BOONE, N.C. —
Ryan Arrowood struck out 10 over eight innings for the second week in a row and
Jack Myers had three hits and an RBI to lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 3-1 win over visiting Wofford on Friday afternoon at chilly Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With a wind-chill factor in the mid-20s and light snow falling throughout the game, Arrowood mowed through Wofford's lineup to outduel Terrier starter Cash Collins.
Wofford managed only six hits while fanning 10 times in eight innings against Arrowood. The right-handed junior matched career highs set just last Thursday against Cornell with his 10 strikeouts and eight innings pitched. With the victory, he upped his record to 4-1 on the season while his ERA dipped to 2.95.
Myers provided all of the offense that Arrowood needed, accounting for two of Appalachian's three runs by going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. All three of the senior's hits came against Collins, who suffered his first loss of the year and fell to 5-1. Myers, who upped his team-leading batting average to .367, is hitting .476 in 10 Southern Conference games this season.
Arrowood got nine of his 10 strikeouts in the first four innings of the game, with the two biggest coming in the top of the fourth when he fanned Wofford cleanup hitter Taylor Rozier and Josh McKinley get out of the inning unscathed after the Terriers loaded the bases with one out.
In the bottom of the stanza, ASU grabbed a 2-0 lead when Myers scored on a sacrifice fly by
Zack Briggs and
Jeremy Dowdy came home on an RBI single by
Hector Crespo.
Wofford sliced the Mountaineer lead in half in the top of the fifth when it scored its only run on Mac Doyle's conference-high-tying eighth home run of the season. However, the Apps got the run back in the bottom of the frame on Myers' RBI single to center field.
From there, Arrowood slammed the door on any hopes of a Terrier comeback, retiring the final 10 batters he faced. He finished the day by striking out Rozier on his 126th pitch of the afternoon. Wofford brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the ninth against ASU closer
Taylor Miller but Miller froze Alex Lee with a 1-2 fastball to end the ballgame.
In addition to Myers' 3-for-4 effort, Briggs went 2-for-3 to pace the Mountaineers' nine-hit attack.
With the victory, Appalachian evened its record at 13-13 overall and moved to 2-8 in SoCon play. The April Fool's Day win is a good omen for a club that put together a 34-4 record over its last two Aprils.
Doyle and Konstantine Diamaduros had two hits apiece to lead Wofford (14-13, 2-5 SoCon). Collins surrendered three runs on eight hits and walked three to take the loss.
The two teams continue their three-game SoCon series on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Smith Stadium.