Box Score FOREST CITY, N.C. — True freshman Breydan Gorham threw seven shutout innings and fellow freshman Colin Schmid hit a homer and drove in three runs to lead Appalachian State University baseball to an 8-0 victory over  UNC Asheville on Wednesday afternoon at McNair Field.

The shutout win was Appalachian State's second in six days. The Mountaineers also blanked Stony Brook, 4-0, last Friday in Elon, N.C  

Gorham (1-2) was the story of the day for the Mountaineers. He retired 21 of the 26 hitters he faced, including 15-of-16 during a stretch in which the only UNCA batter that got on base reached on an error.

The right-handed rookie needed only 95 pitches to cruise through his seven shutout innings and earn the first win of his young career. He struck out five, surrendered only three hits and a walk and lowered his ERA to a team-low 2.00.

The Mountaineers gave Gorham all the run support he would need when they took a 1-0 lead on Schmid's bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first.

App State went on to plate its first three runs on bases-loaded walks, as Chandler Seagle and Jason Curtis drove in runs without swinging the bat to make it 3-0 in the sixth.

Appalachian State (3-10) blew the game wide open with five runs in the seventh. Schmid kickstarted the five-run frame with a mammoth two-run home run over the right-field wall to make it 5-0. After Matt Vernon came home on a passed ball, Curtis closed out the scoring with a two-out RBI single up the middle.

Appalachian relievers Reed Howell and Dallas DeVrieze each tossed a scoreless inning to preserve the shutout.

Schmid (2-for-4, three RBI) and Curtis (1-for-3, three RBI) combined for three of App State's five hits and drove in six of the Mountaineers' eight runs. Designated hitter Caleb McCann drew three of Appalachian's 14 walks.

UNC Asheville (4-8) used six pitchers in its third-straight loss. All six issued multiple walks.

With the triumph, Appalachian State moved to 11-0 all-time at McNair Field and won for the 15th time in its last 16 meetings against UNCA. The Mountaineers hold a commanding 41-20 lead in the all-time series with the Bulldogs.

Appalachian opens Sun Belt Conference play this weekend with a three-game series versus longtime rival Georgia Southern (8-5). Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Appalachian State's Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.