BOONE, N.C. – App State saw the tying run reach second base with two outs in the seventh inning after Macy Hamby brought the game within two with a groundout, but Texas State's Maddy Azua remained poised and struck out the final batter, which left two runners stranded in scoring position and secured a 4-2 win for Texas State in the series opener on Thursday night.
 
Due to inclement weather in Boone on Saturday, App State and Texas State will now play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1 p.m. The second game will follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Senior day festivities will take place following the second game.
 
The Mountaineers (28-20, 7-15 SBC) generated scoring chances all night long, but couldn't get the big hit when it needed it most. App State left seven runners on base in the game. Despite taking the lead early on with an RBI hit by Hamby to score Makayla McClain, Texas State (35-18, 15-7 SBC) responded with three runs in the fourth inning and an insurance run in the seventh to take the game.
 
Although she took the loss, Sophie Moshos pitched great in her start, tossing a complete game with four strikeouts. Moshos kept hitters off balance all night long and induced weak contact off the Bobcat bats. The lefty threw 109 pitches in her outing and allowed just two walks.

How it Happened
Moshos worked around a two-out single to post a first-inning zero, but Azua struck out two in the bottom half to keep the game scoreless into the second. Texas State generated the first scoring chance of the game with a single and a double to put two runners in scoring position with one out, which provided some adversity for Moshos. Remaining calm, the lefty forced a foul out and a strikeout to end the threat.
 
App State saw its first runner reach base on an error in the bottom of the second inning, but Texas State stranded them at third. After Moshos tallied a perfect third, App State found some two-out lightning thanks to a double by McClain and a single up the middle by Hamby to plate the game's first run and take the lead as play headed to the fourth inning.
 
Now trailing for the first time, the Bobcats used a homer and a double to take a 3-1 lead. Both sides went down quietly in their next at-bat, but Leah Gore and Madison Fletcher helped start a rally in the fifth with a single and an error on a sacrifice bunt. Seeing two runners on, Texas State induced a popout and two strikeouts to end the inning and the threat.
 
After a quiet sixth inning, play progressed to the final inning, where the Bobcats plated a key insurance run to extend their lead to three. Gore and Fletcher helped give App State a chance with back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the inning, before McClain loaded the bases with an infield hit for Hamby. Hamby kept the threat alive by scoring Summer Simpson, who pinch-ran for Fletcher, on a groundout, but Texas State struck out the last batter to leave the tying run at second to secure the series opener by two runs.
 
Thursday Notes
Home runs
App: N/A
TXST: Zarate (8)
 
WP: Maddy Azua (24-10): 7 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Sophie Moshos (13-10): 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
 
Up Next
App State will wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader on Friday against Texas State. Action will start at 1 p.m. with the second game to follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Senior day festivities will follow the second game. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.