BOONE, N.C. — Confidence is contagious.
Just ask Appalachian State softball head coach Shelly Hoerner, who helped the Mountaineers match the school's single-season record for wins (31) during her second year at the helm and post the longest winning streak in school history with eight straight victories.
Appalachian qualified for the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time in program history, finishing with a conference mark of 13-13, and swept its first two conference series against Georgia Southern and Louisiana Monroe, another program first.
Hoerner knew there was something special about the 2019 team during an early season tournament in Charleston, S.