BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University baseball banged out 14 hits but it wasn't enough to keep up with Troy's even hotter bats in a 12-5 loss to the Trojans on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.

With the defeat, Appalachian State (10-23, 3-12 Sun Belt) dropped this weekend's Sun Belt Conference series to Troy (17-16, 6-6 Sun Belt), two games to one.

Sunday's series finale was a wild affair from the outset, as the Mountaineers led 4-3 after a crazy first inning that lasted 39 minutes and saw the teams combine for eight hits, two errors and 66 pitches thrown. Appalachian had six of the eight hits in the first, including a two-run double by Michael Pierson and an RBI bunt single by Brandon Burris.

However, despite plating four runs and taking a one-run lead, the Mountaineers left the bases loaded to end the first. They would go on to strand a total of nine baserunners in the first four innings (three in the first and two apiece in the second, third and fourth).

The missed opportunities to pad its lead would come back to haunt App State, as Troy tied the score with a run in the third, regained the lead with another single run in the fourth and blew the game wide open with five-run fifth that gave it a commanding 10-4 advantage.   

The Trojans extended the lead to 12-4 with two runs in the top of the seventh before the Mountaineers closed out the scoring on an RBI single by Parker Henderson in the bottom of the frame. The hit and RBI were the first of the true freshman's career.

Redshirt freshman Drake Zupcic went 3-for-4 with a double to pace Appalachian State's 14-hit attack. The Mountaineers' 14 hits were just one shy of a season high but the Mountaineers were plagued by 12 stranded baserunners. Over the course of the three-game series, Appalachian recorded 32 hits but left 32 men on base.

Troy topped the Mountaineers' offensive outburst with 17 hits in Sunday's victory, highlighted by No. 9 hitter Calhoun Tripp's 3-for-4 effort. Seven different Trojans had multiple hits in the win.

Appalachian State begins a six-game road stint on Tuesday with a non-conference battle at No. 18 South Carolina. Game time is currently slated for 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium in Columbia, S.C.