BOONE, N.C. – Sandwiched between two Sun Belt road series at Marshall and ULM, the App State softball team is slated for a midweek home matchup against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs on Tuesday at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. Tuesday's contest against Gardner-Webb will be App State's penultimate midweek contest of the season. First pitch from Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is slated for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (23-13, 4-8 SBC) vs. Gardner-Webb (24-15, 4-5 Big South)
- Where: Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium // Boone, N.C.
- When: Tuesday, April 7
Tune In
- Watch | ESPN+
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
In a matchup between two of the top teams in the Sun Belt in terms of winning percentage, the Sun Belt's leader, Marshall, claimed a series sweep over App State in Huntington. It was the first time that App State had been swept this season.
Makayla McClain made history in the series opener by swatting her 18th home run of the season over the left-field wall to lead off Thursday's game. McClain surpassed Katie Boyd's record of 17 home runs that was set in 2009. She needed just 34 games to set the new record.
Additionally,
Leah Gore hit a home run and led the team in hits with four, while
Julia Girk,
KB Bradshaw,
Taylor Schafer and
Grace Barrett each recorded three hits against the Herd. Barrett led the team in RBIs against Marshall with three.
Leading Off
Tuesday's contest against Gardner-Webb will mark App State's 10th game this season against an in-state opponent. Entering Tuesday, App State is 7-2 against teams from North Carolina this season.
Entering Tuesday's midweek game vs. Gardner-Webb, the Mountaineers have won each of their last 12 midweek games. App State has posted two midweek wins this season, defeating Charleston on March 10 and Charleston Southern on March 11. 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).
In addition to the midweek streak, App State enters Tuesday with 19 victories over nonconference opponents this season, which ties the program record for the most nonconference wins in a season. A win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday would mark the first time that App State has won 20 nonconference games in a season.
App State enters Tuesday's game needing to score just seven runs to break the program's single-season record for runs scored (276 set in 2022). The Mountaineers lead the Sun Belt Conference in runs scored with 270 entering Tuesday, and are 47 runs ahead of the second-place team (Southern Miss - 233). App State enters Tuesday averaging 6.3 runs per game in the
Whitney Jones era.
The Mountaineers enter Tuesday's home contest with a 7-3 record at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium, after posting a series victory at home over Georgia State from March 27-29. The Mountaineers' seven victories at home this season mark their most since tallying 11 in the 2022 season.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Entering Tuesday's game vs. Gardner-Webb, App State ranks 69th in the NCAA RPI rankings as of April 5. App State currently owns the sixth-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 10 top-50 ranks nationally entering Tuesday. Among these rankings, App State stands in the top 50 in the country in on-base percentage (37th - .420), scoring offense (18th – 7.50), slugging percentage (25th - .573) and walks (29th – 154). App State's offense has been among the best in the Sun Belt this season, as they lead the Sun Belt in five offensive categories entering Tuesday.
The long ball has played an integral role in App State's offense, as the Mountaineers rank 14th nationally in home runs (61) and 16th in home runs per game (1.69) entering Tuesday. The Mountaineers' 61 home runs are the second-most in the Sun Belt entering Tuesday, and make them one of 18 teams nationally with 60 or more home runs.
App State's offense has been among the best in the Sun Belt, as it enters Tuesday with the most runs in the league (270). The Mountaineers have scored 10 or more runs 12 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 36 games this season, it's become clear that the Mountaineers boast two of the top freshmen in the Sun Belt Conference.
Taylor Schafer enters Tuesday as the Sun Belt's leader among freshmen in both home runs (10) and RBIs (37). These marks also rank among the top 10 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 third in the league in wins (13) and fifth in strikeouts (91).
App State's batch of nine newcomers has stepped up to the challenge so far this season, as newcomers have combined to scorch 107 hits and have hit 30 home runs. Entering Tuesday, three of App State's top four home-run hitters are newcomers in Schafer (second),
Emilie Ching (third) and
Madison Fletcher (fourth).
McClain and Barrett lead App State's offensive attack, as the two have combined for 95 hits, 21 home runs, 84 RBIs and 18 doubles. McClain leads the Sun Belt Conference in two of the three triple crown categories (home runs and RBIs) and sits second in batting average (.454). Barrett has totaled 23 RBIs over her last 14 games and sits third in the Sun Belt in that category with 40.
Series History
- App State vs. Gardner-Webb
- Record: 11-7
- Last Meeting: April 9, 2025
- Trends
- App State and Gardner-Webb are set to meet for the second consecutive season on Tuesday.
- The Mountaineers defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs 8-0 last season, which marked their first win over Gardner-Webb since 2019.
Up Next
Following Tuesday's contest, App State will again hit the road for a Sun Belt series at ULM this Friday-Sunday. This weekend's set in Monroe, La., will mark App State's penultimate road trip of the regular season. First pitch against the Warhawks is slated for 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT), and all three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
