WILMINGTON, N.C. — After allowing a first-inning run to UNCW, Appalachian State tied the game in the third and didn't give up another run until the Seahawks drew a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning of their 2-1 victory Sunday at Brooks Field.
App State pitchers
Brandon Boone,
Bobby Hampton and
Kaleb Bowman combined for 12 strikeouts over the first nine innings. UNCW, which lost 6-2 to the Mountaineers (2-4) on Saturday, won the series without producing a 10th-inning hit.
A walk and two wild pitches with no outs triggered two intentional walks to load the bases, and Mason Berne drew a game-ending walk on a 3-2 pitch.
David Sheaffer's RBI single gave the Seahawks (5-2) a first-inning lead, and the score remained tied at 1-1 for an extended period after
Bailey Welch raced home from second on
Joel McDaniel's RBI single with one out in the third inning.
From the time UNCW opened the bottom of the fourth inning with a single until the start of the 10th inning, the Seahawks' hitters struck out 10 times as Boone, Hampton and Bowman collectively retired 18 of 19 batters.
The Mountaineers' starting pitchers now have a 2.51 ERA on the season after Boone, a Wilmington native who graduated from Hoggard High School before attending nearby Brunswick Community College, gave up the one earned run on five hits and struck out five hitters in four innings. Hampton allowed one hit and struck out three batters in 2.2 innings, and Bowman posted four strikeouts as he retired all seven batters he faced.
Boone gave up a single and walk to the first two batters he faced, and a hit by pitch loaded the bases right after Sheaffer delivered an RBI single with two away in the first inning. Boone induced a groundout to McDaniel at shortstop to strand three runners, and UNCW left seven men on base in Boone's four innings.
Boone didn't allow a second-inning run after the Seahawks used a double and wild pitch to put a runner on third with one out. He didn't give up a run after allowing a leadoff double and hitting another batter with a two-out pitch in the third inning, and he followed the leadoff single in the fourth with three consecutive strikeouts.
McDaniel,
Jason Avers,
Beau Myers and
Calev Grubbs had one hit apiece to lead the Mountaineers' offense.
App State had two runners on base with one out in the seventh inning and two runners on with two away in the ninth inning, but a pair of pick-offs hurt those scoring chances. UNCW reliever Austin Warren allowed a leadoff single to Grubbs in the 10th and retired the next three batters to earn the win.
The Mountaineers return to action Tuesday at Western Carolina before opening their home schedule against Marshall with a three-game series that begins Friday in Boone. After that, App State plays South Carolina at Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark on March 6.
Season tickets can be purchased by clicking
HERE for the App State Ticket Central site, by calling the Appalachian State athletics ticket office at
(828) 262-2079 or by going to the ticket office, located at the Holmes Center, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Tickets for the game in Charlotte can be
purchased online HERE or by calling the Charlotte Knights' ticket office at 704-274-8282.
