BOONE, N.C. — A day of firsts contributed to a milestone accomplishment.
Kermit Smith picked up his 500th victory as a college head coach as Appalachian State's baseball team won 5-2 against Troy at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium on Friday. He received a game ball from assistant coach
Britt Johnson, who drew cheers from App State's players by surprising Smith with the news at the end of the team's postgame huddle.
Playing its first Sun Belt Conference home game of 2018, the Mountaineers recorded their first league win of the season. Freshman designated hitter
Jason Avers' first career home run gave App State the lead for good in the second inning, and starting pitcher
Colin Schmid (2-3) turned a 3-2 lead over to the bullpen after working six high-pressure innings.
Kaleb Bowman threw two scoreless innings, and two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth preceded a three-out save for senior
Luke Watts.
"It never gets old watching Colin make big pitches over and over again," said Smith, who became a college head coach at Belmont Abbey in 2001 and made a combined three Division II World Series appearances before leaving Lander for App State in 2016. "Any time you can win a game on Friday night in this league, it's a good night.
"When you break down the game, you can really point to Conner's pick with men on second and third in the fifth inning, Kendall's two-out RBI, Riley's two-out RBI and Jason's home run as the big plays of the day. I'm very proud of our guys tonight, and it's very important that we carry this momentum into the rest of the weekend."
App State (8-19, 1-9) and Troy (20-10, 5-5) are scheduled to resume their series Saturday at 3 p.m., weather permitting. The finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Mountaineers took the series opener thanks to their strong pitching and timely offense against Troy starter Andrew Crane, the Sun Belt's preseason pitcher of the year.
Conner Leonard went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including a run-scoring single that followed a two-out RBI double from
Riley Smith in the eighth inning. Smith was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored, and
Alex Leshock also scored twice.
A leadoff double and RBI fielder's choice in the top of the second inning briefly gave Troy the lead, but Smith's leadoff double in the bottom of the second set up an RBI single to center from Leonard.
Avers opened the third inning with a leadoff homer to left-center off Crane, and Leshock was hit by a pitch with one out. A failed pickoff attempt with two away pushed him all the way to third base, and he scored on a single to center field from
Kendall McGowan.
Troy responded with one run in the top of the fourth, and the score remained 3-2 thanks to a fifth-inning defensive gem from Leonard. He stretched and snagged a short-hopped throw toward first after Troy's Brandon Lockridge hit a two-out grounder with runners on second and third.
Crane took the mound in the eighth inning with a low pitch count, and Leshock led off the frame with a hard-hit single to center. He was on second when Smith drilled a first-pitch double to left, and Leonard's RBI single ended Crane's outing,
Watts needed only nine pitches to retire three batters in the ninth and post his third save. He relieved Bowman, who gave up consecutive one-out singles with a one-run lead in the top of the eighth before inducing a foul-out to third baseman
Drew Beck and a flyout to Leshock in center. Bowman has now given up no runs, allowed nine hits and struck out 16 batters in his last 14 innings.
Schmid scattered 10 hits (nine singles), struck out four batters and issued no walks over six innings. Double-play groundouts involving shortstop
Joel McDaniel and second baseman
Bailey Welch ended Troy threats in two of the first three innings, and the Trojans managed only one fourth-inning run despite putting up three hits and benefiting from a two-base error.
Schmid ended that frame on a swinging strikeout with runners on second and third, and a three-hit fifth inning didn't produce any runs for Troy. A one-out single was erased by Schmid's successful pickoff attempt, and he induced a groundout to third with two runners in scoring position.
Andrew Vaccacio is the scheduled mound starter for App State when the series resumes. 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.
