KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Appalachian State Baseball opened the 2019 season with a 6-0 loss at Tennessee, which led 1-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning.
App State starting pitcher
Will Sprinkle held the Volunteers' offense in check through five innings, allowing the single run on a third-inning sacrifice fly. Tennessee moved ahead 3-0 with solo home runs from Justin Ammons and Evan Russell in the sixth.
Sprinkle finished with three perfect innings, two strikeouts, no walks, five hits allowed and three runs allowed in six innings. The Volunteers added two more runs on a pair of sacrifice flies in the seventh inning and scored an unearned run in the eighth.
Tennessee starter Garrett Stallings gave up one hit and recorded eight strikeouts in seven innings. Redmond Walsh and Chase Silseth allowed one baserunner over the final two innings.
The series resumes with Game 2 on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Freshman left-hander
Tyler Tuthill is App State's probable starter on the mound.
Riley Smith's third-inning single Friday accounted for one of four baserunners for the Mountaineers, who had four sophomores, three freshmen and one other newcomer in their Game 1 starting lineup.
Seven players made their App State debuts, with freshman right fielder
Phillip Cole batting in the cleanup spot, freshman infielder
Luke Drumheller starting at second base, freshman catcher
Hayden Cross serving as the designated hitter and junior transfer
Robbie Young playing first base.
Andrew Terrell drew a pinch-hit walk in his first career plate appearance,
Luke Allison made his debut as a late-inning defensive replacement at third base after he spent last season recovering from arm surgery and relief pitcher
Cam Roberts struck out two batters in his first career inning of work.
The first ball put in play this season led to an official umpires review at the SEC venue, as
Alex Leshock was ruled out at first despite a dropped ball by first baseman Luc Lipcius. The on-field call that the ball was being transferred from the glove wasn't changed after the review, and
Bailey Welch reached on a third-strike passed ball in the next at-bat.
A double play with a strikeout and caught stealing ended that frame, and Smith's one-out single in the third was erased by a double play. Tennessee, which had two flyouts against Sprinkle after a one-out double in the first, used a double and single to establish a threat with nobody out in the third inning. One run scored as Sprinkle induced an infield pop-up, an RBI flyout to left and a flyout to center.
Sprinkle pushed his streak of consecutive batters retired to nine with clean fourth and fifth innings, and App State had its best chance to score in the fourth. Leshock reached on a leadoff throwing error and reached second with two away before being stranded.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2019 season.
