Box Score BOONE, N.C. — Matt Vernon and Tanner Mann-Fix had three hits apiece, Tyler Stroup drove in five runs and Seth Hardin turned in five strong innings on the mound to lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 12-1 romp over North Carolina Central on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.

Appalachian State's 12 runs were a season high and its 15 hits fell just two short of its season best. The Mountaineers did all of their damage in the first five innings, scoring two runs in the first, one in the second, one in the third, five in the fourth and three in the fifth to jump out to a commanding 12-0 lead.

Vernon was the primary catalyst of App State's outburst at the plate. The junior drove in the Mountaineers' first run with an RBI triple in the first inning, added a two-run double in the fourth and capped the impressive evening with another double in the fifth. He finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and four runs scored.

Mann-Fix came around to score after each of his three singles while Stroup recorded his career-high five RBI on a run-scoring groundout in the first and two-run singles in the fourth and fifth innings.

Appalachian State, which came into the game hitting just .199 with runners on base and .180 with runners in scoring position, went 11-for-26 (.423) with runners on base and 8-for-16 (.500) with runners in scoring position on Wednesday night.

In all, the first five batters in the Mountaineers' order (Mann-Fix, Vernon, Stroup, Grayson Atwood and Brian Bauk) combined to go 12-for-20 with 10 RBI and nine runs scored.

Not to be overshadowed by the offensive explosion was the effort turned in by four App State pitchers, who combined to limit hot-hitting N.C. Central to just one unearned run on seven hits.

Hardin led the way, as he needed only 61 pitches to toss five shutout innings and earn the first win of his collegiate career. The right-handed freshman pounded the strike zone all night and allowed just two hits over his five scoreless frames. He struck out two and didn't issue a walk.

Right-handed relievers Travis Holden, Matt Schaeffer and Caleb McCann worked the final four innings of the gem. They surrendered just one unearned run and scattered five hits over their four innings.

Making the pitching performance even more impressive is the fact the N.C. Central (13-14) scored nine runs or more three times in the past eight days, including Tuesday's 14-1 rout over High Point.

Appalachian State (6-19, 1-8 Sun Belt) continues its four-game homestand this weekend when it hosts red-hot Little Rock (12-12, 5-4 Sun Belt), the winner of six of its last seven games, for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Smith Stadium.