App State softball participated in the Liberty Softball Invitational Friday through Sunday, going 4-1 on the weekend.
The Mountaineers first took on Lehigh in a doubleheader on Friday, winning both.
In the first game, junior pitcher Sophie Moshos gave up a run in the top of the first to give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead. This would be the only run she’d give up in this start as she finished with 1 run in 7 innings while striking out 8.
The Mountaineers eventually took the lead in the third after junior infielder Makayla McClain hit an RBI single then captured Lehigh’s attention by stealing second base, allowing freshman outfielder and utility player Julia Girk to steal home to make the game 2-1.
Sophomore infielder Grace Barrett drove home another run in the fifth to make the lead 3-1. This score would hold to the end and the Mountaineers would take the win.
The second game in the doubleheader wasn’t as low scoring, with App State taking the win with a score of 8-3.
The Black and Gold took an early lead, driving 3 runs home in the first and 2 more in the top of the third to take a 5-0 lead.
Lehigh responded with 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the third thanks to an error by App State, but the Mountaineers followed with another 2 in the fourth to reestablish a 5 run lead.
The Mountain Hawks scored another run in the fifth, this time on a fielder’s choice, but the Mountaineers once again responded with a run of their own, this time a homer by McClain that brought the game to the score it would end at.
Saturday, App State took on Drexel and No. 21 Liberty, taking the Drexel game 8-0 in five innings and losing to Liberty 9-1 in 6.
The Mountaineers offense immediately took off against Drexel, scoring 6 runs in the first inning.Â
Freshman catcher Leah Gore hit a homer and Girk hit an RBI double to make the score 8-0 in the fifth. After the end of the inning, the game ended via the run rule.
In the next matchup, Liberty jumped out to an early lead over the Mountaineers, putting up 3 runs in the first inning.
The Mountaineers cut that lead down by 1 on an RBI single by Girk, but the Flames continued to pull away.
Eventually the Flames extended their lead to 9-1 and the run ruled kicked into effect, ending the game.
App State rebounded Sunday to take a victory 10-2 over Georgetown.
The Hoyas jumped out to a 2-run lead in the first, but the Mountaineers pitching staff clamped down and didn’t allow another run after that.
The Black and Gold offense got going in the third, scoring 5 runs and on the inning, including 2 on a homer by Gore.
The Mountaineers kept extending their lead in the fifth, with sophomore utility player Taylor Chumbley hitting a solo shot to make the lead 6-2.
They continued to tack on more in the sixth and seventh, driving another 3 runs home in the sixth and one final run in the seventh to make the lead 10-2.
Moshos had another stellar game, taking over in the second inning and not allowing a single run the rest of the game.
These wins improved App State’s record to 7-12, and they will have one last chance to improve upon this before conference play starts.
App State will travel to Clarksville, Tennessee, to participate in the Cathi Maynard Invitational hosted by Austin Peay University Friday through Sunday. They will kick off their weekend against Bucknell Friday at 2 p.m. Not every game will be streamed, but the games against Austin Peay will be streamed on ESPN+.
