BOONE, N.C. –  Playing in a Friday doubleheader to close out the 2026 regular season, the App State softball team split the two contests against Texas State, posting a thrilling, come-from-behind 13-12 win in walk-off fashion in Game 1 before falling 15-1 in five innings in the finale. App State trailed by as many as five runs in Game 1 before storming back to win the game on a walk-off single by Emilie Ching in the seventh inning.
 
The Mountaineers (29-21, 8-16 SBC) closed the day with a senior day celebration, honoring their six seniors for everything they have done for the program. App State honored Makayla McClain, Sophie Moshos, Marti Henkel, Dakota Daniel, Summer Simpson and Ambry Lucas.
 
Because of the results from Friday's doubleheader and Coastal Carolina's doubleheader sweep in Conway over Troy, the Mountaineers will miss the 2026 Sun Belt Tournament, which will be played from May 6-9 in Lafayette, La., at Louisiana's Lamson Park.
 
Despite the outcome, App State showed its resilience in Game 1 of the doubleheader, as it posted its third win this season when trailing by five runs. After the Mountaineers took the lead on a solo home run by Grace Barrett in the fifth inning, Texas State's (36-19, 16-8 SBC) Aiyana Coleman hit a game-tying solo home run in the seventh. But the Mountaineers showed grit and rallied to win the contest in the bottom of the inning.
 
How it Happened
Game 1: App State 13, Texas State 12
Texas State opened the scoring on Friday by scoring three runs in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead. Not to be outdone, App State countered with five to take a two-run lead into the second. Ching started her day with an RBI single, and after a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Leah Gore stepped to the plate and launched a grand slam, her third grand slam of the season, over the right-center field wall to give App State a two-run lead.
 
Moshos kept the Bobcats off the board in the second, but Texas State tied the game in the third with a homer and a two-out double. Answering back yet again, App State saw a walk from KB Bradshaw and hits from Gore and Julia Girk plate its sixth run to give it a one-run lead as play headed to the fourth inning.
 
Trailing for the second time in the game, Texas State reclaimed the lead with six runs in the fourth inning to take a five-run advantage. Needing a quick rally, App State found it, scoring five runs on two hits to tie the game at 11. Madison Fletcher drove home a run with a two-RBI single before an RBI groundout by Girk, and a two-out single by McClain gave App State all the momentum. Moshos re-entered the game in the fifth and worked a zero to keep the score tied into the bottom of the frame.
 
Wasting no time, Barrett untied the score with a long solo home run down the left-field line. Texas State got two hits in the top of the sixth, but couldn't answer, and the game moved to the final inning with the score in favor of App State.
 
Needing three outs to win, Texas State hit a home run to knot the score yet again at 12. App State got out of the inning and kept the score tied, and Barrett started another rally with a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Ching took to the plate with the winning run on second and delivered a sharp line drive into the outfield to score Barrett and win the game. The lead changed hands four times, but the Mountaineers were able to claim their 29th victory of the season.
 
Game 1 Notes
Home runs
App: Gore (8), Barrett (6)
TXST: Zarate (9), Coleman (16)
 
WP: Sophie Moshos (14-10): 4 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs (3 earned runs), 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Kaili Witherell (2-2): 3 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
 
Game 2: Texas State 15, App State 1 (5 Innings)
After a nearly 30-minute break, Texas State jumped out ahead early with a six-run top of the first, aided by a three-run home run by Kat Zarate, her third of the series. The Bobcats capitalized on a crucial error to score three additional runs in the inning. App State answered by scoring a run on a Bradshaw RBI hit, but Texas State scored six more in the top of the second to take an 11-run lead.
 
App State went down quietly in the bottom of the second, and the Bobcats scored three more times to get to their final tally of 15 runs. Camryn Fisher, who came into the game to pitch in the second, worked a scoreless fourth inning, and Dakota Daniel recorded a single in the fourth to mark her first hit since March 14 in her final at-bat at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
 
Moshos retired Texas State in the top of the fifth, but App State couldn't come up with the rally it needed and fell to the Bobcats in the series finale.
 
Game 2 Notes
Home runs
App: N/A
TXST: Zarate (10), Kelnar (1)
 
WP: Maddy Azua (25-10): 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Sophie Moshos (14-11): 1.2 IP, 6 hits, 6 runs (3 earned runs), 3 walks, 3 strikeouts