Appalachian State University baseball hosts its biggest series in recent memory this weekend when it welcomes UT Arlington for three games at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

TICKETS
Tickets for this weekend's games cost just $10 for adults, $6 for high school students and $3 for youth (ages 3-12). Tickets can be purchased online by clicking HERE or at the Smith Stadium gate, beginning one hour prior to first pitch each day. As always, Appalachian State students are admitted free with a valid student ID.

VIDEO
All three games will be streamed live on App State TV. Click HERE to become an App State TV premium subscriber.

RADIO
All three games can also be heard live on the Appalachian IMG Sports Network. Appalachian State baseball radio broadcasts are carried live on WATA 1450 AM in Boone and can also be heard worldwide by clicking HERE.

NOTING THIS WEEKEND'S SERIES
• This weekend's series is the start of a regular-season-ending six-game homestand for Appalachian State (15-33, 9-18 Sun Belt). The Mountaineers close Sun Belt Conference play with this weekend's series versus UT Arlington (25-24, 11-13 Sun Belt) and finish the regular season next Thursday-Saturday with a non-conference set versus Longwood.

• The Mountaineers are one of four Sun Belt teams with nine victories going into this weekend and can still finish anywhere from sixth to 11th in the regular-season conference standings. The league's top eight teams qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament, which is slated for May 25-29 in San Marcos, Texas.

• With App State wrapping up conference play a week before the rest of the league, a series victory over seventh-place UTA is all but required for the Mountaineers to have a chance to earn a Sun Belt Tournament berth.

• A series victory this weekend would be Appalachian State's fourth of the season in Sun Belt play, which would double the number of conference series that it won in its inaugural Sun Belt season in 2015. A series victory would also give the Mountaineers at minimum of 11 conference wins in 2016, which would be three better than the eight Sun Belt games that it won in '15.

• Thanks to final exams, App State has a season-long four full days off going into this weekend's series.

• Last weekend, the Mountaineers nearly claimed a series victory at No. 19 UL Lafayette. After splitting the first two games of the weekend with a 7-0 UL-L win and a 6-1 App State victory, the Mountaineers and Ragin' Cajuns were tied at 1-1 going into the bottom of the eighth inning in Sunday's rubber match. The Cajuns plated three runs in the bottom of the eighth to squeak out a 4-1 win and a two-games-to-one series triumph.

• Sunday's loss at UL Lafayette was Appalachian State's fourth in Sun Belt play this season where the Mountaineers' opponent scored the winning run in its final at-bat. Conversely, App State has won six Sun Belt contests and eight games overall this season when it has scored the winning run in its final at-bat.

• True freshman Breydan Gorham is the reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week. The right-hander limited the 19th-ranked Cajuns to one run over seven-plus innings in last Saturday's 6-1 victory. Over his last two starts, Gorham has surrendered just two runs over 14 innings to lead the Mountaineers to convincing wins over Arkansas State and UL Lafayette.

• Appalachian State's hottest hitter is junior infielder Matt Vernon. Vernon brings a 10-game hitting streak into this weekend's series, which is just one one game shy of the team-best 11-game streak that he compiled from March 26-April 15. He is hitting .362 (17-for-47) with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, 11 RBI and nine runs scored during his current 10-game streak and has hit safely in 23 of the last 25 games overall.

• UT Arlington ranks second in the Sun Belt in hitting (.296) and third in runs scored (304) this season. The Mavericks' potent lineup is paced by four .300 hitters — Brady Cox (.369, 2 HR, 38 RBI), Quintin Rohrbaugh (.354, 3 3B, 29 RBI), Darien McLemore (.341, 4 HR, 38 RBI) and Matt McLean (.321, 15 2B, 4 3B).