GREENSBORO, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball played its first midweek games of the season on Wednesday afternoon with a doubleheader at UNCG. The Spartans took game one 9-0 in five innings and walked off with a game-two victory, 2-1.
The Mountaineers fell to 4-17 overall while UNCG improved to 12-9 and ran its winning streak to four straight. On the day, Cara Parker tallied three of the Black and Gold's six hits, Heather Josey had two and the final base knock came from Megan Walker.
Game One: UNCG 9, App State 0 (5 Inn.)
Homestanding UNCG scored two runs in the first inning off App State starter, Vanessa Ciocatto (2-8) before the junior hurler began to settle down. She went on to retire seven of the next eight batters she faced and kept the deficit at two runs. That would do it for Ciocatto, though, as she threw three innings and gave up two earned runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Before the top of the fourth, Claire Eosso came in relief and the Spartans began to assert themselves. In one inning pitched, Eosso gave up seven runs, six earned, on four hits with three free passes, one punchout, and UNCG won by way of the run rule.
The Mountaineers were one-hit by Alicia Bazonski (5-2) who walked three batters and struck out two. That one hit was a Parker single in the top of the second. Jenny Dodd extended her reached-base streak to 13 games with a walk in the top of the fourth before it went to 14 straight in game two thanks to another walk.
Game Two: UNCG 2, App State 1
Both UNCG and Appalachian State scored one run in the second inning to make it 1-1. The Mountaineers' run came around to score when Josey led off with a double to right and was immediately brought in with Parker's double to left.
Ciocatto got the start, but was done after an inning and a third with one earned run surrendered on just two hits. In relief, Annaleise Kennedy (2-4) was brilliant and held the Spartans in check when App State's bats went silent.
Kennedy kept the game tied all the way until the bottom of the seventh with two outs (four and two-thirds innings pitched). At that time, the freshman had increased her scoreless-innings streak to eight and a third and had only given up one earned run in her last 11.1 innings.
However, with the bases loaded, UNCG hit a comebacker off the leg of Kennedy, Taynor fielded it and threw over to first. Vega appeared to be out for the Spartans, but was called safe and the home team had won in walk-off fashion. Bazonski got the win for game two as well to improve to 6-2 overall.
Next up, App State will open up Sun Belt Conference play at UL Monroe on Saturday (2 p.m. DH) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
