By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. – With the score knotted 10-10 in the bottom of the tenth inning, Graham Smiley smashed an RBI double into the left field corner, scoring Braxton Church from first base and lifting App State to an 11-10 comeback win over High Point on Tuesday at Smith Stadium.

Church worked a walk to begin the inning, and after showing bunt on the first pitch of the at-bat, Smiley swung away on 1-0 to drive in the winning run for App State’s only lead of the night. It snapped the Mountaineers’ four-game losing skid.

App State (12-12, 3-3) trailed 10-7 when the ninth inning began. Tyler Lichtenberger led off with a double, and pinch hitter Xavier Lopez was hit by a pitch two batters later. Charlie Evans then drove in Lichtenberger with an RBI single to right-center to make it 10-8. With two outs in the inning, Joseph Zamora belted a ball to right-center that one-hopped the fence for a game-tying two-run double.

Despite the first two High Point (17-8, 3-0) batters reaching base in the top of the tenth, Max Tramontana delivered a clutch performance out of the bullpen to keep the contest tied. The redshirt sophomore was able to get the lead runner at third base on a sacrifice attempt for the first out of the inning. After the Mountaineers intentionally walked High Point’s scorching hot leadoff hitter Konni Durschlag to load the bases, Tramontana induced a pair of shallow flyouts to end the inning.

Durschlag finished the contest with four hits, including two doubles and a home run, and also walked twice, reaching base in all six plate appearances.

App State fell behind 6-0 before recording the first out of the ballgame. After the first three High Point batters reached to begin the evening, Brayden Simpson drew a bases loaded walk and Three Hillier reached on an error to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. Jake McCarter then followed with a grand slam to balloon the High Point advantage.

App State answered with a big inning of their own in the home half of the first. Dillon Moquin and Zamora worked back-to-back walks to begin the frame, and Kameron Miller reached on an error to load the bases. Church then got the Mountaineers on the board with an RBI single to center, and Juan Correa followed with a two-run single through the left side. Lichtenberger capped the scoring by bouncing an RBI single up the middle to cut the early deficit to 6-5.

After a pair of two-run homers – one in the second and one in the fourth – pushed the Panther lead to 10-5 in the fourth, Tyler Figueroa helped the Mountaineers continue their fight back. The sophomore doubled in the fourth and came into score on a Evans’ sacrifice fly, and then Figueroa uncorked a 415-foot home run in the sixth inning to bring the deficit to 10-7.

App State pitching struck out 14 batters in the ballgame, and did not allow a run after the fourth inning of play. Jake Beaty worked two scoreless innings in relief, followed by one scoreless inning each from Cody Little, Reyn Watson, Jordan Fisher and Liam Best. Tamontana collected the win, his first of the season, by recording all three outs in the ninth.

Offensively, Lichtenberger extended his on-base streak to 23 straight games with two hits in the contest, while Church also extended his on-base streak to 16 in a row with a walk and a single.

App State will continue its homestand with a three-game series against Old Dominion, Friday through Sunday at Smith Stadium. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Both teams got 10 hits, but one capitalized more than the other. Hibriten centerfielder Karli Pelfrey and left fielder Adriana Figueroa each rapped out three hits in four plate appearances on March 25, powering the Panthers to a 7-4 win over the host Watauga Pioneers.

Among the hits by the Hibriten outfielder duo were triples by each. Pelfrey put herself into scoring position to score two runs on the night while Figueroa’s offensive performance included one run scored and one RBI.

While Hibriten jumped on Watauga starting pitcher Katie Matheson for a run in each of the first two innings, the first four innings were largely a pitcher’s duel. The Pioneers got on the board in the bottom of the third inning when third baseman Jayden Arnette singled and eventually scored on a passed ball, narrowing the deficit to 2-1.

Even though Figueroa smashed a 2-out triple to the right field fence in the top of the fourth inning, Matheson was able to get herself out the jam by getting the Panthers’ first baseman Sydney Turnmire to ground out to second, ending the inning.

Matheson went the full seven innings in the circle for the Pioneers, but it came at a cost to her ERA (earned run average). The Panthers exploded for five more runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take command with a 7-1 lead.

Pelfrey ripped a 1-out single in the fifth inning after freshman teammate Claire Rotting reached first on an error. A walk to Parker Boggs loaded the bases for junior catcher Presley Smith, who promptly doubled to the gap in center, scoring all three of her teammates.

Figueroa led off with a single in the sixth, then was brought home by a Turnmire double to the centerfield fence. Turnmire later was brought home with an RBI groundout.

Watauga was able to narrow the big deficit with two runs in the bottom of the 6th. Chloe Moretz led off with a line drive single to center, then advanced to 2nd base on a hard ground ball through the infield by Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute-bound Jordin Greene. Watauga catcher Chloe Wilson — who will join Greene at Caldwell next season — drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Ansleigh Watson lofted a sacrifice fly to left that saw all baserunners tagging up and advancing, including Moretz crossing the plate. The Pioneers loaded the bases again when Julie Matheson reached first base on an error, with Wilson holding up at second and Greene at third. Rotting, the Hibriten pitcher, helped herself by throwing out Greene at home on a grounder back to the circle. But that still left the bases loaded. The Pioneers took advantage when Wilson scored on a slow roller single back to the pitcher by Presli Wood, shrinking the deficit to 7-3.

Watauga scored one more time in the bottom of the 7th on consecutive 1-out singles by Moretz and Greene, then another walk awarded to Wilson, loading the bases for yet another time for the Pioneers. Moretz scored for the game’s final run but the scoring threat was squashed on a pop-up double play to end the game.

Next up for Watauga (2-7 overall, 0-3 Northwestern Conference) is a trip to East Bend, N.C. (Yadkin County) to challenge Forbush High School (8-3) on March 26.

KEY PERFORMERS

• HIB – Karli Pelfrey: 3-4, 2 runs scored, triple
• HIB – Presley Smith: 1-4, 3 RBIs, double
• HIB – Adriana Figueroa: 3-4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, triple
• HIB – Sydney Turnmire: 1-4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, double
• WAT – Chloe Moretz: 2-4, 2 runs scored, stolen base
• WAT – Ansleigh Watson: 0-2, 2 RBIs, 2 sacrifice flies
• WAT – Presli Wood: 2-3, 1 RBI
• WAT: Chloe Wilson: 1-2, 1 run scored, 2 walks
• WAT – Katie Matheson: 2-4

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — “Blustery” was a good way to describe the March 25 weather for Watauga’s Northwestern Conference baseball game against visiting Hibriten. A better way to describe the Panthers’ hitters? “Flustered” by the Pioneers’ starting pitcher, Everett Gryder. The versatile junior threw seven strong innings, allowing just one run on  four hits and striking out seven Hibriten batters in Watauga’s 3-1 win.

Both teams were held scoreless through the first three inning, knotted at 0-0 going into what became the decisive fourth frame. Hibriten remained scoreless in the top of the fourth inning, even though they threatened with a leadoff double by senior catcher Micah Greer. Gryder was able to wriggle out of the inning unscathed, setting up the Pioneers to take a 2-run lead in the bottom half of the frame.

Pioneer first baseman JT Cook jumped on Hibriten senior hurler Jon Spears’ first pitch for a line drive double to right. The big senior represented the game’s first run when consecutive singles followed off the bats of right fielder Dillon Zaragoza and left fielder Walker Ransdell.

With one out, Pioneer third baseman Cade Keller was credited with an RBI, knocking a slow roller to Hibriten second baseman, sophomore Maddox Marley, for a ground out that allowed Zaragoza time to score from third base, giving Watauga a still tenuous, 2-0 lead after four innings of play.

Hibriten responded with a run in the top of the fifth inning thanks largely to a line drive triple to the centerfield fence by outfielder Tanner Moore. Some alert baserunning by the talented junior allowed him to cut the deficit to just a single run before Gryder could extinguish the Panther rally.

Speedy Watauga second baseman Evan Burroughs smashed a one-out double to left to get things going in the bottom of the fifth inning, then promptly stole third base on Spears’ second pitch to Maddox Greene. The Pioneers’ senior shortstop capitalized, lofting a sacrifice fly to center that brought Burroughs home for the game’s final run.

The top of the sixth inning was another three up, three down pitching performance by Watauga’s Gryder and Hibriten’s Spears responded in kind, his inning only marred by an outfielder’s error that allowed Pioneer pinch hitter JJ Everett to reach second and put himself in scoring position. But the threat was to no avail when Spears got the final out when shortstop Julius Martin cleanly fielded a sharply hit ground ball by Watauga catcher Chase Gillin to end the inning.

Gryder finished the game on the mound for Watauga in the top of the seventh. He gave up a leadoff single to Hibriten right fielder Braxtyn Conn, but a game-ending double play got him out of any potential jam two batters later. Burroughs fielded a sharply hit grounder off the bat of the Panthers’ Moore, stepped on second base and whirled to throw the ball to first baseman Cook to complete the double play.

With the win, Watauga’s overall record improves to 4-7 and 1-2 in Northwestern Conference play. They travel to Morganton on March 28 to challenge Freedom (6-6, 0-3).

KEY PERFORMERS

• WAT – Everett Gryder: 7 innings pitched, 1 run allowed, seven strikeouts, 58 of 75 pitches were strikes, 1 walk
• WAT – Evan Burroughs: 1-3, 1 run scored, double, 2 stolen bases
• WAT – JT Cook: 1-2, 1 run scored, 1 walk, double
• WAT – Maddox Greene: 0-2, 1 RBI, sacrifice fly
• WAT – Dillon Zaragoza: 1-3, 1 run scored, 1 stolen base
• WAT – Cade Keller: 0-3, 1 RBI
• HIB – Braxtyn Conn: 2-3, double
• HIB – Tanner Moore: 1-3, 1 run scored, triple
• HIB – Micah Greer: 1-3, double

By Matt Present. STATESBORO, Ga. — Despite quality relief efforts from Carter Boyd and Bradley Wilson, the Mountaineers’ offense was held in check, falling 5-1 to Georgia Southern in Sunday’s series finale at J.I. Clements Stadium.

After App State (11-12, 3-3) took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning, Georgia Southern (14-9, 3-3) responded with five unanswered runs in the contest, highlighted by a three-run second inning to take the lead.

After Everette Harris started the ballgame on the mound for App State, Boyd came on in relief in the third inning. The redshirt sophomore got a flyout to end the inning and ultimately worked 2.1 innings, allowing just a run, while striking out one.

Wilson then worked the final 3.0 innings and did not allow a walk or a hit and threw 27 of his 40 pitches for strikes.

The Mountaineers lone run came on a bases loaded walk to Tommy Walker, which followed walks to Braxton Church and Graham Smiley, sandwiched around a hit by pitch of Tyler Figueroa.

Tyler Lichtenberger led the offense with two hits, including a triple, raising his team-leading batting average to .403 on the season.

App State will return to Boone for four home games next week, beginning with a Tuesday contest against High Point at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By Jacob Plecker. BOONE, N.C. — The App State Softball team saw an opposite-field home run by sophomore Macy Hamby in the sixth inning, but a three-run second inning by the Georgia Southern was all the Eagles needed to win the game, 4-1, on March 23.

GSU used solid pitching performances to win both the game and the 3-game weekend series. App State was held hitless until the bottom of the third inning in game 3 and only tallied three hits on the day.

Hamby’s home run marked App State’s (10-20, 1-5 SBC) fifth home run of the weekend and helped break the Georgia Southern (20-13, 4-2 SBC) shutout bid. Hamby became the fourth different Mountaineer to hit a home run at the newly constructed Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium, joining Madison McIntyre, Leah Gore and Makayla McClain, who each hit homers on Saturday.

After seeing the Eagles take a four-run lead in the fourth inning, the Mountaineers turned to Sophie Moshos to keep App State within striking distance by posting 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. The lefty allowed just one hit in her outing while striking out three Eagle batters, moving her within one strikeout of eclipsing 400 career strikeouts at the collegiate level. For the weekend, Moshos posted a 1.50 ERA in 9.1 innings of work and tallied her sixth win of the year on Saturday.

Summer Simpson racked up another hit against the Eagles, marking her fourth knock of the three-game set. Her two-out single in the third inning helped extend her hitting streak to five straight games. Julia Girk stroked the Mountaineers’ third hit of the ballgame in the fifth inning, which was her second hit of the series.

How it Happened

On the final day of the three-game set between the Eagles and Mountaineers, Sejal Neas took the ball first and posted a scoreless first inning by working around a pair of singles. App State went quietly in its half of the first and Georgia Southern scored three runs in the top of the second to take a three-run lead. All three of the Eagles’ runs came with two outs.

Alana Barnard, who recorded the win on Sunday, sat down the Mountaineers in order in the bottom of the second, but Neas bounced back in the top of the third to keep the Eagles off the board. The senior worked around a lead-off double to do so.

App State tallied its first hit of the game in the third inning thanks to a sharply hit single by Simpson. The Eagles retired the first two hitters of the inning before Simpson shot one up the middle. Nothing came of the hit as Georgia Southern retired the next hitter to keep its three-run advantage.

The Eagles struck again in the top of the fourth inning to take a four-run lead. The inning started with a single and after two outs recorded by Bel Varadi, who relieved Neas at the beginning of the inning, Georgia Southern scored its fourth and final run to make it 4-0 after three and a half frames.

Needing to answer, the Mountaineers saw a walk to Grace Barrett to give them a one-out baserunner, but a fielder’s choice and a strikeout ended the threat with the Eagles still holding a four-run lead.

Moshos, who came on to pitch in the fourth inning, threw up a zero in the fifth inning and App State generated its first scoring chance of the game to lead off the bottom half. Girk reached base on an infield hit and McIntyre hustled through the bag to beat out a grounder to second, which put two on for Hannah Forbes with no one out. But the Eagle defense clamped down and made two straight nice plays to keep App State off the scoreboard.

A 1-2-3 sixth inning by Moshos helped bring the Mountaineer bats back to the plate immediately, and Hamby paid off the shutdown inning with a solo homer into the Eagle bullpen to break the shutout. It was her second home run of the year and first since Feb. 16. The Eagles made a pitching change after the homer and sat down three in a row to close the inning.

The Mountaineer defense posted another perfect inning in the top of the seventh, which kept their deficit to three as play entered the final half-inning. App State saw a two-out walk drawn by Forbes, but the Eagle defense held serve and won the game 4-1.

By Matt Present. STATESBORO, Ga. — With the Mountaineers down by a run and down to their final out in the top of the ninth inning, Graham Smiley blasted a go-ahead grand slam, but Georgia Southern answered with a walk-off single in the bottom half of the inning as App State fell to the Eagles 14-13 on March 22, at J.I. Clements Stadium.

In a contest that featured seven lead changes, App State (11-11, 3-2) and Georgia Southern (13-9, 2-3) combined for 27 runs on 31 hits, including nine home runs on the afternoon. Smiley finished the game with two home runs and five RBIs, while Kameron Miller belted a grand-slam of his own, finishing with a career-high four hits, two home runs and six RBIs.

App State trailed 12-9 when the ninth inning began. Miller led off the inning with a single and Braxton Church reached on a fielder’s choice. With two outs and App State down to its final strike, Tanner McCammon beat out an infield single, extending the contest for Smiley, who deposited a 1-0 pitch over the wall in dead center field to put App State in the lead, 13-12.

The Eagles worked a walk and a hit by pitch to begin the home half of the inning, and sacrificed the pair into scoring position, where Nico Senese lined a game-winning single to right-center field, just over the leaping Joseph Zamora at second base.

App State led the contest 3-1 early, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning, followed by a solo homer from Miller in the fourth. The Eagles answered with a three-run bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-3 advantage.

The Mountaineers delivered a massive counterpunch in the fifth. Smiley led off the inning with his first homer of the ballgame to center field. Charlie Evans, Dillon Moquin and Zamora followed with three straight singles, setting the table for Miller, who drilled a 1-1 fastball over the left field wall to give App State an 8-4 lead.

The Eagles continued the back-and-forth action, homering twice in a four-run bottom half of the frame to square the contest at 8-8.

The Eagles put together another multi-run frame in the sixth, hitting another home run as part of a three-run frame.

Tyler Lichtenberger, Zamora and McCammon all finished with two hits in the contest and all nine starters registered at least one hit for the Mountaineers, after the team was held to just four hits on Friday night.

App State will try to salvage the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.

By Jacob Plecker. BOONE, N.C. – Trailing by two runs entering the fifth inning, the App State Softball team needed a spark to close the game. They found that in a huge way with 10 runs in the final two innings, including four home runs, helping App State post a run-rule victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles 10-2 on March 22.

The Mountaineers didn’t record a hit until the fourth inning of play but tallied seven hits across the last two innings.

Madison McIntyre helped spark a six-run fifth inning with a solo home run over the left-field wall, which was the Mountaineers’ (10-19, 1-4 SBC) first long ball at their new stadium. McIntyre struck again in the sixth inning for a two-run homer, marking her first career multi-homer game at the collegiate level. The freshman first-baseman tallied three RBI on the day and has five runs driven in heading into the series finale on Sunday.

App State went ahead for good in the fifth inning after Leah Gore belted a high-arching grand slam over the left-field wall after seeing the Eagles (19-13, 3-2 SBC) make a pitching change. Gore’s go-ahead grand slam was App State’s second of the season. Makayla McClain provided the last of the fireworks as she hit a walk-off two-run home run into right-center field, her fourth of the year, helping send the Mountaineer faithful home happy.

Left-handed pitcher Sophie Moshos dazzled in the circle for the Mountaineers in game 2, going the distance while allowing just two runs. Both runs came with two outs in the third inning. Moshos struck out three hitters, putting her at 396 for her career, and posted her sixth win of the season.

How it Happened

The Mountaineer defense started the contest strong on Saturday, posting a 1-2-3 top of the first inning. Moshos tallied the first strikeout of her day to close the frame. Macy Hamby worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the first and stole second, but App State couldn’t get her home, leaving the game scoreless after a full inning.

Another perfect inning by Moshos sent the Mountaineer bats right back into the dugout, and Marti Henkel drew the Mountaineers’ second walk of the game. Georgia Southern didn’t let Henkel get past first base, however, and kept the score at 0-0 entering the third.

The Eagles saw their first baserunner reach to lead off the third inning, a walk to Madi Gillespie. McIntyre helped record the first out of the inning by making a diving play in foul territory on a sacrifice bunt attempt before a fielder’s choice quickly tallied the second out. But Georgia Southern struck first with back-to-back doubles to plate two runs with two outs. It would be the last time the Eagles scored in the game.

Trailing for the first time in the game, the Mountaineer bats went quietly in the bottom of the third, but Moshos didn’t let that stop her as she stranded the bases loaded to keep App State’s deficit to just two after three and a half innings. App State recorded its first hit in the bottom of the fourth, a two-out double by Henkel, but she was tagged out after sliding past the bag.

Moshos continued to keep the Eagles in check in the fifth inning by working around a walk to throw up another zero. Then, the App State bats woke up and took the lead in the bottom of the fifth.

App State’s six-run inning began with an out, but McIntyre’s first home run of the game trimmed the deficit in half as she shot the first home run at the newly constructed Sywassink/Lloyd Family stadium over the right-center field wall. With one out, Taylor Chumbley reached base on an error and Summer Simpson shot a single into left field to put runners on the corners for McClain.

PHILADELPHIA — A banner season for App State Wrestling ended Friday on Day 2 of the NCAA Championships.

Three-time NCAA qualifier Will Miller won an NCAA match for the second straight year, using a second-period pin in his 2025 opener at the Wells Fargo Center to reach the Round of 16, but consecutive losses eliminated him from competition. A pair of first-time NCAA qualifiers, junior Carson Floyd (No. 33 seed) and true freshman Stephan Monchery (No. 32 seed), joined Miller in Philadelphia and went 0-2 from their pigtail paths.

The SoCon Wrestler of the Year as a senior and the No. 13 seed in Philly, Miller finished the 2024-25 season with a 22-4 record and 84 career victories. Head coach JohnMark Bentley’s program won three SoCon regular season titles and three SoCon tournament titles during Miller’s four seasons.

That included a share of a regular season team title and a dramatic SoCon tournament team title in 2025, when the Mountaineers started freshmen at five of 10 weights after losing two top-16 NCAA finishers to P4 programs via the transfer portal and having two other SoCon champions with NCAA experience suffer season-ending injuries in the first dual.

Miller’s second-period win by fall Thursday against Southern Scuffle champion Gunner Filipowicz, the No. 20 seed from Army, and an 11-1 loss to No. 4 seed Terrell Barraclough, who transferred to Utah Valley after spending four seasons at Penn State, meant that he was one of 24 wrestlers left in the 165-pound bracket.

On Friday, his match against No. 30 seed Aiden Riggins was scoreless until Riggins executed a second-period reversal following a strong ride from Miller. Riggins didn’t allow an escape, so Miller opted to start the third period from a neutral position rather than from bottom with a 2-0 deficit, and Riggins’ third-period takedown for a 5-0 lead provided the key separation in a 9-1 major decision.

Miller arrived in Philadelphia with a 21-2 record this season but no pins. He picked a fine time to change that, completing a takedown of Filipowicz with six seconds left in the second period for a 3-1 lead and beating the clock by finishing off a pin one second before the period ended.

It was App State’s first win by fall at the NCAA Championships since Codi Russell produced one in 2019.

Barraclough improved to 30-2 this season by turning competitive exchanges into takedowns late in the first and second periods against Miller. Barraclough was 12-2 last season as Penn State’s backup to national runner-up Mitchell Mesenbrink.
Floyd wrapped up his junior season with a 28-10 record, raising his total to 66 career victories, while Monchery went 19-11 this season and qualified for the NCAAs as the SoCon champion despite starting the year with a 6-6 record.

Floyd trailed 11-3 on Thursday before he recorded a takedown and two near fall points in the final 10 seconds of a 12-8 loss against Army’s Wolfgang Frable (No. 32 seed) in their pigtail opener. Floyd put Frable on his back after attempting to cut and then quickly reengage with his opponent, but he ran out of time to do more damage.

Floyd cut his second-period deficit against West Virginia’s Ian Bush (No. 30 seed) to 4-3 in the next round with a second-period takedown and trailed by one again following a third-period escape, but Floyd was unable to secure a go-ahead takedown late in Bush’s 5-4 decision.

Monchery opened the event with a 9-0 loss to Purdue’s Hayden Filipovich and went through a scoreless first period in his next match against Wyoming’s Sam Mitchell, who rode out the second period. An escape, takedown and rideout for Mitchell in the third period resulted in a 5-0 decision.

The 2024-25 season was presented by Hungry Howie’s and Penn Station.

App State Wrestlers @ NCAA Championships

165: #13 Will Miller (22-4)

• • W, Fall (4:59) vs. #20 Gunner Filipowicz, Army
  • L, MD (11-1) vs. #4 Terrell Barraclough, Utah Valley
  • L, MD (9-1) vs. #30 Aiden Riggins, Iowa State

197: #33 Carson Floyd (28-10)

• • L, Dec (12-8) vs. #32 Wolfgang Frable, Army
  • L, Dec (5-4) vs. #30 Ian Bush, West Virginia

Hwt: #32 Stephan Monchery (19-11)

• • L, MD (9-0) vs. #33 Hayden Filipovich, Purdue
  • L, Dec (5-0) vs. #30 Sam Mitchell, Wyoming

By Jacob Plecker. BOONE, N.C. — In what was the team’s first home game of the season and first contest at its new facility, App State Softball got out to an early lead after a third-inning double, but couldn’t make it stand up as the Georgia Southern Eagles scored five times in the final three innings to claim a 5-3 win at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium on Friday. The Mountaineers scored two runs in the final inning of play, but important seventh-inning insurance runs provided the Eagles the right amount of cushion to secure the win.

App State (9-19, 0-4 SBC) tallied the first hit and the first RBI at its new stadium in the third inning. The first hit came courtesy of a two-out double by Summer Simpson, which helped spark a string of three straight hits to plate the first run. Makayla McClain drove home Simpson with a double to left-center field immediately following Simpson’s double. App State tallied five hits against the Eagles (19-12, 3-1 SBC), with four of them being doubles.

Sejal Neas started the Mountaineers’ home opener in the circle and posted a solid outing, allowing just one earned run in 4.1 innings. She carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning. The senior held the Eagles in check through the first four innings despite seeing some traffic on the bases as she stranded four runners.

The Mountaineers were led offensively by Macy Hamby who tallied two hits in three at-bats. Macy Hamby tallied one of four Mountaineer doubles in the game with a shot off the right-field wall in the sixth inning. Madison McIntyre also posted a double in Friday’s game, which drove home App State’s second and third runs in the seventh inning.

How it Happened

Taking the field for the first time at its new home, Neas and the Mountaineer defense worked a scoreless top of the first, working around a lead-off walk and a stolen base to do so. Neas picked up her first strikeout for the first out of the inning, which drew an ovation from the Mountaineer crowd.

App State went quietly in its first at-bat, but Neas kept the score at zeroes after stranding two runners in the bottom of the second with a groundout. Both teams traded 1-2-3 frames in the next inning, but the Mountaineers struck for the game’s first run in the bottom of the third.

With both teams hitless entering the inning, Georgia Southern retired the first two Mountaineers via strikeout, but Simpson ended the no-hit threat by blasting a line drive to the right-field wall for a double. It was the first hit at the new stadium. Three pitches later, McClain laced a double of her own to the left-field wall to score Simpson and make it 1-0.

Not done yet, Hamby reached base on an infield hit down the third-base line and then stole second base to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. But the Eagles remained calm and forced a groundout to end the inning.

Neas and her defense responded to the Mountaineers’ score by posting the fourth consecutive scoreless inning of her start. App State saw a walk by Leah Gore to lead off the fourth inning, but a double play ended the threat with the Mountaineers still leading by one as action moved to the fifth.

Georgia Southern used two hits to even the score at one in the top of the fifth, breaking up Neas’ no-hit bid with a lead-off double. The Eagles scored thanks to a single to right by Emma Davis, which forced the Mountaineers to turn to their bullpen. Ava Beamesderfer came on and stranded the bases loaded to keep the score tied.

The Mountaineers went down quietly in the fifth inning and the Eagles scored two more times to take the lead in the sixth. App State retired the first two hitters in the inning, but Georgia Southern saw a two-out runner reach on a dropped third strike. After an infield hit to put two on, the Eagles’ lead-off hitter rung a double into the gap to score both runners, which gave them the lead.

Needing to answer quickly, Hamby reached second base via a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. This forced a pitching change, which proved to be the right move as Georgia Southern kept App State off the board. The Eagles used this momentum and scored twice more in the final inning to get to their final total of five runs.

App State didn’t go quietly in its final at-bat as both Marti Henkel and Julia Girk reached base to lead off the inning. Wasting no time, McIntyre smoked an opposite-field double into the outfield to plate two runs, closing the gap back to two runs. This forced a pitching change by the Eagles, and they turned back to their starter, Maddie Johnson, who closed out the game to secure the victory.

By Bret Stelow. PHILADELPHIA — App State Wrestling’s Will Miller advanced to Day 2 of the NCAA Championships with a 1-1 opening day that began with his first pin of the season.

The second-period win by fall Thursday afternoon against Southern Scuffle champion Gunner Filipowicz, the No. 20 seed from Army, and an 11-1 loss to No. 4 seed Terrell Barraclough, who transferred to Utah Valley after spending four seasons at Penn State, mean that Miller is one of 24 wrestlers left in the 165-pound bracket.

The 13th-seeded Miller will face No. 30 seed Aiden Riggins from Iowa State on Friday, with the winner earning a spot in the final 16 of that weight class. Consolation bracket wrestlers can clinch a spot in the final 12 with two wins Friday and All-America recognition as a top-eight finisher with three straight victories.

The quarterfinals at 165 include seven of the top eight seeds, with only a 12-5 “upset” disrupting that. Of the 80 quarterfinalists across 10 weights, only six have a higher seed than 13th.

Miller, the SoCon Wrestler of the Year, arrived in Philadelphia with a 21-2 record this season but no pins. He picked a fine time to change that, completing a takedown of Filipowicz with six seconds left in the second period for a 3-1 lead and beating the clock by finishing off a pin one second before the period ended.

It was App State’s first win by fall at the NCAA Championships since Codi Russell produced one in 2019.

Barraclough improved to 30-2 this season by turning competitive exchanges into takedowns late in the first and second periods against Miller. Barraclough was 12-2 last season as Penn State’s backup to national runner-up Mitchell Mesenbrink.

A pair of first-time NCAA qualifiers from App State, junior Carson Floyd (No. 33 seed at 197 pounds) and true freshman Stephan Monchery (No. 32 seed at heavyweight) both went 0-2 from their pigtail paths.

Floyd wrapped up his junior season with a 28-10 record, raising his total to 66 career victories, while Monchery went 19-11 this season and qualified for the NCAAs as the SoCon champion despite starting the year with a 6-6 record.

Floyd trailed 11-3 on Thursday before he recorded a takedown and two near fall points in the final 10 seconds of a 12-8 loss against Army’s Wolfgang Frable (No. 32 seed) in their pigtail opener. Floyd put Frable on his back after attempting to cut and then quickly re-engage with his opponent, but he ran out of time to do more damage.

Floyd cut his second-period deficit against West Virginia’s Ian Bush (No. 30 seed) to 4-3 in the next round with a second-period takedown and trailed by one again following a third-period escape, but Floyd was unable to secure a go-ahead takedown late in Bush’s 5-4 decision.

Monchery opened the event with a 9-0 loss to Purdue’s Hayden Filipovich and went through a scoreless first period in his next match against Wyoming’s Sam Mitchell, who rode out the second period. An escape, takedown and rideout for Mitchell in the third period resulted in a 5-0 decision.

The 2024-25 season is presented by Hungry Howie’s and Penn Station.

APP STATE Results at NCAA Nationals

165: #13 Will Miller (22-3)

• • W, Fall (4:59) vs. #20 Gunner Filipowicz, Army
  • L, MD (11-1) vs. #4 Terrell Barraclough, Utah Valley
  • Next: vs. #30 Aiden Riggins, Iowa State

197: #33 Carson Floyd (28-10)

• • L, Dec (12-8) vs. #32 Wolfgang Frable, Army
  • L, Dec (5-4) vs. #30 Ian Bush, West Virginia

Hwt: #32 Stephan Monchery (19-11)

• • L, MD (9-0) vs. #33 Hayden Filipovich, Purdue
  • L, Dec (5-0) vs. #30 Sam Mitchell, Wyoming