BOONE, N.C. – The App State Softball team capped off the Mountaineer Classic, the team's first home tournament in program history, with two wins over Queens on Sunday to sweep the team's home-opening weekend. App State posted an 11-3 win in five innings to open the day, before capping off the day with an 11-3 win in six innings.
As it had done weekend long, App State (17-5) started the day strong with eight runs in the first two innings of Game 1.
Taylor Schafer cracked a first-inning home run just four batters into the game to put App State on top before her grand slam in the second broke the game wide open. Schafer provided the home crowd with several highlights as she tallied four home runs for the weekend, which included two grand slams.
In Game 2, the Mountaineers again jumped ahead again with a four-run first inning courtesy of back-to-back-to-back home runs from Schafer,
Emilie Ching and
Leah Gore. The Mountaineers hit four home runs in Game 2 against Queens (5-12), with
Makayla McClain becoming the first Mountaineer to hit double-digit homers after she swatted a long home run in the sixth inning.
Sophie Moshos, who punched out a season-best eight hitters in her first start of the weekend against Furman on Saturday, struck out the 500th batter of her career in the second inning with one out. The left-handed pitcher from Brazil, Ind. Went the distance against the Royals to post her eighth win of the season, while striking out two hitters in her outing.
App State dominated all facets of the game this weekend, as it outscored its opponents 47-7 during the Mountaineer Classic, with all four of its wins coming via run rule. The Mountaineers slugged 10 home runs across the four games and tallied 10 or more hits in three of the four games. App State scored 10 or more runs in each game of the Mountaineer Classic.
How it Happened
App State 11, Queens 3 (5 Innings)
Despite seeing some traffic to open the game,
Camryn Fisher used a strikeout and a groundout to send App State's offense straight to bat, looking to open the game with a bang. It did just that as
Grace Barrett walked with two outs to put a runner on, and Schafer deposited a long home run into center field to give App State its first lead of the doubleheader. The Royals struck for a run in the second inning to pull within one, but App State responded with six runs in the second to jump ahead by seven runs through two innings.
Gore started the frame with a single, and
Madison Fletcher immediately drove her in with an RBI double. After two outs were recorded, McClain singled up the middle, and
Macy Hamby and Barrett both reached base to load the bags for Schafer. As she did on Friday, Schafer unloaded on a 2-1 pitch for a grand slam to right-center field to make the score 8-1 in favor of the Mountaineers.
Queens got out of the inning and scored in the top of the third to draw back within six runs. App State couldn't respond despite seeing a
Julia Girk single in the bottom half, but Fisher posted a 1-2-3 fourth frame to keep the Mountaineers' lead at six as play entered the bottom of the fourth.
The Mountaineers jumped into double digits for the third straight game with three runs in the fourth inning. Schafer tallied her third hit of the game to lead off the inning, and after two outs, Fletcher drove home
Dakota Daniel, who pinch-ran for Schafer, with an RBI single to make the score 9-2. App State then used an error and a passed ball to score two more runs to extend its lead up to nine through four complete innings.
Needing just three more outs to close out another win, Queens tallied a two-out run after recording a walk, a double and a single, but Fisher slammed the door closed with a foul out to end the game in run-rule fashion.
Game 1 Notes
Home runs
App: Schafer 2 (7)
QU: Cantoni (1)
WP:
Camryn Fisher (9-3): 5 IP, 8 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Addison Kluck (3-4): 1.2 IP, 5 hits, 8 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
App State 11, Queens 3 (6 Innings)
Moshos came into her eighth start of the season and shut down the Royals in the first inning. App State immediately answered with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. McClain, who posted four hits in the second game of the doubleheader, started the game with a single, and Schafer hit her third home run of the day with two outs to put App State on the board.
Not done yet, App State poured it on and went back-to-back-to-back as Ching and Gore each smacked solo home runs to make the score 4-0 and force a pitching change. Queens got out of the inning, but wasn't able to score in the second thanks to another shut-down inning from Moshos, which included her 500th career strikeout.
Queens held App State scoreless in the second, and then scored two runs on three hits in the third frame to pull within two. But as it has done all season, the Mountaineers responded with four runs in the third to jump ahead by six after the third. Gore and McClain each brought home runs in the inning, while
KB Bradshaw scored on a wild pitch to cap off the frame.
Dueling zeros from either side in the fourth frame quickly sent action to the fifth inning, where Queens tallied its third and final run on a home run. App State went scoreless in the bottom of the inning, but Moshos remained calm and kept the Royals off the board in the sixth to keep App State's advantage at five as play entered the bottom of the sixth.
McClain led off the final inning with an emphatic home run off the scoreboard in left-center field to push the Mountaineers' advantage up to six. Needing two runs to end the game early, Hamby singled to follow up the McClain homer, and Schafer and Ching reached base to load the bases for Gore. Gore drew a bases-loaded walk to plate App State's 10th run of the game before Fletcher put the ball in play to score Daniel from third to end the game in walk-off fashion. The win was App State's 17th of the year and its eighth victory via run rule.
Game 2 Notes
Home runs
App: Schafer (8), Ching (5), Gore (2), McClain (10)
QU: Farmer (1), Thornton (4)
WP:
Sophie Moshos (8-2): 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Lindsay Henson (1-2): 0.2 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
Up Next
App State will hit the road again for back-to-back midweek contests in Charleston, S.C., against College of Charleston (Tuesday) and Charleston Southern (Wednesday) before opening up Sun Belt play on Friday at Coastal Carolina. Both of App State's midweeks in Charleston will start at 5 p.m. Tuesday's contest will be broadcast on FloCollege, and Wednesday's game will air on ESPN+.
