BOONE, N.C. – After the App State softball team scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game at four apiece, it looked like Saturday’s game would be headed to a tight finish. But that wasn’t the case as Southern Miss rallied to score three runs in the fourth to take the lead before tallying six in the fifth to run-rule the Mountaineers 13-4 in five innings.
Although it only hit one home run, Southern Miss (21-13, 3-2 SBC) tallied 12 hits against the Mountaineers (21-8, 2-3 SBC), which marked a season-high given up by App State pitchers. The Golden Eagles capitalized on almost every scoring chance they generated, as they batted 7-13 with runners in scoring position in the game.
Leah Gore hit her second home run in as many days in the second inning to kick-start a three-run frame to tie the score. Grace Barrett also tallied an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and both Makayla McClain and Macy Hamby drove home a run on Saturday.
How it Happened
Southern Miss went quietly in the first inning, as Sophie Moshos worked around a two-out single to post a zero. McClain led off the game for App State by ringing a double off the left-field wall before a Macy Hamby single put two runners on for Barrett. Barrett scored McClain with a fly ball to left to give App State a 1-0 lead after one full inning at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
Trailing for the first time in the game, the Golden Eagles answered with four runs in the top of the second to take the lead. Needing to respond, the Mountaineers saw Gore lead off the bottom of the inning with a home run to center field, before Madison Fletcher and KB Bradshaw followed that with singles to force a Southern Miss pitching change. After a Julia Girk walk loaded the bases, back-to-back fielder’s choices plated two more runs, which tied the game at four, as play moved into the third inning.
Neither side scored in the third inning, but Southern Miss plated three runs in the fourth inning to take a three-run lead for the second time in the game. The biggest blow came off the bat of Carrie Green, who laced a two-run triple into right field. App State couldn’t answer in its half of the fourth despite getting a single from Girk, which kept the Golden Eagles’ three-run advantage intact.
The Golden Eagles blew the game open in the fifth inning with six runs on five hits to take a nine-run lead. Needing to score two runs to extend the game, Southern Miss held serve and forced two groundouts and a flyout in the bottom of the fifth to take Game 2 in Boone.
Saturday Notes
Home runs
App: Gore (4)
USM: Bennett (2)
WP: Madilyn Graham (6-3): 4 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts
SV: N/A
LP: Camryn Fisher (12-4): 2 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout
Up Next
App State will look to win the series against Southern Miss on Sunday in the rubber game of the series. A win on Sunday would mark App State’s first Sun Belt series win of the season. First pitch from Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is slated for 11 a.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Admission to all App State Softball games is free.
