BOONE, N.C. – Trailing by a pair of runs entering the final inning, the App State softball team saw the first two runners reach with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh.
Madison McIntyre made it a one-run game with an RBI single with one out, but a game-ending 6-4-3 double play left the tying run at second base and sealed a tight 3-2 win for the ULM Warhawks in Boone.
App State (17-23, 7-8 SBC) tallied nine hits in the series finale against the Warhawks (30-16, 10-5 SBC), but struggled to find the big hit as the Mountaineers went 2-13 with runners in scoring position. The Mountaineers had runners in scoring position in four of the seven innings on Sunday.
Despite taking the tough-luck loss,
Sophie Moshos was excellent in the circle for the Mountaineers as she posted a complete game, her third consecutive complete game, while striking out three. She helped keep the Mountaineers in the game by stranding several runners on base and keeping ULM to just three hits on 16 chances with runners on base.
The Mountaineers saw a very good game at the plate from
Grace Barrett as she went a perfect 3-3 at the plate on Sunday, posting a double and two singles. Barrett, who had been slumping as of recently, was nearly perfect from the plate against ULM as she posted a .750 batting average on eight at-bats. App State also saw the eighth home run of the season by
Leah Gore bounce off the scoreboard in left-center field in the first inning, and
Taylor Chumbley posted two hits in three at-bats.
How it Happened
Moshos came out in her team-leading 20th start of the year and posted a scoreless frame by striking out the first batter of her outing. App State came out of the gates hot and scored the game's first run in the bottom half thanks to a solo home run by Gore high off the scoreboard in left-center field, which put the Mountaineers on top by one after a full inning.
The Mountaineers responded to Gore's long ball by recording a perfect inning in the top of the second as Moshos threw just seven pitches. Hits apiece by Chumbley and Barrett put two runners on base to lead off the bottom of the inning, and after two outs recorded by the Warhawks,
Summer Simpson loaded the bases by shooting a single up the middle. With
Makayla McClain stepping to the plate and two outs, ULM made a pitching change, which proved effective as Dakota Lake forced a foulout to end the threat.
Both teams went quietly in the third inning as Moshos and Lake continued to battle each other, but ULM scored two in the top of the fourth to take a one-run lead. Three doubles helped ULM score. Looking to answer, the Mountaineers saw runners reach second and third with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth after Chumbley walked and Barrett doubled, but the Warhawks kept their advantage by getting each of the next three batters, leaving two stranded on base.
ULM tallied two more hits in the top of the fifth, but Moshos worked to keep two runners stranded to keep the Mountaineer deficit to just one. Gore reached base with two outs in the bottom of the frame, but action moved to the sixth inning with ULM ahead by one.
The Warhawks picked up another hit in the sixth inning, but a crucial strikeout by Moshos kept the ULM lead to one into the bottom of the inning. Chumbley led off the frame by lacing a single up the middle, and Barrett sent a long single off the left-field wall that missed being a home run by a few feet to put two runners on with nobody out. Seeing another runner reach scoring position, ULM went to work and forced a popout and two groundouts to end the inning.
A leadoff single and a sacrifice fly helped plate a key insurance run for the Warhawks in the top of the seventh inning, extending their lead to two. Needing two runs to force extras, McClain singled into left and
Macy Hamby walked to put two aboard with nobody out. After a strikeout, McIntyre stroked an RBI single into right field to make it a one-score game, and two runners stood on base with one out. ULM made a pitching change, and two pitches later, the Warhawks turned a game-ending double play to seal the game and the series.
Sunday Notes
Home runs
App: Gore (8)
ULM: N/A
WP: Dakota Lake (11-5): 4.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV: Mimi Blackledge (2)
LP:
Sophie Moshos (12-7): 7 IP, 10 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
Up Next
Hitting the road for the second-to-last time of the season, App State will head to Atlanta for a three-game series with the Georgia State Panthers starting Thursday. It will be the second time in as many seasons that Georgia State will host the Mountaineers. Thursday and Friday's games will start at 6 p.m., and Saturday's game will kick off at 1 p.m. All three games can be streamed on ESPN+.
