STATESBORO, Ga. – Holding a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, the App State softball team looked in good shape to claim the series over Georgia Southern with a commanding win. But the Eagles tallied four in the sixth and a run in the seventh to walk off the Mountaineers 6-5 on Sunday in Statesboro.
App State (28-19, 7-14 SBC) jumped out to a three-run lead after a half inning on the backs of a
Grace Barrett RBI single and a two-run single by
Taylor Schafer. The Mountaineers added to that lead with a solo home run in the third inning by
KB Bradshaw and reclaimed a four-run lead in the fourth inning on a
Makayla McClain single.
The Eagles (21-28, 8-13 SBC) benefited from a few key App State mistakes, as an error in the third inning allowed Georgia Southern's first run to score, and two errors in the sixth helped Georgia Southern tally four to tie the game. The Eagles tied the score with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth after a Mountaineer fielding error helped put a Georgia Southern runner in scoring position.
How it Happened
Macy Hamby got the Mountaineers' offense started with a one-out single in the top of the first.
Emilie Ching helped put Hamby in scoring position with a single of her own before Barrett found a hole in the Eagle defense in center field to plate App State's first run of the game. Schafer followed that up with a two-run single into left field, and the Mountaineers led by three before their defense even took the field.
Sophie Moshos started the contest and worked around some trouble in the bottom of the inning, stranding two hits to post a zero. Moshos again held the Eagles off the board in the second inning, and App State answered with a solo home run by Bradshaw the other way to push ahead by four through 2.5 innings of play.
Georgia Southern scored its first run of the game in the third inning, capitalizing on two walks and a hit to do so. It didn't take long for the Mountaineers to respond, however, as
Julia Girk doubled down the left-field line with two outs in the top of the fourth, and McClain scored her with a single up the middle. App State worked around trouble again in the bottom of the fourth and maintained a four-run lead into the fifth inning.
Despite a threat from App State in the fifth thanks to two singles and an error, the Eagles threw up a zero to stay within four.
Camryn Fisher worked around a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fifth, striking out her 100th batter of the season in the process, and the Mountaineers moved to the final stages of Sunday's contest with their four-run advantage intact.
App State went quietly in the top of the sixth inning, and Georgia Southern scored four runs on three hits in the sixth to tie the score at five. Looking to jump back ahead, Barrett singled into center to start a threat, but the Eagles left her on third base. App State made a pitching change to open the final inning, but Georgia Southern was ready for it and tallied three hits in a row to end the game and take the series in walk-off fashion.
Sunday Notes
Home runs
App: Bradshaw (7)
GSO: Combs (4)
WP: Alana Barnard (8-14): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
SV: N/A
LP:
Sophie Moshos (13-9): 3.2 IP, 9 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout
Up Next
App State will cap off the regular season by playing host to Texas State at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium this Thursday-Saturday in the team's home finale. Next weekend's series against the Bobcats is also App State's senior weekend, and the team will honor its six seniors after the game on Saturday. Action against Texas State is slated to start on Thursday at 6 p.m., and all three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
