COLUMBIA, S.C. – Wrapping up play at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, App State Softball (1-8) dropped a pair of contests to Winthrop (6-3) and No. 25 South Carolina (10-0) on Sunday, falling 4-3 to the Eagles in eight innings to open the day before dropping an 11-0 game to the Gamecocks in the nightcap.
App State's eight-inning game against the Eagles marked its third extra-inning game of the season through its first nine games. The Mountaineers haven't played three extra-inning games in the same season since 2023 (four times). Two of the three games that were decided in extras came this weekend in Columbia.
Sophie Moshos tallied her best game in a Mountaineer uniform against Winthrop, striking out a season-best nine hitters in six innings. Moshos made two appearances at the Carolina Classic and struck out 18 hitters. For the day, App State pitchers tallied 17 strikeouts, as
Ava Beamesderfer also struck out four hitters in her two innings of work against the Eagles, while
Sejal Neas struck out a pair and
Bel Varadi tallied a strikeout against the Gamecocks.
The Mountaineer hitters struck for six hits across the two games on Sunday, with four coming against Winthrop and two against South Carolina.
Grace Barrett accounted for two hits, one in each game, and
Macy Hamby slugged a homer against the Eagles, marking her first of the season. Additionally,
Jaylee Williams drove home two runs in the first game and
Leah Gore crushed a double in the nightcap against the Gamecocks.
How it Happened
Game 1: App State 3, Winthrop 4 (8 innings)
App State jumped ahead early in game 1 against the Eagles, scoring three times in the first two innings, but a late comeback effort by Winthrop tied the score at three in the fifth inning, which forced extra innings. The Eagles tallied a two-out RBI hit to score the go-ahead run and held App State scoreless to win the game 4-3 in the eighth inning.
Taking the field first as the home team in this neutral site contest, Moshos posted a scoreless frame, working around a single with three of her nine strikeouts. App State took the momentum generated from Moshos and struck first in the bottom half of the inning with two runs.
On the first pitch of the game,
Makayla McClain scorched a double into left-center field, putting a runner in scoring position instantly.
Julia Girk walked to put two runners on and after two outs, Williams found a hole up the middle to plate both McClain and Girk, putting the Mountaineers on top early. The Eagles got out of the inning, but App State went into the second with a two-run lead.
Winthrop answered in the second inning with a run on two hits. Despite allowing the run, Moshos tallied strikeouts No. 4 and 5 in the inning, helping keep the Eagles to just one run. As play entered the bottom of the second, the Mountaineers led 2-1.
Hamby immediately extended App State's advantage to two runs in the bottom of the inning, blasting a long solo homer to left field. Hamby's homer was her first of the season. Winthrop made a pitching change, which helped keep App State at bay for the rest of the inning, but the Mountaineers led by two after two innings.
A clean third inning from both sides quickly moved play to the fourth inning with App State still on top. Moshos recorded two more punchouts in the third, giving her seven for the game. Moshos again put up a zero in the fourth inning and struck out two more hitters to reach her final tally of nine. It was her second game of the weekend with nine strikeouts (Miami (Ohio)).
The Eagles posted a clean defensive inning in the fourth inning and tied the score at three apiece in the fifth with two runs. Winthrop saw a one-out single and double score the first run and then a two-out hit drove home the second run. Barrett put a runner on second in the bottom of the inning with a double, but App State couldn't answer, sending the contest to the sixth with the score tied.
In her final inning of work, Moshos sat down the Eagles in order, but the Mountaineers couldn't capitalize as Winthrop posted a 1-2-3 frame. Beamesderfer entered the contest in the seventh inning and punched out all three hitters she saw, giving the Mountaineers a chance to walk off the game in the final frame.
Summer Simpson walked to lead off the inning and McClain reached base on a throwing error to put two runners on with nobody out for the heart of the Mountaineer order. But nothing came of the rally as Winthrop retired the next three hitters, sending this tight contest to extra innings.
Winthrop's Katie Beck led off the eighth inning with a single, but Beamesderfer settled back in and retired the next two hitters. With two outs, the Eagles and Lonna Addison tallied an RBI double to go on top. Addison, who also recorded the win for Winthrop, sat down App State in order in the bottom of the eighth, sealing a 4-3 win for the Eagles.
Game 1 Notes
Home runs
App: Hamby (1)
WIN: N/A
WP – Lonna Addison (2-0): 7 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP –
Ava Beamesderfer (0-1): 2 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts
Game 2: App State 0, No. 25 South Carolina 11 (5 Innings)
It was a scoreless game through two innings in Sunday's nightcap, but the 25th-ranked Gamecocks scored four in the third and erupted for a seven-run fourth to claim an 11-0 win in five innings on their home field. South Carolina, which moved to 10-0 for the season, tallied 10 hits and struck out seven Mountaineer hitters in the game.
Barrett started the Mountaineer offense against South Carolina with her second hit of the day, but a double-play ended the inning. Neas took to the circle first for App State and worked around a walk and a hit to post a dueling scoreless frame.
The Mountaineers saw another runner reach base in the second as Girk reached first on a fielding error. The Gamecocks didn't let Girk get past first base as they retired the next two hitters in order to keep it scoreless.
South Carolina saw its leadoff hitter reach via a walk and after an out at second base, Natalie Heath struck for a double down the right-field line that threatened to plate the game's first run. But that was not to be as Simpson fielded the ball and fired to
Sidney Martin at second base who turned and hurled a strike home to nab the runner at the plate. Fired up from her defense, Neas forced a weak groundout to end the frame, keeping the score 0-0 into the third.
App State suffered another quick inning on offense and the Gamecocks finally broke the tie with four runs in their half of third. Lexi Winters delivered the biggest hit with a two-run double to make it 4-0 after three.
Gore responded in the top of the fourth with a one-out double, but the Mountaineers couldn't get her home, keeping the game 4-0 into the bottom of the fourth. South Carolina backed up its four-run third with a seven-run fourth to take an 11-0 lead into the fifth. The Gamecocks tallied four hits in the inning and saw 12 hitters come to the plate. The Mountaineers went down in order in the fifth inning, capping off a run-rule victory for the Gamecocks to close the Carolina Classic.
Game 2 Notes
Home runs
App: N/A
USC: N/A
WP – Nealy Lamb (3-0): 4 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP –
Sejal Neas (0-1): 3 IP, 6 hits, 6 runs, 6 walks, 2 strikeouts
Up Next
App State will next head to Athens, Ga., for the Georgia Classic, hosted by the Georgia Bulldogs next Friday-Sunday (Feb. 21-23). While in Athens, the Mountaineers will meet two Power Five teams in Syracuse and Georgia (twice). App State will play five games at the Georgia Classic, starting with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 21. First pitch against Syracuse is set for 10:30 a.m.
