LEXINGTON, S.C. — Appalachian State University baseball's Dillon Dobson and Michael Pierson combined for nine hits and five RBI in Saturday's doubleheader split with Canisius at Lexington Sports Complex. Behind Dobson's 3-for-3, three-RBI performance, Appalachian State won the opener, 8-4, but despite Pierson going 3-for-5 in the nightcap, Canisius earned the split with a 4-2 victory.

Dobson headlined the Mountaineers' eight-run output in Game One with a two-out RBI triple in the third inning and a two-out, two-run home run that gave Appalachian the lead for good in the fifth.

Bradley Morton chipped in with a leadoff homer on Canisius' first pitch of the game and freshmen Carson Jones and Conner Leonard added two RBI apiece in the bottom of the eighth to turn what was a narrow 4-3 lead into a commanding 8-3 advantage.

Despite the offensive outburst, the story of the opener was 3.2 innings of stellar relief pitching by freshman Ryan Ross and senior Taylor Thurber, which allowed Appalachian State to rally from a 3-2 deficit.

Ross relieved starter Jeffrey Springs with one out in the fifth inning and turned in 2.1 innings of hitless relief before handing the ball over to Thurber with a runner on third and two outs in the seventh. Thurber worked the Mountaineers out of the jam in seventh and retired the side in the eighth.

The impressive showing out of the bullpen earned Ross (1-0) the first win of his career.

In the nightcap, Appalachian State (2-2) outhit Canisius (3-3), 9-4, but could not overcome a litany of walks and wild pitches in the early stages of the ballgame.

The Mountaineers combined to issue five walks and throw two wild pitches over the first five innings, which allowed the Golden Griffins to take a 4-2 lead despite managing only four hits (three singles and a double).

Behind four no-hit innings of relief by freshman Travis Holden and a solo homer by Pierson in the seventh, App State pulled within a run. The Mountaineers came within inches of taking a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth when a would-be go-ahead two-run base hit by pinch-hitter Brandon Burris landed just foul down the right-field line. Burris went on to strike out and Appalachian went down in order in the ninth to end the ballgame.

Appalachian State and Canisius play the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday at noon at Lexington Sports Complex.

NOTES: Saturday's meetings between Appalachian State and Canisius were the 10th and 11th in the programs' series history, all since 2006 ... Appalachian leads the series, 7-4 ... Jones' two-run double in the eighth inning of Game One was the first hit of his career ... fifth-year senior Noah Holmes, who missed the entire 2014 season due to a shoulder injury, recorded his first hit since May 25, 2013 with a leadoff single in the fourth inning of Game Two ... Appalachian State's No. 1-4 hitters (Morton, Pierson, Jaylin Davis and Dobson) combined to go 12-for-34 (.353) with a double, triple and three home runs during the doubleheader while the No. 5-9 hitters in the Mountaineers' batting order combined to go 6-for-35 (.171) with one double over the course of the twinbill.