MONROE, La. – Jumping back into Sun Belt play, the App State softball team will look to ride the momentum from its midweek win into a series with the ULM Warhawks this Friday-Sunday. App State's trip to Monroe will mark its penultimate road trip of the regular season and its furthest trip south this season. First pitch from the ULM Softball Complex is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday, and all three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Matchup
- Who: App State (24-13, 4-8 SBC) at ULM (26-18, 8-4 Sun Belt)
- Where: ULM Softball Complex // Monroe, La.
- When: Friday, April 10 – Sunday, April 12
Tune In
- Watch | ESPN+ (all games)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com (all games)
Last Time Out
It didn't take long for the Mountaineers to overcome an early deficit as they scored two in the bottom of the first to take the lead before exploding for 20 runs to post a 20-3 win over Gardner-Webb at home on Tuesday. App State's 20 runs tied its single-game record.
The Mountaineers were led offensively by a pair of home runs by
Macy Hamby, who hit a three-run home run in the second and a grand slam in the third inning to give her seven RBIs for the game.
Leah Gore also provided a huge night offensively with a grand slam and five RBIs against the Runnin' Bulldogs.
KB Bradshaw led the team in hits with three, while
Madison Fletcher provided two doubles against Gardner-Webb.
Emilie Ching,
Taylor Schafer,
Makayla McClain and
Grace Barrett all reached base multiple times, with McClain, Schafer and Barrett each scoring at least two runs.
Leading Off
The Mountaineers' visit to ULM will mark their first trip of more than 350 miles from Boone this season. App State played four nonconference tournaments in North Carolina locations to begin the year and has only played three games in states that didn't border North Carolina this season (Marshall last weekend). The next time App State would travel further than 350 miles from Boone would be for the Sun Belt Tournament from May 6-9 in Lafayette, La.
Entering Friday, App State has posted 16 wins away from home this season, which includes 10 neutral-site victories. With two wins against the Warhawks this weekend, the Mountaineers would surpass their mark of wins away from home from last season (17).
App State is set to play its fifth Sun Belt series of the season this weekend. The Mountaineers own four wins in conference play entering Friday, and are looking to post their second consecutive season with double-digit league wins. App State tied its Sun Belt record for wins last season with 13 (matched the 2019 team's total).
The Mountaineers made more history on Tuesday against Gardner-Webb, as they broke their single-season runs scored record, which was previously 276 set by the 2022 team. App State enters this weekend's series with 290 runs scored, which leads the Sun Belt and is 53 runs clear of the next closest team (Georgia State - 237). The Mountaineers enter the weekend averaging 6.4 runs per game in the
Whitney Jones era.
The Mountaineers enter this weekend's series with 24 wins, which puts them seven away from matching the single-season record (31 games). App State's 24 wins currently rank tied for the ninth-most wins in a season in program history. App State's win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday gave it its most wins in a season since 2022 (29 wins).
Scouting the Mountaineers
Entering this weekend's series vs. ULM, App State ranks 64th in the NCAA RPI rankings as of April 8. 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 the weekend. Among these rankings, App State stands in the top 50 in the country in on-base percentage (30th - .426), scoring offense (13th – 7.84), slugging percentage (23rd - .582) and walks (23rd – 165). App State's offense has been among the best in the Sun Belt this season, as they lead the Sun Belt in seven offensive categories entering the weekend.
The long ball has played an integral role in App State's offense, as the Mountaineers rank 12th nationally in home runs (64) and 13th in home runs per game (1.73) entering the weekend. The Mountaineers' 64 home runs are the second-most in the Sun Belt entering Friday, and make them one of 20 teams nationally with 60 or more home runs.
App State's offense has been among the best in the Sun Belt, as it enters Friday with the most runs in the league (290). 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 37 games this 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 (38). 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 113 hits and have hit 30 home runs. Entering Friday, three of App State's top four home-run hitters are newcomers in Schafer (second), Ching (third) and 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 (batting average and home runs) and sits second in RBIs (44). Barrett has totaled 23 RBIs over her last 15 games and sits third in the Sun Belt in that category with 40.
Series History
- App State vs. ULM
- Record: 11-11
- Last Meeting: April 13, 2025
- Trends
- App State and ULM are slated to meet in Monroe for the first time since 2022 this weekend.
- The Mountaineers have won six of the last nine games in the series against the Warhawks.
Up Next
App State will play its final midweek competition of the season against N.C. Central next Wednesday, which will also start a four-game homestand. First pitch from Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is slated for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
