With a spot in the Sun Belt Championship on the line, App State softball dropped two of three games against Texas State University to end its 2026 season. A walk-off win Friday afternoon was bookended by a 2-run loss Thursday and a run-rule loss Friday evening, resulting in the Mountaineers missing the postseason for the third time in four years.
Thursday began as a pitcher’s duel between senior left-handed pitcher Sophie Moshos and Bobcats pitcher Maddy Azua. Both pitchers threw a complete game and did not allow a run until the bottom of the third inning, when junior left fielder Macy Hamby hit a single up the middle, scoring senior infielder Makayla McClain.
Texas State answered in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to deep left field and a 2-run double to right center field.
App State had chances to respond in the fifth and sixth innings, putting a runner on base in both frames, but was unable to score. The Bobcats made it a 3-run game in the seventh inning with an RBI double to right-center field.
The Mountaineers started the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles and loaded the bases with one out. Hamby stepped up again and drove in a run on a groundout, but junior right fielder KB Bradshaw struck out to end the game, and the Black and Gold lost 4-2.
Texas State opened game one of a Friday doubleheader with 3 runs in the top of the first inning, 2 of which came via error when Bradshaw dropped a fly ball on the warning track. App State countered with 5 runs in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of an RBI single by sophomore first baseman Emilie Ching and a grand slam by sophomore catcher Leah Gore, her third grand slam of the year.
The Bobcats plated a pair in the third on a home run and an RBI double, but sophomore center fielder Julia Girk quickly responded with an RBI double to left field in the bottom of the third, making the score 6-5.
The wheels appeared to fall off for the Mountaineers in the top of the fourth inning when the Bobcats scored 6 runs to take the lead, but App State’s offense rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the fourth to even the score at 11. Gore drew a bases-loaded walk, freshman utility player Madison Fletcher smacked a 2-run single, Girk hit an RBI groundout and McClain hit an RBI single to right field that tied the game, bringing the fans to their feet.
Junior shortstop Grace Barrett led off the bottom of the fifth by unloading on an 0-1 pitch for a solo home run down the left field line, giving the Mountaineers a 12-11 lead.
The Bobcats tied the game once more at the top of the seventh with a leadoff solo home run. However, despite having the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs, Texas State was unable to regain the lead.
Barrett hit an infield single and advanced to second base on a wild pitch, giving App State a chance to walk it off with a base hit. Ching cashed in immediately, lining a single to left field that scored Barrett for a 13-12 walk-off win.
Game two of the Friday doubleheader was not as kind to the Black and Gold. The Bobcats wasted no time building a big lead, scoring 6 runs in the top of the first inning and chasing Moshos, who started all three games of the series, out of the game.
Bradshaw snuck an RBI single through the left side in the bottom of the first for App State’s lone run of the ballgame. The Mountaineers loaded the bases later in the inning, but Gore struck out to end the threat.
Texas State scored 6 runs in the second inning and added 3 more in the third for good measure, while Azua shut out the Mountaineers from the second inning on. The Bobcats cruised to a 15-1 victory, spoiling senior day and ending the Mountaineers’ season.
App State finishes the season with a 29-21 overall record, tied with the 2006 and 2022 seasons for the second-highest win total in a season and three wins shy of setting a program record. However, in a hyper-competitive conference that had 11 of 12 programs in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI rankings, the Mountaineers went 8-16 in conference play.
Six seniors — Moshos, McClain, infielder Ambry Lucas, outfielder Dakota Daniel, catcher Marti Henkel and utility player Summer Simpson — were honored Friday for their contributions to the program, receiving flowers and a framed jersey with photos capturing their time at App State.
The Mountaineers smashed a program-record 77 home runs this season, obliterating the previous record of 55 set in 2025. McClain set the individual record for most homers in a season with 18. Moshos and freshman right-handed pitcher Camryn Fisher both recorded 14 wins, tied for the third-most in a season. Moshos and Fisher also struck out over 100 batters each, the first time two pitchers have accomplished the feat in the same season in program history.
