Troy Takes Two From App State
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball dropped both games of a doubleheader with Troy on Friday by scores of 11-1 in five innings and 23-6 in five innings.
The Trojans improved to 20-7 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt while the Mountaineers fell to 6-22 on the season including 1-4 in conference action. On the day, a trio of Apps tallied three hits including Natalie Orcutt (3-for-4), Heather Josey (3-of-5) and Cara Parker (3-for-5). Orcutt pushed her team-leading batting average to .371, Parker is now hitting .349 in second and Josey is third on the squad with a clip of .303.
In game one, Troy scored four runs in the first, three in the second, one in the third, and three in the fifth. The Black and Gold's run came in the bottom of the fourth when Pepper Butler doubled in Josey with a hit to center. Annaleise Kennedy was handed the loss and is now 2-7 on the spring.
In the nightcap, the score was tied 6-6 after two innings and App State scored four of those runs in the first and two more in the second. In the first, Josey singled in Orcutt and Parker hit a three-run shot, her fourth bomb of the season. The very next inning, Orcutt hit her second blast of the season, a two-run home run over the fence in left. However, the visitors went on to score 11 in the third and sixth in the fifth to win by the run rule. Vanessa Ciocatto fell to 4-10 with the loss.
Next up, Appalachian will play Troy in game three of the series on Saturday with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
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Georgia Southern Falls to Boise State
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Georgia Southern softball team recorded seven hits and five runs – including a two-run home run by senior A.J. Hamilton – Friday night against Boise State, but it was not enough as the Broncos claimed a 13-5 decision in the third game of the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic at Rocky Johnson Field.
After the Broncos (7-18) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, the Eagles (14-12) came out in the top of the third and claimed a 2-1 advantage when Morgan Robinson plated India Davis and Lydia Witkowski with a single up the middle. Hamilton added to that lead in the very next inning when she blasted her fourth home run of the season, scoring Macy Weeks in the process, to give GS a 4-1 advantage.
But Boise State retook the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth frame by plating six runs off five hits and an error.
Despite being down, the Eagles continued to battle hard, especially at the plate. Hamilton recorded her third RBI of the game with a single up the middle in the top of the fifth, scoring Haley Carter from second to pull GS within two. The Eagles were then able to load the bases, forcing Boise State to make a pitching change, but that was all the scoring they could muster in the inning.
Boise State added three runs in both the fifth and sixth inning, ending the game when Cassidy Edwards singled down the left field line, scoring Tatiana Sorokina.
At the plate, both Hamilton and Robinson went 2-for-3 and combined for five runs batted in, two by Robinson and the three by Hamilton. For Boise State, Shaelee Pearson and Rebekah Cervantes both went 3-for-4 with Cervantes scoring a game-high three runs.
Heather Felt (0-1) made just her second start of the season for the Eagles and was the pitcher of record in 3.1 innings of work. Mackenzie McGill (2-2) claimed the win for Boise State, pitching the first 4.2 innings.
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will close out the tourney on Saturday, Mar. 19 with two games, one against Boise State at 1:30 p.m. ET and then the finale against Texas Tech at 4 p.m. ET.