KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite holding a one-run lead through the first four innings against No. 1 Tennessee after a
Makayla McClain lead-off home run, the App State softball team couldn't quite pull off the upset as the Volunteers rallied for six in the fifth inning to take the lead before claiming a 9-1 win. This capped off a doubleheader split for the Mountaineers, as they took down the North Carolina Central Eagles, 9-0, in five innings to open the day.
Along with her lead-off home run against the top-ranked Volunteers (15-0), McClain drove home four runs on Friday, which included a three-RBI game against N.C. Central (1-14). McClain's home run against Tennessee's Erin Nuwer was the first run that she has allowed all season. Additionally,
Julia Girk posted a near-perfect day at the dish with three hits in four at-bats and two runs scored across the doubleheader.
Although she took the loss against the Volunteers, freshman pitcher
Camryn Fisher pitched very well in her start for App State (12-3) in game two. Fisher held an offense that came into the contest averaging just over eight runs a game, scoreless through four innings. Fisher struck out four batters and didn't allow an earned run in the game.
App State's staff pitched well as a whole on Friday, as
Sophie Moshos kicked off the doubleheader with a complete-game shutout against N.C. Central in five innings. Moshos allowed just two hits and two baserunners in the game. The Mountaineers' pitchers allowed just three earned runs for the day.
How it Happened
App State 9, N.C. Central 0 (5 Innings)
It wasn't the fastest of starts for either team to open the doubleheader as both App State and N.C. Central were held scoreless in the first inning. The Eagles were able to retire the Mountaineers in order in the top of the second and recorded the game's first hit in the bottom of the inning, but Moshos induced a flyout and a strikeout to end the inning.
The Mountaineers opened the scoring quickly in the third inning thanks to a lead-off triple by Girk and an RBI groundout from McClain. Following the RBI,
Grace Barrett singled into left field, and
Madison Fletcher doubled her home, which immediately gave App State a 2-0 lead as play entered the bottom of the third inning.
Moshos sat down N.C. Central in order in the third inning, and App State broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning to take a 7-0 lead.
Emilie Ching started the inning with a single before back-to-back singles by
Marti Henkel and Girk loaded the bases with one out for McClain. Facing an 0-2 count, the Liberty, N.C., native smashed a double off the center-field wall that scored all three runners to make the score 5-0 with one out in the fourth.
McClain scored easily on a wild pitch to plate App State's sixth run, but the Mountaineers still weren't done as Barrett and
Taylor Schafer reached to put runners on the corners for Fletcher. Fletcher produced a fly ball into right that was caught, but it was plenty deep enough to score Barrett from third, which pushed App State's lead to seven.
App State worked around a lead-off N.C. Central single in the fourth inning to keep its lead, before scoring two more runs in the fifth to take a 9-0 advantage. Needing just three more outs to finish what she started, Moshos used just six pitches to get out of the fifth, which secured App State's 12th win of the season.
Game 1 Notes
Home runs
App: N/A
NCCU: N/A
WP:
Sophie Moshos (5-1): 5 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Simone Mack (0-5): 3.1 IP, 7 hits (6 runs), 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
App State 1, No. 1 Tennessee 9 (6 Innings)
Facing a 3-2 count against a pitcher who hadn't allowed an earned run all season, McClain started App State's offense with a bang by cranking a deep home run over the left-field wall to plate the game's first run. This marked just the second time all season that Tennessee had trailed in a game (trailed No. 11 Nebraska on Feb. 13).
Seeing her offense generate run support for her, Fisher came out and retired the Volunteers in order in the bottom of the inning, and App State led by one through one. App State couldn't add on in the second despite seeing a walk to Ching, but Fisher helped keep Tennessee off the scoreboard by working around a double and a walk to keep App State's lead intact.
Both sides went quietly in the third inning, but the Mountaineers generated a scoring chance in the fourth. Schafer led off the inning with a single and Ching reached base on a fielding error to put two runners on with two outs. But a groundout ended the threat and kept the Mountaineers' lead to just one through 4.5 innings.
After Fisher tallied a scoreless fourth inning, Tennessee answered with a zero in its half of the fifth. Then, the Volunteers found their offense and scored six runs to take the lead. Tennessee capitalized on two errors and three walks to post a big inning. The Mountaineers couldn't answer in the sixth inning despite seeing a lead-off double by Barrett, and Tennessee responded with three runs to end the game early, which clinched its 15th win of the season.
Game 2 Notes
Home runs
App: McClain (8)
TENN: N/A
WP: Erin Nuwer (7-0): 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP:
Camryn Fisher (7-1): 4.2 IP, 2 hits, 5 runs (0 earned runs), 5 walks, 4 strikeouts
Up Next
App State will continue play at the Tennessee Invitational on Saturday with another doubleheader, this time against N.C. Central and No. 23 Penn State. Saturday's doubleheader will start with a 10 a.m. first pitch against the Eagles. Both contests can be followed along via Live Stats.
