BOONE, N.C. — Fresh off a 9-6 win against Michigan State on Sunday afternoon, Appalachian State (6-8) takes on another Power Five program in Wake Forest (9-8). First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Couch Ballpark, and the game can be seen on ACCN Extra via WatchESPN.
Wake Forest has a 42-14 lead in a series that dates back to 1970. App State's last win in the series was a 10-1 victory in Winston-Salem early in the 2015 season.
The probable starting pitchers are App State's
Brandon Boone and Wake Forest's Ryan Cusick.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2019 season.
RECAPPING THE WEEKEND
App State traveled to Greenville, S.C., for the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field. After weather led to a Saturday schedule change, Furman won an on-campus home game 6-5 against the Mountaineers, but they swept a Sunday doubleheader at Fluor Field by winning 14-0 vs. Furman and 9-6 vs. Michigan State.
Tyler Tuthill and four relief pitchers combined on a one-hitter in the 14-0 victory, and
Luke Drumheller tied an NCAA record by hitting five doubles in that game.
Kaleb Bowman threw four innings of scoreless relief vs. the Spartans, and
Riley Smith added to a one-run lead with a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
BEATING THE DRUM
Freshman second baseman
Luke Drumheller broke a school and Sun Belt Conference record with his five-double game, and he became just the seventh Division I player to hit five doubles in a single game.
Drumheller, who has a 12-game hitting streak and is batting a league-leading .462 (No. 14 nationally) thanks to his 7-for-11 showing in Sunday's doubleheader, became the first D1 player with five doubles since Western Carolina's Aaron Attaway in 2012. After being retired in the first inning, Drumheller doubled in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings. He was 5-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
TAKING THE MOUND
Brandon Boone won at FAU last Tuesday by giving up two runs in five innings and striking out seven in the 6-3 road victory. He allowed two runs on five hits in six innings and had seven strikeouts a week earlier at South Carolina and pitched two scoreless innings of relief at Tennessee on opening weekend.
Boone started in 11 of his 12 appearances last season, when he went 3-5 and totaled 50 strikeouts in 50.1 innings. He had a 3.33 ERA as a starter heading into his final start of the 2018 season.
FACING TOUGH COMPETITION
App State already has played five games against three Power Five opponents with top-30 rankings: Tennessee (15-1), South Carolina (13-3) and Miami (12-3). Two other opponents (FAU, Gardner-Webb) have winning records this season.
ASSESSING THE BULLPEN
App State moved forward without 2018 closer
Luke Watts, who had a team-leading 2.29 ERA in 30 appearances, but the Mountaineers brought back right-handers
Kaleb Bowman,
Andrew Papp and
Jason Cornatzer.
Bowman had a 2-0 record last season and ranked second on the team (sixth among Sun Belt pitchers during the regular season) with 25 appearances. In his best 19 combined outings, he had an ERA of 0.88 with 36 strikeouts and just three earned runs allowed over 30.2 innings.
Papp ranked third on the 2018 team with a 3.29 ERA and had a 1-0 record with one save in 15 appearances. Cornatzer ranked fourth on the team with a 3.55 ERA in nine appearances as a freshman.
Papp has made eight appearances this year (tied for the fourth-most in the Sun Belt) and posted a 1.86 ERA with two saves and 14 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. Bowman is also in the top 10 in the Sun Belt with his seven appearances, and he has a 3.07 ERA with a 1-0 record, one save and 15 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.
In two appearances over the previous week, Bowman totaled nine strikeouts and one run allowed in seven innings. He had five strikeouts over three innings in a victory at FAU and earned the mound win Sunday against Michigan State by striking out four batters over four scoreless innings.
Earlier this year, Papp struck out the side in a perfect inning at South Carolina and had two strikeouts while recording a save in a perfect ninth inning at FAU. He also picked up a save with a scoreless ninth inning against Michigan State.
