LAFAYETTE, La. — Appalachian State Baseball held a sixth-inning lead before Louisiana used a six-run outburst with two out to create separation in a 7-4 home victory Saturday afternoon.
With the Mountaineers (9-12, 2-3 Sun Belt) posting a 6-5 road victory Friday night against the Ragin' Cajuns (11-13, 3-2), the series finale will begin Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET in Russo Park. App State's
Brandon Boone and UL's Dalton Horton are the probable starters on the mound.
Alex Leshock (2-for-4, two runs) and
Luke Drumheller (2-for-5, two RBIs) had multi-hit games at the top of App State's order Saturday.
Leshock's leadoff triple preceded a Drumheller single that gave the Mountaineers a lead two batters into the game, and the score remained 1-0 until the Ragin' Cajuns hit a game-tying single with two away in the bottom of the fifth. To that point, Appalachian starting pitcher
Tyler Tuthill had allowed just two other singles and recorded four strikeouts.
The Mountaineers regained the lead in the sixth when
Phillip Cole's RBI double brought home
Kendall McGowan, who had reached with a leadoff single and stolen second base.
Louisiana scored the tying run on a foulout to second base, emptying the bases with two away. Back-to-back walks from Tuthill led to a pitching change, and two more walks produced the go-ahead run. A two-run single, run-scoring balk and RBI single gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 7-2 advantage.
App State did cut into the deficit, as Leshock's one-out single in the seventh set the table for Drumheller's RBI double. Ninth-inning walks to
Luke Allison, Leshock and
Riley Smith loaded the bases with one out, and McGowan's run-scoring fielder's choice occurred before a game-ending flyout to left field with two runners aboard.
App State reliever
Jason Cornatzer closed the game with two scoreless innings.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2019 season.
