BOONE, N.C. – Capping off its regular-season schedule, the App State softball team is slated to host the Texas State Bobcats in what will be the Bobcats' final Sun Belt series as a member of the league (they will join the Pac-12 next season). The Mountaineers enter this weekend with a one-game lead over Coastal Carolina for the final spot in the 10-team Sun Belt Tournament, which will be played next week in Lafayette, La. Action against the Bobcats is slated to start at 6 p.m. on Thursday, and all three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (28-19, 7-14 SBC) vs. Texas State (34-18, 14-7 SBC)
- Where: Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium // Boone, N.C.
- When: Thursday, April 30 - Saturday, May 2
Tune In
- Watch | ESPN+ (All Games)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com (All Games)
Last Time Out
In its final road trip of the regular season, App State claimed the first game against Georgia Southern with a late-inning home run, but fell in the next two contests by one run, which gave the Eagles a series win on their home field. App State led in both of the final two games against Georgia Southern, but couldn't secure the wins.
KB Bradshaw led App State's offense in Statesboro with four hits in eight at-bats, which included a solo home run in the series finale.
Emilie Ching also blasted a home run, a game-tying shot in the second inning of the series opener, while
Leah Gore went back-to-back with Ching in the second inning with a line-drive shot.
Macy Hamby provided the heroics in the series-opening win with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.
App State got off to fast starts in each of the last two contests in Statesboro, as it scored a combined five runs in the first inning of the last two games.
Grace Barrett and
Taylor Schafer provided first-inning RBIs in Sunday's contest, and Hamby and Bradshaw cashed in run-scoring hits in the first inning on Saturday. Nine of the Mountaineers' 14 total runs last weekend came in the first two innings of the game.
Leading Off
App State enters this weekend's series with a one-game advantage over Coastal Carolina for the final spot in the Sun Belt Tournament. If the Mountaineers want to clinch their spot, they will need to win as many or more games as Coastal does this weekend.
If App State can fend off Coastal Carolina and secure the final spot in the tournament, it would mark the first time since the league expanded to 12 teams that App State has made the Sun Belt Tournament in back-to-back seasons. The last time App State made the tournament in back-to-back seasons was from 2021-22, when the league consisted of 10 teams.
Along with fighting for a Sun Belt Tournament berth, App State will celebrate its six seniors all weekend long, with a senior day celebration set for after Saturday's 1 p.m. game. App State will honor
Makayla McClain,
Sophie Moshos,
Dakota Daniel,
Marti Henkel,
Summer Simpson and
Ambry Lucas.
This weekend's series will conclude the Mountaineers' home schedule. App State enters this weekend's series with an 11-4 record at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium and has won six of its last seven home games dating back to March 28. With a win this weekend, App State will own the most home wins in a season since posting an unbeaten 18-0 record at home in 2013.
App State enters this weekend's series with 28 victories, meaning it needs just two more wins to post its third 30-win season in program history and first since 2019. App State sits just three victories away from matching its program record for wins (31) and four away from surpassing that mark.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Entering this weekend's series vs. the Bobcats, App State ranks 80th in the NCAA RPI rankings as of April 29. App State currently owns the eighth-highest RPI in the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2026 team has already proven that it is a historic team. Entering the weekend, App State has set three program records and is on pace to set several more records when the season is over. App State broke its program home run record in just 33 games on March 29 against Georgia State. It also set its runs scored record in just 37 games against Gardner-Webb on April 7. The Mountaineers are also on pace to set single-season program records in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
The long ball has played an integral role in App State's offense, as the Mountaineers rank 20th nationally in home runs (75) and 18th in home runs per game (1.60) entering Friday. The Mountaineers' 75 home runs are the third-most in the Sun Belt, and make them one of 29 teams nationally with 70 or more home runs.
App State's offense has been among the best in the Sun Belt, as it enters the weekend with the most runs in the league (333). The Mountaineers have scored 10 or more runs 15 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).
It's become clear that the Mountaineers boast two of the top freshmen in the Sun Belt Conference. Schafer enters the weekend as the Sun Belt's leader among freshmen in both home runs (10) and RBIs (43). These marks also rank among the top 35 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 sixth in the league in wins (14) and fifth in strikeouts (100).
App State's batch of nine newcomers has stepped up to the challenge so far this season, as newcomers have combined to scorch 145 hits and have hit 36 home runs. Entering Thursday, three of App State's top four home-run hitters are newcomers in Ching (second), Schafer (third) and Bradshaw (T-fourth).
McClain and Barrett continue to lead App State's offensive attack, as the two have combined for 109 hits, 23 home runs, 90 RBIs and 22 doubles. McClain sits in the top 10 of the Sun Belt Conference in all three triple crown categories (batting average, home runs and RBIs), while Barrett has totaled 28 RBIs over her last 25 games and sits fourth in the Sun Belt in that category with 45.
Series History
- App State vs. Texas State
- Record: 3-23
- Last Meeting: March 16, 2025
- Trends:
- App State and Texas State are set to meet in Boone for the first time since 2022.
- The Mountaineers are looking to post their first win over the Bobcats in Boone this weekend.
Up Next
If the Mountaineers are able to secure a Sun Belt Tournament berth this weekend, they will play on Wednesday, May 6, at either 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT) or 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) in the first round. This year's tournament will be held at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park on the campus of Louisiana from next Wednesday to Saturday. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game airing on ESPN2.
Tickets to the tournament are available for purchase.
