ATLANTA – After going down by two after Georgia State scored twice in the second frame, App State Softball tallied five unanswered runs, which included four in the fifth inning, to post a series-opening 5-2 victory over Georgia State on Thursday.
Julia Girk delivered the game-winning two-RBI single with two outs in the fifth inning, capping off a big inning to put the Mountaineers ahead for the duration of the game.
The win marked App State's (18-23, 8-8 SBC) fourth straight win over the Panthers (11-34, 2-14 SBC).
Back in their home state of Georgia,
Grace Barrett and
Macy Hamby provided huge sparks for the App State offense as Hamby tallied two hits and an RBI single, and Barrett tied the score at two in the fifth inning with an RBI single to right field. Additionally,
Madison McIntyre provided two hits out of the sixth spot in the lineup, which was her fifth multi-hit game of the season. Overall, five Mountaineers tallied a hit in the opening contest against the Panthers.
In her team-leading 21st start of the season, left-handed pitcher
Sophie Moshos posted her 13th win of the season in complete-game fashion, striking out three and allowing just two runs. Moshos allowed nine hits but stranded eight runners by pitching to contact and using solid defense behind her to get the win. Her sixth-inning strikeout of Payton O'Connor was her 100th of the season.
How it Happened
Neither team opened the game hot as App State went down in order in the top of the first inning and Georgia State left a baserunner stranded, keeping the game scoreless after a full inning. McIntyre drew a walk in the second inning to mark the Mountaineers' first baserunner of the game, but it was still 0-0 after an inning and a half.
Georgia State tallied the game's first runs in the bottom of the second inning, using four hits to do so. Every run the Panthers scored came with two outs. Trailing for the first time in the game, the Mountaineers needed an answer and found it by recording two hit-by-pitches and a single.
Girk started the rally by taking a pitch off the center of her back, and then
Summer Simpson followed by getting hit on the arm to put two on for the top of the order. After the Panthers recorded an out, Hamby shot a grounder past third base that scored Girk to cut the Panther lead in half. Still with one out,
Leah Gore drew a walk to load the bases, but Georgia State got a strikeout and a foulout to end the frame.
Returning to the circle for her third inning of work, Moshos posted a perfect inning to keep the game within one after three. The Mountaineers saw two runners reach in the fourth, but neither team plated a run in the inning, and Georgia State took a one-run lead into the fifth inning.
Hamby led off the fifth inning by lacing her second hit of the game off the right-field wall for a double, immediately putting a runner in scoring position. The Panthers were able to get two outs from the next two batters, but Barrett kept the inning alive and tied the game with an RBI single to right. McIntyre kept the rally going with a sharply hit single into right field to put two on with two outs for Girk.
After
Marti Henkel drew a walk to load the bases, Girk wasted no time and shot a single down the right-field line on the first pitch she saw to plate both Barrett and McIntyre, putting App State ahead by two. Girk's speed helped provide another run as she stole second base with Henkel standing on third and drew an errant throw, which allowed App State's fifth run to cross the plate.
Leading for the first time in the game, Moshos went back out to the circle for her fifth inning and posted another zero, working around a double and a hit-by-pitch to do so. App State went quietly in the top of the sixth, but Moshos kept the Mountaineers ahead by throwing up another scoreless inning and sending action to the final inning.
McIntyre tallied her second hit of the game, a double, with two outs in the seventh, and Henkel smacked her first hit of the game up the middle, but the Panthers held serve. Looking to finish what she started, Moshos allowed two singles to lead off the inning but kept Georgia State scoreless to cap off the win. Moshos struck out the last hitter she saw in the game and left two Panther runners in scoring position.
Thursday Notes
Home runs
App: N/A
GSU: N/A
WP:
Sophie Moshos (13-7): 7 IP, 9 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Kate Kastelic (2-5): 0.2 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs (3 earned runs), 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
Up Next
The Mountaineers and Panthers are slated to continue their three-game series with Game 2 on Saturday from Bob Heck Softball Complex. Saturday's game will kick off at 6 p.m., and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
