BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball rolled past visiting Campbell 9-0 in five innings for game one before the Camels took the nightcap by a score of 4-3. That game one decision equaled the largest margin of victory for the Mountaineers this season.
"Vanessa (Ciocatto) threw extremely well today and held them scoreless," said head coach Janice Savage. "Our offense exploded in the first game and made adjustments late in the second game. In that second game, we learned a lot about ourselves and we will work on those things in practice tomorrow as we prepare for another conference weekend."
App State is now 6-20 overall and Campbell went back to Buies Creek with a record of 11-12. On the day, Natalie Orcutt led the offense with four hits in her six at-bats to push her team-leading batting average to .348 and Cara Parker had three hits of her own. Jenny Dodd, Pepper Butler, Tiffany Taynor, and Heather Josey each tallied a couple base knocks and Josey pushed her hitting streak to six games.
Savage continued, "To take two out of three from Campbell this year is a big step for our program after we struggled to beat them in the seven seasons prior."
Josey has enjoyed squaring off against the Camels this season. In the three games against them, she is 4-for-11 with eight RBI, two runs scored, one home run, and one walk.
Orcutt hit her first-career home run, a three-run shot to center in game one, while Butler had a solo bomb in each contest. App State has now hit at least one blast in each of the last five games, which hadn't been done since April 12-18 of last season. The Black and Gold have crushed a total of nine over that span to increase their season total to 18.
Game One: App State 9, Campbell 0 (5 Inn.)
Appalachian scored one run in the first, two in the third and six more in the fourth. In the first, Josey singled in Orcutt with a ball right back up the middle and two innings later, Dodd brought in both Taynor and Orcutt with a single to left.
For the big bottom of the fourth, Butler led off with her first home run of the day and that was just the beginning of it. Orcutt hit her three-run bomb and Parker pushed a couple across with a two-run double to left center.
That was plenty of run support for Vanessa Ciocatto (4-9) who went the distance with her first shutout of the year and did so with five innings of one-hit work, one walk and four strikeouts.
Game Two: Campbell 4, App State 3
Campbell struck first this time and put up a two spot in the top of the first. The Mountaineers got one back in the second, but after three innings, the Camels were up on the home team, 4-1. The Black and Gold didn't go away quietly, though.
In the bottom of the sixth with two outs, Butler was looking for her third home run of the day with a towering fly ball to right. However, it looked like an easy play for the right fielder who looked like she had the ball in her glove, but lost it after crashing into the fence. Butler advanced all the way to third and pinch-hitter, Katie Mathewson, singled her in.
In the bottom of the seventh, Josey singled in Taynor to pull the Apps within one and the bases were loaded for Butler. Butler lined in to a 4-6 double play, though, and that would do it.
Annaleise Kennedy (2-6) got the start and went two innings with four earned runs given up. In relief, Ciocatto was brilliant with five shutout innings, four hits surrendered, one free pass and three punchouts.
Next up, Appalachian State hosts Troy for one on Friday (4:30 p.m.) and two on Saturday (1/3 p.m.).
