Appalachian State softball finished up its weekend series with conference rival Elon with a 1-2 record against the Phoenix.

The Mountaineers lost a double-header to Elon Saturday, but finished with a win in Sunday’s extra-inning showdown.

In Saturday’s game, the Mountaineers didn’t quite play like themselves.

“The first game of the double-header was really disappointing,” head coach Shae Wesley said. “We didn’t go out on the field ready. Elon really got out to a hot start and we didn’t respond to any of it.”

Elon’s Erin O’Shea pitched a gem of a game, going only five innings – thanks to the NCAA’s mercy rule, which provides that games are called at the bottom of the fifth if one team has an eight-or-more-run lead.

Appalachian was held to only two hits in Saturday’s first outing, but managed a better effort in the second game.

“Of course we’re not going to be happy,” freshman utility player Riley Carter said. “But then, going into the second game, we really picked it up and were able to score a couple.”

Though the second game of the double-header showed improvement, Appalachian was not able to score enough runs and still sustained a 7-4 loss.

But in the third game Sunday, the Mountaineers looked like a different team.

The black and gold out-hit the Phoenix Sunday, with freshman third-baseman Caroline Rogers going 1-for-4 and providing three RBIs for App.

The game went into extra innings and at the top of the eleventh, Meghan Rembielak singled and brought in the winning run. The Appalachian defense pulled through, holding Elon scoreless in the bottom of the inning to seal the deal.

“Having the winning run in a play definitely puts a little more pressure on you, but I thrive off that,” Rembielak said. “It was a lot of fun.”

The Mountaineers will play another series April 18 against the Aggies of North Carolina A&T. The double-header will begin at 2 p.m. in Greensboro.

Story: ETHAN JOYCE, Intern Sports Reporter