BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State dropped its Sun Belt Conference series finale against visiting Troy, losing 15-3 in seven innings Sunday.
The Mountaineers will return to action Tuesday night at North Carolina.
Conner Leonard's two-run double to bring home
Kendall McGowan and
Riley Smith in the third inning cut App State's deficit to 4-2. Troy (21-10, 7-5) capitalized on two errors and scored 10 runs on nine hits in the top of the fourth inning, and Appalachian's
Drew Beck led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to center field.
C.J. Brown went 3-for-3 with two doubles after coming off the bench for the Mountaineers (8-21, 1-11), Beck was 2-for-2 and
Bailey Welch went 2-for-4. Leonard was 5-for-10 in the series and is 7-for-15 in the last five games.
"We were absolutely outplayed in all facets today," App State coach
Kermit Smith said. "A lot of credit to Coach (Mark) Smartt and his staff. It was nice to see
Conner Leonard swing the bat like this all weekend. CJ and Beck had a good day at the plate. It could be a big boost if those guys could continue that."
App State senior
Reed Howell made his first start since his freshman year, when six of his 19 appearances were as a starter. The Mountaineers' other pitchers were
Kaleb Bowman,
Tristan Helms,
Bobby Hampton and
Cameron Kepley, who allowed one earned run over the final three innings.
