Strong Start and Finish Allows Cajuns to Complete Sweep
LAFAYETTE – 17th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball produced another big-run first inning and received two home runs from Aleah Craighton in a 14-6 (5 inn.) win over Georgia State in the series finale on Sunday at Lamson Park.
After Georgia State took a 2-0 lead off a first-inning home run by Megan Litumbe, the Ragin' Cajuns (36-6, 17-1 Sun Belt) plated seven runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good.
Craighton, who homered in the seven-run first inning, belted a three-run homer in the fourth inning to help the Cajuns begin to pull away from the Panthers (28-20, 13-8 Sun Belt) who had cut the deficit to 7-6 with a four-spot in the third inning.
Alex Stewart picked up the win in relief - her second win of the series - by holding the Panthers hitless over the final 2-1/3 innings. She halted the GSU rally in the third inning, then after a hit by pitch to start the fourth inning retired the final six batters she faced.
The Ragin' Cajuns, who completed the series sweep of the Panthers, entered the day with the series victory in hand – extending the school and Sun Belt record of consecutive conference series wins to 35 straight since March 2013 – after claiming the Saturday doubleheader 19-4 (5 inn.), 7-1.
No. 17 Louisiana remains at Lamson Park next weekend and closes out the home portion of the 2017 schedule by hosting Coastal Carolina in a Sun Belt series. The Ragin' Cajuns and Chanticleers will meet in a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and 1 p.m. single game on Sunday.
Craighton completed the game 3-for-3 at the plate with her two home runs generating a game-high four RBI. The junior outfielder picked up her first multiple home run game of the season and has now hit six home runs since the Troy series (April 8-9).
Kara Gremillion (2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Corin Voinche (2-for-3, 1 run) and Kassidy Zeringue (2-for-2, 2 runs) joined Craighton in posting multiple hits as Louisiana totaled 10 in reaching double digit hits for the eighth time in April.
GSU pitchers opted to work around DJ Sanders, issuing four walks to the nation's leading home run hitter.
The Ragin' Cajuns seven runs in the first inning came a day after pushing across 13 in the first inning of the series opener. Louisiana scored in the first inning all three games against Panthers pitching, piling up 22 runs.
Louisiana's early deficit was short-lived. After back-to-back walks by Gremillion and Sanders, Haley Hayden opened the scoring with a three-run home run which gave the Cajuns the lead for good.
Gremillion capped off the first-inning scoring spree, and increased the lead to 7-2, with a two-run double which knocked GSU starting pitcher Kinsley Jennings out of the contest before the first inning concluded.
Freshman pitcher Alyssa Denham ran into trouble in the third inning after a two-run single by Kensey Caldwell and two-run double from Kirsten McMonigle drew Georiga State within a run at 7-6. Stewart began her relief effort by inducing a fly ball out from Mandy Blackwell to retire the side
GSU reliever Amanda Chance kept her team's deficit at a run into the fourth inning. However, Craighton made the Panthers pay for a leadoff walk to Gremillion and error which allowed Hayden to reach, by launching the three-run game-changing homer that vaulted the Cajuns into a 10-6 lead.
Louisiana ended the game early in the bottom of the fifth as the Panthers defense committed three fielding errors which led to four runs to resulted in the final margin.
DIAMOND NOTES
- Haley Hayden scored three runs to up her career total to 239. She is now within 4 runs of equaling Nerissa Myers' school record 243 scored from 2010-13.
- Haley Hayden's home run in the first inning was her 11th of the season and seventh in the month of April. The three RBI increased her season total to 52 which is three off of her career-high 55 set as a freshman (2014) and sophomore (2015).
- Aleah Craighton's three-hit effort and Kara Gremillion's two-hit effort allowed the duo to finish tied with Lexie Comeaux (5-for-6 on Saturday) to team-high honors of five hits in the weekend series.
- With Sunday's relief effort, Alex Stewart worked 10-1/3 innings in the series and limited Georgia State to just one run, two hits and a .067 average.
- With the four walks in her four plate appearances, DJ Sanders reached base in all 11 of her plate appearances over the weekend series. Sanders' weekend work included 4-for-4 at the plate with three home runs, seven RBI, 10 runs scored and a 3.250 slugging percentage.
- The Ragin' Cajuns increased their series win streak over the Panthers to 18 games and stretched the all-time series lead to 22-2. Louisiana now holds a 12-0 edge in regular season Sun Belt meetings with Georgia State.
- Louisiana produced at least six runs in a game for the 32nd time in 42 games, overall, and 15th time in 18 Sun Belt contests.
- The Ragin' Cajuns maintained a five-game lead in the loss column over second-place Texas State (14-6 SBC) with six games left in the regular season.
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Bobcats Win Game Three And Series At Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, Ga.– Taylor Webb hit a three-run home run and Randi Rupp struck out eight to lead Texas State to a 4-3 win in the series rubber match at Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon.
Texas State improved to 33-11 on the season and 14-6 in Sun Belt play, while Georgia Southern fell to 22-22 overall and 12-9 against conference foes. The series win, coupled with Georgia State's series loss at Louisiana, moved the Bobcats into sole possession of second in the Sun Belt standings.
The Bobcats finished the day with five hits and the Eagles nine. Christiana McDowell was 2-for-4 to collect her seventh multi-hit game of the season and Webb's three RBI was her sixth multi-RBI day this year.
Quincy Charleston started in the circle for the Bobcats, but did not factor in to the decision. Randi Rupp pitched 7.0 innings to earn the win and improve to 21-7 overall. She struck out eight Eagles, moving her series total to 20 and career tally to 870.
Georgia Southern starter Dixie Raley was charged with the loss after surrendering the Bobcats' four runs on four hits in 4.0 innings of work.
Georgia Southern scored two in the first off Emily Snider's 13th homer of the season. Snider sent her two-run blast out to right center to score Mekhia Freeman, who had singled to lead off the inning. The Eagle hitters followed with a hit by pitch and single, prompting a move to Rupp out of the Bobcat bullpen. After a passed ball moved the runners up, Rupp retired the next three she faced to keep the Georgia Southern advantage at 2-0.
Texas State cut the Eagle lead to 2-1 in the second on Jaclyn Molenaar's RBI single to left. Webb walked and later scored from second as Molenaar looped a two-out single into the left-center field gap.
Webb gave the Bobcats a 4-2 lead in the third with her three-run shot to left. Ariel Ortiz and Haleigh Davis both came home on the round-tripper after reaching on a walk and fielder's choice, respectively. The homer was Webb's ninth of the season, tying her with Jaelyn Young for second on the team.
Georgia Southern trimmed the TXST lead to 4-3 with a run in the fourth. India Davis scored on Freeman's double down the left-field line after reaching base two batters prior with a bunt single.
Only TXST's Bailee Carter reached second base over the final three innings and Rupp sat down nine of the final 10 batters she faced to secure the Bobcat victory.
UP NEXT
Texas State plays host to I-35 rival UTSA at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The Bobcats downed the Roadrunners 8-1 back on Feb. 25 at the UTSA Classic.
FOLLOW THE BOBCATS
For all of the latest news and information on Bobcat softball, visit TXSTATEBOBCATS.com. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TXStateSoftball along on Twitter (@TXStateSoftball) and Instagram (@TXStateSoftball).
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SB: UTA Deals First SBC Sweep Since 2015
ARLINGTON, Texas -- An offensive outburst for UTA softball commanded by Aileen Garcia led the Mavericks to complete a SBC series sweep over Coastal Carolina 8-5 Sunday at Allan Saxe Field.
The conference sweep was UTA's (25-20, 11-10) first since a 2015 set at Appalachian State. Coastal Carolina (29-19, 7-13) received its second trio of losses in its inaugural year in the conference following a trip to Georgia Southern in early April. The Mavericks overcame Coastal's 3-0 lead in the first with three multi-run innings in the win.
"It was early and we just had to chip away at those runs and trust the process at the plate," UTA coach Kristie Fox said. "We had a lot of opportunities at the plate and we didn't have good at-bats with runners in scoring position. We had to make that a focus in later innings and they did a good job of different people stepping up when we needed it."
Garcia swung a hot bat for the Mavericks on Sunday, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. The freshman was one of three UTA players with multi-hit games. Sandra Mendoza was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Krista Rude went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs.
Sam Clakley improved to 19-11 through 4.2 frames. The sophomore was responsible for three runs on four hits and three punchouts. Mariah Denson appeared in the fifth and was relieved after four batters faced in the seventh. The freshman allowed two runs on three hits through 2.1 innings.
Mallory Foster smacked her second triple of the year to lead off the fourth inning and plated the tying run, 3-3 on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Everett. Mendoza singled to third and Rude reached on a bunt before Garcia swung a blistering two-RBI single into left field to gain a 5-3 lead for UTA.
Everett came up clutch again in the fifth inning with a double to send a walk in Shelbi Sikes across. The Maverick battery padded the lead 7-3 as she scored on a double from Mendoza.
The junior's second double of the series moves her into a tie for fourth in her career. In career extra base hits, Mendoza claimed sole possession of ninth all-time in UTA history. Sikes needs one more walk to tie for fourth in career walks.
UTA expanded its advantage 8-3 in the sixth inning as Everett walked in a run with bases loaded. The catcher clipped her day at 1-for-2 with three RBI and a run.
Coastal tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run blast, but Clakley relieved Denson to fan the final pair of outs.
One swing was all it took to scrape up three runs in the top of the first inning for the Chanticleers. A leadoff single and walk both crossed on Kassidy Smith's blast to left field to command a 3-0 lead.
UTA crept up on Coastal in the bottom of the first inning to make it a one-run ballgame. A pair of throwing errors proved to be costly as a sacrifice foul out on Whitney Walton handed the Mavs their first run, and Laura Curry would knock around the second.
Up next, the Mavericks travel to Boone, N.C. for a three-game set against Appalachian State beginning with a doubleheader noon Saturday.
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JAGUAR SOFTBALL BELTS FOUR HOME RUNS TO COMPLETE SERIES SWEEP OF ULM
MONROE, La. – The University of South Alabama softball team belted four home runs en route to a 7-4 victory on Sunday and complete the series sweep of Louisiana-Monroe at Geo-Surfaces Field.
"It was nice to have some power today; it was a real difference for us," South Alabama head coach Becky Clark said. "KK's [Katelyn Gruich] hit in the beginning kind of set the tone and our players never took their foot off the gas; they just kept working and grinding at the plate and it really paid off for us.
"Chandler [Sparkman] did a great job on the mound for us and the defense really backed her up. Chandler did a good job of hitting her spots and she made adjustments when she needed to make them. I would have loved for her to have been able to finish that game, but things started getting interesting there in the seventh, so we brought Devin [Brown] in, but I still thought Chandler did a great job for us today. It was a good day all the way around."
South Alabama (28-17, 10-12 SBC) will close out its stretch of seven-straight road games at No. 16 LSU on Tuesday. First pitch versus the Tigers is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Tiger Park.
With the series sweep, the Jaguars have now won nine straight in the series and 21 of the last 22 meetings dating back to 2011 season. USA also improved to 17-3 in games in the series played on the Warhawks' home field.
The four home runs recorded by the Jaguars marked the first time the program has done so in a game since April 3, 2015 against Texas-Arlington. For the series, USA recorded seven home runs during the three-game series versus ULM.
Savanna Mayo led the way with two homers – her third and fourth of the season – while Kristian Foster registered her third and Katelyn Gruich posted her second of the season and the weekend on a first-inning grand slam. The two home run performance by Mayo marked the first time a Jag has had two or more home runs in a game since Kaitlyn Griffith had two in that same game at UTA during the 2015 season.
Amanda Minahan, Foster and Mayo each recorded multi-hit performances in the win with two hits apiece, while the latter two also scored twice.
Chandler Sparkman (2-2), making just her third career start, went six-plus innings, allowing four runs on 11 hits. Devin Brown entered in the seventh and set down all three batters that she faced.
Louisiana-Monroe (28-21, 10-11 SBC) dropped its sixth-straight game with the loss. Starting pitcher Paige Porter (6-5) lasted just a third of an inning, surrendering four runs – three earned – on two hits. Melanie Coyne entered in relief and lasted 1.2 innings, also allowing two runs on two hits. Jessie Wyatt pitched the final five innings, allowing one run on five hits.
Sydney McKay was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, while Megan Shaw and Sami Billeaudeaux also had two hits apiece.
After getting off to slow offensive starts in each of the first two games of the series, South exploded for five runs on three hits in the first. Kaleigh Todd reached on an error to start the game and then with one away USA loaded the bases on a single to left by Foster and a five-pitch walk by Minahan. Gruich then stepped to the plate and cleared the bases as she blasted a home run deep over the wall in left on the first pitch she saw from Porter.
The grand slam by Gruich was the first by a Jag since Haleigh Lane's against Troy in the regular-season finale last season and just the 16th all-time in program history.
After a ULM pitching change, Mayo got into the long-ball act as she homered to left off of Coyne to stake USA to a 5-0 lead – the second time this spring that South has gone back-to-back (Minahan and Abby Krzywiecki, Houston Baptist, 2/11).
The Warhawks got on the board with a run in their half of the second on Shaw's RBI single to left, scoring Coyne who had led off the inning with a single to left, to make it 5-1.
USA quickly answered back in the next half inning when Foster led off the inning with solo shot to left-center.
The Jaguars extended their lead to 7-1 in the sixth as Mayo recorded her second homer of the day – this one a solo shot down the leftfield line – to lead off the top half of the sixth.
ULM tried to mount a late rally in the seventh. Shaw singled back up the middle and beat Todd's throw to first for a lead-off infield single. Jayden Mount then homered to left to narrow the Jag lead to 7-3. After McKay tripled to right, Brown was brought in. Louisiana-Monroe was able to get another run and pull within three (7-4) on Hunter Hogan's sacrifice fly to left, but the Jag right-hander though didn't allow anything else as she got Lyon to strikeout and Coyne to pop out to Mayo at third to end the game.
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Trojans Sweep Appalachian State
TROY, Alabama – The Troy softball team finished the weekend with a 7-6 win over Appalachian State on Sunday at the Troy Softball Complex behind powerful hitting from freshman Logan Calhoun. The Trojans move to 20-29 and 8-14 in the Sun Belt.
For the third straight game, Appalachian State took an early after a solo home run from Haley Stewart in the top of the first inning. The Mountaineers went up two after a Troy error allowed another run to come in.
After an hour rain delay, and dance-off between the teams, the Trojans answered back with a four run inning in the third sparked by an RBI triple from Calhoun. Becca Hartley followed with a single up the middle to bring Calhoun home to tie the game at 2-2. With no outs, Katie Webb got on base with a single and Madeline Porter hit a two out, two-RBI double to give the Trojans the 4-2 lead after three innings of play.
The runs continued to flow for Troy as Hartley hit a sacrifice fly to score Carli Kayler, and Katie Webb followed with an RBI of her own.
Appalachian State rallied back and brought three runs across the plate after two RBI singles and a fielder's choice in the fifth to minimize Troy's lead to one run.
Another sacrifice fly in the sixth inning gave the Trojans a 7-5 lead before the Mountaineers were able to close out the game with one more run in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded, and they tying run on third, a 6-3 put out ended the scoring threat to give the Trojans the series sweep.
Calhoun led the hitting efforts at the plate as she went 3-for-3 with three runs and one RBI on the day. She was a home run shy of completing the cycle as she posted a triple, a double and a single in game three. Hartley and Hussey each had two hits on the day, and four other Trojans also contributed with a hit.
After a near-perfect game in game two, Rachel Rigney Brown earned another start in the circle. Claire Graves came in as relief in the top of the fourth, but after allowing three earned runs, Meg Willis made her 12th appearance of the season. Willis earned the win and Rigney Brown re-entered to get her first save of the year.
NOTEWORTHY
• Logan Calhoun is the first Trojan this year to hit a single, double and triple in a game.
• Troy hit a season-high two sacrifice flies in its 7-6 win over the Mountaineers.
• Hartley remains the team leader in batting average (.367), runs (44), hits (55), doubles (11), triples (2), home runs (16), slugging percentage (.787), and RBIs (44).
• The Trojans lead the conference in doubles with 63 on the year. Hartley and Stephanie Snyder each have 11, while 10 other Trojans have contributed with at least one.
QUOTABLE
"A sweep any time is big, and this conference is a dog eat dog world," head coach Beth Mullins said. "I think we have done nothing in these last few series but get better. Championship Sunday is always a slugfest, and I am proud of the girls. Rigney did a great job starting and then also closing the door when we brought her back in. Our hitters started off slow and made some really good adjustments. Logan Calhoun was our spark today, and I give her a lot of credit for doing that."
UP NEXT
The Trojans will travel to San Marcos, Texas for the last road series of the season against Texas State. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday's finale is slated for noon. Troy will then return home for a Sunday doubleheader against South Alabama on Sunday, May 7, before hosting the Conference Tournament May 10-13.
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LITUMBE HOMERS IN LOSS TO NO. 17 LOUISIANA
LAFAYETTE, La. - Georgia State (28-20, 13-9) lost 14-6 in five innings Sunday in the final game of the weekend series at No. 17 Louisiana. The Panthers return to Atlanta to host UL Monroe this weekend in the final home games of the year.
Megan Litumbe put Georgia State on top early with a two-run homer in the first inning. It was her team-leading 14th homer of the season and the 44th of her career.
After the Ragin’ Cajuns went up 7-2, the Panthers rallied in the third inning with four runs including a two-run double by Kirsten McMonigle.
Louisiana would take advantage of three GSU errors in the bottom of the fifth to go up 14-6 and end the contest.
After nine straight road games, Georgia State returns home for the final three home contests of the season as UL Monroe comes to town for a three-game series beginning Saturday with a doubleheader. Saturday’s will be GSU’s annual Pink Game and fans are encouraged to wear their pink to the Heck Softball Complex. The Panthers will then honor this year’s seniors prior to Sunday’s series finale.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSU_Softball) for the latest news.
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Softball Falls to Texas State in Series Finale
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern softball team fell in the final game of the series to Texas State on Sunday afternoon. Junior Kierra Camp threw three perfect innings in relief and freshman Mekhia Freeman went 3-for-4, but it wasn't enough for the Eagles who fell to the Bobcats, 4-3. The Eagles are now 22-22 on the season, 12-9 in conference play.
The Eagles got on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homerun from senior slugger Emily Snider. Snider has now knocked thirteen home runs during her senior campaign and has brought her RBI total to 36.
Texas State took the lead in the third inning after Taylor Webb hit a three-run homerun and put the Bobcats up 4-2. Mekhia Freeman hit a double down the line in the fourth that brought India Davis around to score, cutting the GS deficit 4-3.
Dixie Raley (L, 13-14) was tabbed with the loss, throwing the first four innings. Kierra Camp came in to pitch in relief, throwing the final three innings without giving up a hit.
At the plate, Freeman led the way with three hits while Shelby Wilson and India Davis each had two.
UP NEXT:
Georgia Southern will host Savannah State on Wednesday for a midweek doubleheader. The Eagles and Tigers will play game one of the doubleheader at 5 p.m. ET.
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Softball Falls to South Alabama on Sunday
MONROE, La. - The ULM softball team fell 7-4 to South Alabama in game three of the teams' Sun Belt Conference weekend series on Sunday afternoon as the Jaguars swept the series.
TURNING POINT
-The Jaguars jumped on the Warhawks early in the top of the first inning, using a grand slam and a solo homer to give them a 5-0 lead that the visitors never looked back from.
NOTABLES
-Sydney McKay led the charge with a 3-for-4 afternoon. Sami Billeaudeau and Megan Shaw each tallied two hits as the trio combined for seven of the team’s 11 total hits.
-ULM gained some momentum in the seventh inning with a two-run home run by Jayden Mount and a sacrifice fly from Hunter Hogan to bring in a second run. The rally however, came too late for the Warhawks as the Jaguars had already added insurance runs in the third and sixth inning.
-Paige Porter was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs (three earned) on two hits while only getting one out. Melanie Coyne stepped into the circle for 1 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on two hits and struck out a pair of batters before Jessie Watts closed things out in the circle and allowed just one run over the final five innings.
UP NEXT
-The Warhawks travel to face in-state rival Louisiana Tech on Wednesday evening. ULM previously defeated Louisiana Tech at home at Geo-Surfaces Field by a 1-0 score back on April 12.
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CCU Softball Falls in Series Finale at UTA
Arlington, Texas - Coastal Carolina University's softball team jumped out quick on Texas Arlington, but could not sustain the momentum in an 8-5 loss in the series finale.
The Chants did not wait long to get on the scoreboard. Taty Forbes led off the game with a sharp single up the middle and following a walk to Kailey Mellen, Kassidy Smith connected on her 10th home run of the season to give the Chants a 3-0 lead.
That lead did not last long as CCU's defense committed three errors in the bottom of the inning leading to two unearned runs cutting the Chants lead to 3-2.
No one scored again until the fourth when the home team was able to push across three runs on two hits and a couple of sacrifices to take a 5-3 lead.
UTA adds two more runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to push its lead out to 8-3.
CCU made a run in the top of the seventh when Kailey Mellen hit a two-run home run, her fifth of the season, to centerfield to cut the lead to 8-5.
Taylor Rahach (12-7) was the tough-luck loser going 4.2 allowing seven runs, four earned. Taty Forbes and Mellen had two hits for the Chants offense.
CCU is now 29-19 overall and 7-13 in conference play while Texas Arlington moves to 25-20 overall and 11-10 in the conference.
The Chanticleers will play be on the road for the final regular season weekend when they travel to Louisiana next weekend to face the Ragin' Cajuns. The two teams will play a double-header Saturday April 29 with the first game beginning at 3 p.m.
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Softball Drops Close Conference Showdown to Troy
TROY, ALA. – Despite a late rally that cut Troy’s lead to one run, Appalachian State University softball slipped to the Trojans 7-6 in the final inning on Sunday at the Troy Softball Complex in Troy, Ala.
App State (12-30, 0-18 SBC) had held the 2-0 lead before the Trojans (20-29, 8-14 SBC) scored four runs in the third to help edge the Mountaineers in game three. Appalachian turned in the best conference performance against the Trojans scorings six runs on nine hits and Cara Parker was piping hot at the plate going 3-for-4 and registered her 17th RBI of the year.
Katie Williford (1-4) started things off in the circle for the Mountaineers and pitched 3.0 innings, and Vanessa Ciocatto came in relief and rang up two batters.
Game Three: Troy 7, App State 6
Haley Stewart wasted no time in the first, parking a solo jack over the center field fence on the second pitch to snag the early lead in the first.
After an hour rain delay and an epic dance batting, the Apps closed out the second inning with a ground out, and Sidney Russell opened the third hitting a double that tap danced down the left field line and later dashed home on a Trojan fielding error for the 2-0 advantage.
In the third, the Trojans mustered up a string of RBI to take the 4-2 lead then tacked on two more in the fourth, but Katie Mathewson , Parker and Ally Walters knocked in back-to-back-back RBI single to shrink Troy’s lead to 6-5.
Then in the sixth, the Trojans extended their advantage to 7-5 with a sacrifice fly, but App State began to rally back into the game at the top of the seventh when Maddy Bloom pinched in and pounded out a RBI single, but the Trojans stopped Appalachian’s last batter to slide past the Black and Gold 7-6.
Up Next
App State softball heads back to Boone for a four-game homestand that starts on Wednesday, April 26 at 5 p.m. against UNC Charlotte and continues April 29-30 against conference foe UTA.