BOONE, N.C. – Facing a seven-run deficit entering the bottom of the fourth inning, the App State softball team scored eight unanswered runs against Georgia State to claim a walk-off 8-7 victory on Sunday at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. The Mountaineers tied the score at seven apiece thanks to a long three-run home run by
Makayla McClain in the seventh inning, and won after McClain scampered home from second on an infield hit by
Grace Barrett with two outs in the ninth inning.
McClain's game-tying three-run home run came after
KB Bradshaw and
Julia Girk reached base with walks to lead off the final inning. Georgia State (20-17, 2-7 SBC) decided to go back to their starter, Makayla Stephens, who had struck out McClain twice in the game, but the move proved wrong as McClain blasted the second pitch she saw off the scoreboard. McClain sat back and admired her work before circling the bases for the tying run.
In addition to tying the score, McClain's home run set App State's single-season home run record, which was previously 58 set in 2025. App State needed three home runs entering the game to break the record and got that after
Macy Hamby and
Madison Fletcher preceded McClain's seventh-inning homer with long balls. App State has now set its single-season home run record in two consecutive seasons.
Georgia State scored all seven of its runs in the first two innings, but App State (23-10, 4-5 SBC) remained within striking distance thanks to 7.1 scoreless innings of relief from
Sophie Moshos. The lefty struck out four batters and allowed four hits in her heroic effort, as she bounced back in a big way from a rough outing in the series opener.
How it Happened
The Panthers used three first-inning hits to score two runs, which allowed them to take an early lead. Hamby started App State's offense with a single to left field in the bottom of the inning, but a double play ended the threat. Georgia State responded by tallying five runs, all with two outs, to pull ahead by seven runs in just two at-bats.
Moshos posted App State's first clean inning in the third, but App State's offense struggled to put anything together in the early stages of the game, as Georgia State posted a scoreless third inning. Moshos sat down the Panthers in order in the fourth inning, and Hamby put the Mountaineers on the board with a solo home run to left field that made the score 7-1 through four frames.
App State tallied another zero on defense in the fifth as Moshos worked around a walk and a single to leave two runners stranded in scoring position. The Mountaineers closed their gap even further in the bottom of the frame thanks to a two-run home run by Fletcher and an RBI single by Hamby, which was her third hit of the contest. Moshos again kept Georgia State off the board in the sixth inning, but App State couldn't score a
Taylor Schafer lead-off single, which moved action to the seventh inning with Georgia State on top by three.
The Mountaineers' defense again put up a zero in the top of the seventh, which sent the bats back to the dugout needing three runs to force extras. Bradshaw led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch, and Girk walked to put two runners on. After Georgia State went back to its starter, McClain wasted no time and launched the game-tying home run high off the scoreboard in left-center field. The Panthers kept the score tied, however, and this game needed extras to be decided.
Both sides went quietly in their first extra-inning at-bat, but Moshos kept the score tied in the top of the ninth with her fourth strikeout of the game. Looking to walk it off, Georgia State started the home ninth with a strikeout, but McClain worked a one-out walk to put the winning run on second. After a wild pitch advanced McClain to second, Barrett poked a ball that got past the pitcher to the shortstop behind second base. McClain never stopped running, rounding third and diving headfirst into home to cap off a remarkable comeback. The entire App State team mobbed both players at home plate, as the Mountaineers claimed their first Sun Belt series win of the season.
Sunday Notes
Home runs
App: Hamby (3), Fletcher (6), McClain (17)
GSU: Hatcher (5)
WP:
Sophie Moshos (10-5): 7.1 IP, 4 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Makayla Stephens (13-8): 6.2 IP, 7 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts
Up Next
App State will now hit the road to take on the current Sun Belt leader, Marshall, in Huntington, W. Va., next Thursday-Saturday. First pitch against the Thundering Herd is slated for 6 p.m. on Thursday, and all three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
