COLUMBIA, Mo. – Cold bats once again plagued Appalachian State University baseball as they couldn't overcome Missouri's 4-0 advantage despite good pitching on Friday night at Taylor Stadium.
The Mountaineers (6-7) held the Tigers (13-1) to five scoreless innings, but 26th-ranked Missouri edged their way forward with one run in the first and second innings and two in the seventh to outlast Appalachian.
Designated hitter Colin Schmid led the way with half of the team's four total hits on the evening, going 2-4 and getting a two-out double in the second. Both Conner Leonard and Calev Grubbs got the team's over hits in the seventh and ninth innings to attempt a rally.
While the Tigers only scored four, only two of the runs were earned as throwing errors doomed an otherwise impressive defensive performance by Appalachian against its high-power opponent.
On the mound for App State to start was right-handed Travis Holden. Holden had a solid outing with five strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched, allowing one earned run and just four hits. Matt Schaeffer came in for relief in the sixth, going 1.1 innings, striking out one and allowing one earned run before Tristan Helms finished up the seventh's final two outs, getting a punchout and groundout.
Dallas DeVrieze finished the game with a fine inning of work, facing six batters, striking out two and allowing just two hits to give Appalachian a chance to rally in the ninth.
The Mountaineers return for Game 2 of the series on Saturday, March 11 with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. eastern. As are all the games this weekend, Game 2 will be broadcast live on the SEC Network + and can be streamed online on WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.
