BOONE, N.C. - Not even a two hour, 10 minute rain delay could slow Appalachian State University softball, as sophomore Heather Josey went 2-for-3 on the day, hitting two screamers beyond the fence to drive in three of the Mountaineers' four RBI to defeat UL Monroe 4-1.
App State then went back-to-back as Cara Parker joined the home run party with a solo shot deep into left that put the game further out of reach. That blast gave Parker three on the season, Josey leads the team with five and the Black and Gold hit three home runs in a game for the first time this season. For the weekend, Appalachian hit six home runs to up their season total to 15, one-third of last season's total.
"I'm very proud of our team this past weekend," said head coach Janice Savage. "We made great strides and grew a lot over the last three games. We have some things we still need to continue to work on, but for our first weekend out in Sun Belt play, I am very pleased."
Josey has been on a tear lately as she has raised her average from .195 to .281 since March 5. During that span, the right-handed hitter is a combined 10-of-23 (.435) with six runs scored, 11 RBI, three doubles, and four home runs. That .281 average puts her in a tie for third on the team with Megan Walker.
Savage continued, "Our girls fought and played with passion all weekend. We learned from our mistakes Saturday and made adjustments on Sunday. We will continue to practice hard this week and carry this momentum into our midweeks and next weekend's series."
The Mountaineers (5-19, 1-2 Sun Belt) earned their first conference win, an improvement over last season where the first league win came on April 12. Despite being the "home team," the Warhawks (14-10, 2-1 SBC) dropped their first conference game of the year, after winning both in yesterday's doubleheader.
Annaleise Kennedy was credited with her first-career save and Vanessa Ciocatto (3-9) earned the win after throwing four innings with one earned run surrendered on four hits. The junior hurler walked four batters and struck out two. As a team, ULM had 24 hits in yesterday's twinbill, but only five in today's contest.
Both Kennedy and Ciocatto combined to hold one of the Sun Belt's best hitters, Rochelle Roberts, hitless for just the fourth time this season. Prior to Sunday, Roberts was riding a seven-game hitting streak and had recorded at least one hit in 18 of her last 19 games. She entered the weekend with a conference-best .563 batting average that was also seventh-best in the nation.
Kennedy tallied the Mountaineers' first save in nearly a year with three innings of one-hit ball and, lately, she has been Appalachian State's hottest pitcher. Since March 5, the freshman has lowered her ERA from 8.18 to 5.43 and continues to creep up on the team low in that category. In her last five appearances, Kennedy has a 2.23 ERA in 22 innings pitched with six free passes and 12 punchouts.
Next up, App State will host Campbell for two on Wednesday with first pitch in game one set for 4 p.m. at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. The Mountaineers and Camels met on March 5 as part of the Camel Stampede and Appalachian State came out on top, 16-9.
