Duo earns honors
From staff reports

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — Appalachian State catcher Katie Boyd and second baseman Brittany Gaston were named All-Southern Conference Wednesday onboard the USS Yorktown in Charleston Harbor.

Boyd earned first-team honors behind the plate while Gaston backed-up her pre-season All-SoCon honor with her second consecutive second-team honor at second base.

Boyd, a Walkertown native, hit .311 and belted nine home runs to set the Appalachian State single-season home run record. Boyd also set single-season school records in slugging percentage (.806) and on base percentage (.527).

Gaston, who is from Roswell, Ga., hit .322 this season. She has 24 RBIs, seven doubles and a triple for the Mountaineers this year. Her three errors this season are the lowest total for any Mountaineer infielder.

Ga. Southern 4, ASU 2
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Megen Smith tossed a complete game and Georgia Southern scored all of its runs on a pair of home runs in a 4-2 win over Appalachian State in the opening round of the 2008 Southern Conference Softball Championship at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex.

Jenny Side belted her league-leading 14th home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning, a three-run shot over the left field fence, to break a scoreless tie. Amanda Hall hit a solo homer in the fifth inning, her seventh of the year, to increase the Eagles’ advantage to 4-0.

Smith scattered eight hits on the afternoon to improve to 13-8.

Appalachian State mounted a rally in the seventh inning, loading the bases with two outs. Ashley Gaston grounded a hard-hit ball to second base where the ball slipped under Nina Iduate’s glove, allowing a pair of Appalachian runners to score.