MONROE, La. — Break a Game 3 tie with back-to-back homers, Sprinkle in more solid pitching, and you have the recipe for winning a Sun Belt Conference road series.
Appalachian State took two of three games from ULM by prevailing 4-1 in the series finale Saturday.
Conner Leonard and
Riley Smith hit consecutive two-out homers in the sixth inning to produce a 3-1 lead for freshman pitcher
Will Sprinkle, who picked up a win in his first career start.
After the Mountaineers claimed a 4-1 victory Friday night, the Warhawks won 5-0 to begin a Saturday doubleheader, but Sprinkle (1-0) allowed only one run and three hits while posting five strikeouts in 5.2 innings of the finale.
"I'm incredibly proud of this team," App State head coach
Kermit Smith said. "Getting the opener Friday with Colin pitching a gem was huge, and we did a great job bouncing back Saturday to close out the series the right way. I can't say enough about how Will handled his first start, but he's pitched well all season. With our pitching staff doing such a good job, Conner and Riley came through at a perfect time."
With seven relief appearances before Saturday, Sprinkle increased his scoreless innings streak to 16.2 before giving up a solo homer to tie the game in the fourth inning, and his ERA stands at 1.04 after his debut as a starter.
Sprinkle recorded the second out of the sixth inning by striking out Chad Bell with two runners in scoring position, and relief pitcher
Kaleb Bowman induced a lineout to second baseman
Bailey Welch to end the threat.
Bowman struck out three batters in a scoreless seventh before App State (11-28, 3-15) added to its lead when Leonard followed a Welch single with an RBI double, and Bowman pitched a scoreless eighth despite putting two runners on with two away. An infield popout capped the inning.
Senior closer
Luke Watts picked up his sixth save of the season and second of the weekend by throwing a scoreless ninth that ended with Welch, shortstop
Joel McDaniel and Leonard contributing to a 4-6-3 double play.
App State scratched first in the finale as Welch scored following a fourth-inning flyball to right from
Riley Smith, and ULM (18-21, 7-11) tied the score on Turner Francis' solo homer in the bottom half of the frame.
Warhawks starter Justin Olaughlin retired the first two batters in the sixth inning, but he exited the game after Leonard and Smith homered to left field.
Leonard, who hit his fourth homer of the season, and Smith, who homered for the second time, both went 2-for-4 to lead App State's offense. Welch scored twice, and junior
Bobby Hampton had the first hit of his career as the relief pitcher continued to help out the short-handed Mountaineers as an outfielder.
In the opener, McDaniel led App State's offense by going 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Relief pitcher
Andrew Papp allowed one hit and had two strikeouts in two scoreless innings.
A three-run double after a single and two bunt hits gave ULM a 3-0 lead after one inning of Saturday's opener. A solo homer in the sixth inning closed the scoring.
App State returns to action Tuesday with a 5 p.m. home game against UNC-Asheville, and the Mountaineers will be the home team when they face Gardner-Webb on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark.
