WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Playing as the home team 90 miles from Boone, Appalachian State lost 7-3 at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
The game was originally scheduled to be held at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium, but inclement weather in the High Country moved the location to Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem. Freshman outfielder
Kendall McGowan's third hit of the day and an RBI groundout from classmate
Jason Avers were part of a two-run fifth inning that cut the deficit to 6-3 for App State (5-13), and the Demon Deacons (10-11) added a run to their lead in the eighth.
McGowan scored once during his 3-for-4 outing, and the Mountaineers' other hit came from Avers, who also drew two walks.
CJ Brown scored following one of his three walks, and freshman
Alex Leshock has reached base in all 15 of his career games thanks to two walks against an opponent that possesses a 4-2 record in the ACC after making a 2017 Super Regional.
App State starter
Brandon Boone (1-2) took the loss. He allowed six runs (four earned) on three hits and struck out seven batters in five innings.
The Mountaineers' bullpen gave up one run in four innings, as
Kaleb Bowman threw two scoreless innings,
Reed Howell pitched the eighth inning and
Luke Watts had a scoreless ninth.
"It's heartbreaking that we couldn't play better defense behind Brandon today," App State head coach
Kermit Smith said. "He was very good, and we didn't give him any defensive or offensive assistance. We cost ourselves a big run on the bases, too. I thought our pitching staff did a good job."
Bobby Seymour's two-run double capped a three-run first inning for Wake Forest, which benefited from two errors, and Johnny Aiello hit a two-run homer in the second.
Walks to Leshock and Brown to open the bottom of the third inning, coupled with a wild pitch, put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Leshock scored on
Drew Beck's RBI groundout to second, and Brown advanced from second to third on McGowan's hard-hit single to shallow right field.
Wake Forest starter Cole McNamee (1-0) capped his brief appearance with a strikeout and flyout. He was one of seven pitchers to take the mound for the Deacons during their midweek game.
After Wake Forest pushed its lead to 6-1 with an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning, Brown led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk and scored from first when McGowan's single to left field was misplayed for an error. McGowan ended up at third on the play and raced home on Avers' groundout.
The Mountaineers, whose game at UNC Asheville on Wednesday has been postponed because of weather issues, will resume their Sun Belt Conference schedule with a home series against Georgia Southern this weekend.
Georgia Southern will be just the second team to visit Boone this year. Season tickets are available at just $85 for adults, $75 for App State staff/faculty (limit of two) or senior citizens (limit of two) and $45 for youth (ages 3-12). Single-game tickets can be purchased by clicking
HERE as well as by calling or visiting the ticket office. Weekend games (Fri-Sun) are $10 for adults and $5 for youth.
