MONROE, La. — Colin Schmid set the tone with a strong start,
CJ Brown gave Appalachian State an early boost with a home run and
Joel McDaniel provided insurance with a ninth-inning homer as the Mountaineers began their Sun Belt Conference series at ULM with a 4-1 victory Friday.
Because of forecasts for rain Sunday, the Mountaineers (10-27, 2-14) and Warhawks (17-20, 6-10) are now scheduled to play a Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon ET.
Schmid (3-4) allowed five hits, including two infield singles, and struck out six batters while allowing only an unearned run in 7.2 innings.
Kaleb Bowman recorded a strikeout to end the eighth inning after he entered the game with two ULM runners aboard, and
Luke Watts posted his fifth save by stranding three baserunners in a scoreless ninth.
Watts had two strikeouts, and the game ended on a chopper to second baseman
Bailey Welch, who flipped the ball to McDaniel for a force at second.
Offensively, Brown returned from injury to hit his team-leading fourth home run, which gave App State a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
In his return to the starting lineup,
Kendall McGowan scored on a two-out single in the fifth inning from
Alex Leshock, who came to the plate after
Beau Myers' single moved McGowan to third. ULM responded with a run in the bottom half of the fifth courtesy of a two-out error.
The Mountaineers maintained their 2-1 edge until catcher
Riley Smith, also back from injury, led off the ninth with a single and scored on the second career homer, an opposite-field shot to right, from McDaniel.
Smith led App State with two hits in four at-bats, and pitcher-turned-outfielder
Bobby Hampton stole a base for the first time in his three-year college career.
Schmid, who has allowed two earned runs or less in seven of his 10 starts this year, retired the side in order four times in the first six innings Friday. He struck out the side in the fourth inning.
ULM had two runners in scoring position with one out in the third, but third baseman
Drew Beck's backhanded stop and throw home to Smith erased the lead runner, and Schmid blocked a comebacker while facing center field and threw to first for the third out.
The Warhawks had runners at the corners with two away after they scored the unearned run against Schmid in the fifth, and Smith threw to second to stop a potential steal. Welch caught the throw and fired back home to Smith, who tagged out the lead runner.
The Mountaineers shut out ULM over the final four innings, escaping the ninth-inning jam unscathed.
