came into the game in the fifth inning of Game 3 and posted four scoreless innings to get the win. The Herd came into that inning having scored in each of the first four frames, but Beamesderfer held it down to help App State come back and win the game.
Leading Off
The Mountaineers' series win over Marshall last weekend marked its second consecutive series victory. App State swept James Madison to round out the month of March in Harrisonburg a week prior. App State hadn't won back-to-back Sun Belt series since taking two-of-three from ULM and Georgia Southern in consecutive weeks back in 2022.
App State won last weekend's series with one of the best offensive performances in the country as they scored 31 runs across the three games, which is good for an average of 10.33 a game. Over the team's past six games, the Mountaineers have scored 54 runs, which includes five games scoring at least eight runs (4-1 record).
Six more homers helped highlight the offensive outburst against the Herd last weekend, giving App State 13 over its last six contests. Two of the long balls were grand slams as
Macy Hamby smacked a grand slam in Game 1 of the series and Henkel clubbed a walk-off grand slam to clinch the series on Saturday. App State has hit four grand slams this season, with three of them coming at its newly constructed home.
The Mountaineers' Game 3 win over the Herd on Saturday gave them six Sun Belt wins for the season. The last time App State posted six conference wins in a season was in 2022. Head coach
Whitney Jones currently holds the second-most conference wins for an App State first-year head coach and trails only Shae Wesley on that list, who posted 15 SoCon wins in her first season in 2011.
Since the calendar flipped to Sun Belt play, the Mountaineers have found a different gear offensively. Entering Wednesday, they sit in the top five in the league in runs (fourth), home runs (third), RBIs (third), total bases (fourth), slugging percentage (third), walks (fourth) and on-base percentage in league-only play. Four of the Mountaineers' seven 10-run games this season have come in Sun Belt play, which is the most 10-run games in league play since joining the Sun Belt in 2015.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Entering play against Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, App State carries top-10 program marks in slugging percentage (.461), home runs (37), triples (7) and on-base percentage (.370). The Mountaineers' .461 slugging percentage entering Wednesday would be a program record if the season ended today and would be 27 points clear of the previous program record, which is .434.
Entering the game vs. Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, App State holds top-five conference marks in doubles, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. Entering Wednesday, the Mountaineers see four players with a top-30 slugging percentage mark in the league.
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 260 hits and 74 percent of its 188 RBIs. Entering Wednesday, underclassmen take up eight of the top 10 marks in hits and eight of the top 10 marks in RBIs.
Additionally, all but 10 of App State's 37 home runs this season have come from underclassmen (73 percent).
Leah Gore,
Grace Barrett,
Madison McIntyre, Hamby and
Taylor Chumbley have each hit at least three homers this season, which places them all in the top 38 of the Sun Belt. Gore and McIntyre have both hit seven homers this season, which is tied for the 14th-most in the league entering Wednesday. Five of App State's top six home run hitters are either freshmen or sophomores.
As of Wednesday's game vs. Gardner-Webb, the Mountaineers see four players boasting a .300 or better batting average, led by
Makayla McClain who carries a .351 batting average. McClain, Hamby, Gore and
Julia Girk each enter play on Wednesday batting .309 or higher, which places them in the top 50 of the Sun Belt. The Mountaineers have seen at least three players hit over. 300 each of the past three seasons.
McClain has been one of the best hitters in the Sun Belt Conference in league-only games as she is batting .422 with six homers and 22 RBIs. Her six homers are the second-most in the league in conference play while her 22 RBIs are the most. Over her last six games, McClain is batting 9-17 (.529 batting average) with five home runs and 16 RBIs. She has produced eight RBIs from the leadoff spot each of the past two weekends.
In addition to the productivity out of McClain, Gore has also put together a solid last two weeks at the dish as she is 12 for her last 22 (.545 batting average) and has driven in eight runs. Gore has tallied a multi-hit game in five of her last six outings, which includes a three-hit game in Game 1 of last Saturday's doubleheader against Marshall.
In the circle, App State is led by left-handed pitcher
Sophie Moshos, who was named the Mountaineers' first Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week as a member of the league on April 1. Moshos has posted a team-best 10 wins this season and has struck out 87 hitters, which are both top-10 marks in the Sun Belt. The lefty tallied a complete game to open the series against Marshall last Friday and started all three games against the Herd.
Series History
- App State vs. Gardner-Webb
- Last Meeting: March 13, 2019
- Record: 10-7
- Trends:
- This will be App State's first trip to Boiling Springs since 2018. The two teams split a doubleheader in mid-March that year
- The Mountaineers own a 10-7 advantage in the series, but they are 3-3 on the road against Gardner-Webb.
Up Next
The Mountaineers are set to return to Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium this Friday-Sunday for a three-game series with the ULM Warhawks. ULM will enter Boone in a tie for second place in the Sun Belt standings with an 8-4 record in SBC play. Additionally, it will be the Warhawks' first visit to Boone since 2021. Friday and Sunday's games are scheduled to start at noon with Saturday's first pitch coming at 2 p.m. Admission to Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is free.
