BOONE, N.C. – Opening up a four-game homestand, the App State softball team is set to play its final midweek contest of the season against N.C. Central on Wednesday at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. App State will then host the James Madison Dukes this weekend in its penultimate Sun Belt home series. First pitch in Boone on Wednesday is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (24-16, 4-11 SBC) vs. N.C. Central (7-32, 5-10 MEAC)
- Where: Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium // Boone, N.C.
- When: Wednesday, April 15
Tune In
- Watch | ESPN+
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
In the Mountaineers' furthest trip south of the regular season, the ULM Warhawks kept a potent App State offense to just one run across three games in a series sweep at the ULM Softball Complex. The Warhawks scored two runs in each game, but it was enough to take all three games as their pitching was rock solid all weekend long.
Despite not taking a game, App State's pitching was also superb, as it allowed just four earned runs across the three games in Monroe.
Sophie Moshos led the way in the circle, hurling a team-best 13.2 innings and allowing just three runs while striking out four. Additionally,
Bel Varadi pitched well in her first career start on April 11, tossing five innings without giving up an earned run.
Grace Barrett and
Julia Girk paced App State's offense against ULM, as both recorded two hits. Barrett delivered the Mountaineers' lone home run of the weekend in the first inning on April 12, her fourth of the season.
Leading Off
Wednesday's contest against N.C. Central will mark App State's 11th and final game this season against an in-state opponent. Entering Wednesday, App State is 8-2 against teams from North Carolina this season, with its only losses coming against UNCG (Feb. 14) and North Carolina (Feb. 20).
Entering App State's final regular-season midweek game vs. N.C. Central on Wednesday, the Mountaineers have won each of their last 13 midweek games. App State has posted three midweek wins this season, defeating Charleston on March 10, Charleston Southern on March 11 and Gardner-Webb on April 7. App State will look to finish its regular-season midweek slate with a perfect record for the second consecutive season (finished 1-0 last year).
The Mountaineers' Wednesday home game will mark the start of a four-game homestand, App State's second-longest of the season. App State enters this home contest with an 8-3 record at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium and has won three home games in a row, dating back to March 28. The Mountaineers' eight victories at home this season mark their most since tallying 11 in the 2022 season.
App State's offense has been superb on its home field this season, as it has posted at least seven runs in all but two of its 11 home games this season. In fact, App State has posted a run-rule victory in seven of its eight home wins this season. The Mountaineers enter Wednesday's contest averaging 11.3 runs per game at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
A win on Wednesday over N.C. Central would mark the Mountaineers' 25th win of the season, which is something an App State team hasn't done since 2022 (29 wins). It would be the Mountaineers' ninth 25-win season in program history.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Entering Wednesday's contest vs. the Eagles, App State ranks 71st in the NCAA RPI rankings as of April 13. App State currently owns the seventh-highest RPI in the Sun Belt Conference, which would mark App State's best RPI finish among Sun Belt Conference teams ever.
App State boasts nine top-50 ranks nationally entering Wednesday. Among these rankings, App State stands in the top 50 in the country in slugging percentage (35th - .550), scoring offense (24th – 7.28), RBIs (29th - 264) and walks (31st – 172).
The long ball has played an integral role in App State's offense, as the Mountaineers rank 18th nationally in home runs (65) and 16th in home runs per game (1.63) entering Wednesday. The Mountaineers' 65 home runs are the third-most in the Sun Belt entering Wednesday, and make them one of 30 teams nationally with 60 or more home runs.
App State's offense has been among the best in the Sun Belt, as it enters Wednesday with the most runs in the league (291). The Mountaineers have scored 10 or more runs 13 times this season, which leads the Sun Belt Conference. The last time the Mountaineers reached double-digit 10-run games in a season was in 2024 (totaled 10 10-run games that season).
Through 40 games this season, it's become clear that the Mountaineers boast two of the top freshmen in the Sun Belt Conference.
Taylor Schafer enters the weekend as the Sun Belt's leader among freshmen in both home runs (10) and RBIs (38). These marks also rank among the top 15 in the NCAA among freshmen. In the circle, freshman
Camryn Fisher has become one of the top pitchers in the Sun Belt, as she stands fourth in the league in wins (13) and fifth in strikeouts (92).
App State's batch of nine newcomers has stepped up to the challenge so far this season, as newcomers have combined to scorch 117 hits and have hit 30 home runs. Entering Wednesday, three of App State's top four home-run hitters are newcomers in Schafer (second),
Emilie Ching (third) and
Madison Fletcher (fourth).
Makayla McClain and Barrett lead App State's offensive attack, as the two have combined for 97 hits, 22 home runs, 85 RBIs and 18 doubles. McClain sits in the top five of the Sun Belt Conference in all three triple crown categories (batting average, home runs and RBIs), while Barrett has totaled 24 RBIs over her last 18 games and sits third in the Sun Belt in that category with 41.
Series History
- App State vs. N.C. Central
- Record: 14-1
- Last Meeting: Feb. 28, 2026
- Trends
- The Mountaineers and Eagles will square off for the third time this season, after meeting twice at the Tennessee Invitational in February.
- App State has won each of the previous 12 contests against N.C. Central.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will continue their four-game homestand with a weekend set against James Madison at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. Action against the Dukes is slated to start at 6 p.m. on Friday. Admission to all three games is free.
