BOONE, N.C. – In a back-and-forth contest that saw five lead changes and three ties, App State Softball posted its second consecutive walk-off win over Coastal Carolina, winning 8-7 in eight innings. The Mountaineers trailed in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings, but found a way to win in extra innings to claim the series.
There were multiple heroes in Game 2 in Boone on Saturday.
Grace Barrett tallied two hits and drove home three runs,
Makayla McClain went 3-4 and drove home two runs,
Julia Girk went 2-4 and scored two runs,
Leah Gore provided the game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning with nobody out and
Taylor Chumbley provided the walk-off hit for the second straight game with two outs in the eighth. App State (23-25, 13-10 SBC) totaled 12 hits in the game, with four players tallying multi-hit games.
In almost the exact same situation as yesterday, Chumbley stepped to bat with Barrett at second base with two outs against Nicolette Picone, the Sun Belt Conference's second-leading strikeout pitcher. The count went in favor of Picone at 1-2, but Chumbley didn't falter and sat back on a changeup and poked it into left field. This drew the wave from
Whitney Jones at third base, and Barrett dove home safely ahead of the throw. Chumbley's walk-off hit came with the same count, the same amount of outs, the same runner at second base, the same inning and the same pitcher as her walk-off hit on Thursday.
App State once again had answers for everything Coastal Carolina (36-17, 12-11 SBC) threw at it, as almost every time Coastal scored, App State scored itself in the bottom of the inning. App State trailed after the sixth inning in both Thursday's game and Friday's game, but the resilience shined bright and helped it win both times. The Mountaineers' wins on both Thursday and Friday marked their first two wins of the season when trailing after the sixth inning. It's also their third straight win in extra innings.
How it Happened
Despite seeing a two-out double and a walk put two runners on base with two outs in the top of the first, App State's starter
Sejal Neas struck out the Chanticleers' fifth hitter of the inning looking to throw up a zero. It didn't take long for App State to answer the scoreless inning as it plated a two-out run in the bottom half to take the lead.
McClain started the frame by walking on four pitches, and
Macy Hamby followed her by singling into center field. After the Chanticleers turned a double play, Barrett started her day by lashing an RBI hit into right field that scored McClain. Coastal Carolina ended the inning by snagging a lineout, but App State led by one after an inning.
Neas responded to her offense by posting a scoreless top of the second inning, and the Mountaineers again scored in the bottom half using two hits to do so. Chumbley led off the inning by smacking a single into center field. She advanced on a wild pitch before
Summer Simpson walked to put two on for McClain. Getting ahead in the count, the Mountaineers' hot-hitting leadoff hitter sent a high chopper up the middle that scored Chumbley from second, making the score 2-0. App State couldn't score any more runs, but it led by a pair of runs through two.
Coastal Carolina plated its first run in the top of the third to trim the App State lead down to one. App State saw
Madison McIntyre walk in its half of the third, but the Chanticleers held serve to keep it a one-run game.
The Chanticleers took their first lead of the game courtesy of a two-run home run with two outs, putting them on top 3-2. Needing an answer, the Mountaineers turned to the bottom of their order in the bottom of the fourth and found a rally to take the lead right back.
Julia Girk led off the frame by doubling into center field, and Simpson reached base on a perfect bunt to put runners on the corners. Coastal Carolina made a pitching change, and on the first pitch, Simpson took off for second and drew a throw from the catcher, which allowed Girk to score from third to tie the game. App State then loaded the bases with one out thanks to a fielder's choice and a walk to Gore, and Barrett drove home her second run of the game with a groundout, putting App State on top by a run after four.
Answering back, Coastal Carolina hit another two-out, two-run home run to take the lead. The Mountaineers went quietly in the bottom of the fifth, but
Sophie Moshos, who entered the game in relief in the top of the fifth, kept Coastal Carolina off the board, keeping the score a one-run game into the bottom of the sixth frame.
App State needed to respond and needed to do it fast. With the top of its order coming up, App State found that response by scoring a sixth-inning run to tie the game. After the Chanticleers sat down the first hitter, McClain doubled into left field, putting a runner in scoring position with one out. After a lineout, Gore walked to put two on, and
Grace Barrett singled up the middle to bring home McClain from second. Once again, the score was tied.
A walk, a double and a sacrifice fly put the Chanticleers back on top in the top of the seventh inning, marking the third time they had led in the game. In almost the exact same situation, App State saw the first two hitters go down in order down one in the bottom of the seventh, but found lightning against Picone.
A two-out single by Girk kept the game going, and Simpson walked to put two on for McClain. As she has done all season long, McClain delivered a single up the middle, and Girk scored to tie the game at six. Coastal Carolina got the last out, but for the second straight game, App State and Coastal Carolina needed extra innings to be decided.
Coastal tallied three straight hits and a sacrifice fly to reclaim the lead in the top half of the eighth, but Moshos did well to limit the damage to one run after forcing a popout and a flyout to keep two stranded.
Needing another run to extend the game, Gore jumped all over a 2-1 pitch from Picone and blasted an opposite-field home run into the visitor's bullpen to tie the game at seven. Still frazzled after the homer, Barrett walked on four pitches, putting the winning run at first base. Coastal recorded the first out, but a groundout by
Marti Henkel put Barrett at second with two away for Chumbley. Squaring off with the winning run at second once again, Chumbley took a 1-2 pitch from Picone and swatted it down the line past the third baseman, and Barrett scored from second.
App State had won the game in walk-off fashion for the second straight day. The win was App State's 13th Sun Belt win of the year, tying the record for the most Sun Belt wins in a season, which was 13 set by the 2019 team.
Friday Notes
Home runs
App: Gore (9)
CCU: Keith (19), McDonald (1)
WP:
Sophie Moshos (16-8): 3.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, 0 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Nicolette Picone (23-9): 4.2 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts
Up Next
App State will look to sweep its third series of the season on Saturday when the Mountaineers and Chanticleers square off for the series and regular-season finale. First pitch from Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is slated for noon, and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
