MIAMI — Spring break near South Beach, with some meaningful baseball as the top priority.
Appalachian State (4-6) flew to Miami on Monday and practiced at Alex Rodriguez Park in preparation for a Tuesday night game at FAU (6-6) in Boca Raton. The Mountaineers won 6-3 against the Owls and will return to Coral Gables to face Miami (9-2) tonight at 6 p.m.
Monday's arrival in Florida also included a tour of Marlins Park, thanks to arrangements made by App State alum and 2013 draft pick Hector Crespo, who is now an assistant director of player development with the Miami Marlins. Another App State alum, Marlins President of Business Operations Chip Bowers, addressed the team in the visiting clubhouse and talked to the players about leadership.
Wednesday's game can be seen on ACCN Extra/Watch ESPN by
clicking HERE, and
Cameron Kepley is the probable starter against Miami.
It's the fifth all-time meeting with Miami, which made a record 44 straight NCAA appearances from 1973-2016.
Miami beat App State 13-6 in 1973 and took two of three games from the Mountaineers during a series early in the 2011 season. The Mountaineers lost 6-3, won 7-5 and then lost 10-0 to the Hurricanes.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2019 season.
RECAPPING THE LAST WEEK
On Tuesday night in Boca Raton, Fla., Appalachian State won 6-3 win against NCAA Regional staple FAU.
Dalton Williams' first career home run and
Riley Smith's three-run homer to center gave App State a 6-0 lead in support of starting pitcher
Brandon Boone, who gave up two runs in five innings. Boone (seven strikeouts),
Kaleb Bowman (five strikeouts in three innings) and
Andrew Papp (two strikeouts in a perfect ninth to earn the save) combined to strike out 13 batters and allow eight hits.
The Mountaineers split a Saturday doubleheader at home against Gardner-Webb after having their Friday game canceled by inclement weather. Appalachian closed the doubleheader with a 24-3 victory in which it posted its highest run total since 2009, broke the record for App State runs in the program's 12-year-old home stadium and recorded the program's biggest margin of victory since 2007.
TAKING THE MOUND
Cameron Kepley, the projected starter at Miami, was the Game 3 weekend starter against Tennessee and Manhattan, and inclement weather shortended the Gardner-Webb series to two games. He allowed three runs on four hits while striking out four batters in six innings at Tennessee, and he gave up two earned runs in three innings against Manhattan.
Kepley made two starts as a freshman in 2018 and had 29 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
CONNECTING WITH SOUTH FLORIDA
App State head coach
Kermit Smith, who picked up his 500th career win last season, is from Arcadia, Fla. He played outfield at DeSoto High School from 1992-95 before attending college at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina.
App State hitting coach
Erik Lunde is a Pompano Beach native who attended Cardinal Gibbons High School before becoming a Division II All-American at Lander University. He was an 18th-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014.
At the MLB level, App State alum Hector Crespo is an assistant director of player development with the Miami Marlins. He played second base for Appalachian and was a 34th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 2013. Another App State alum, Chip Bowers, in the Marlins' President of Business Operations, and he addressed the team during a tour of Marlins Park on Monday night.
Gino DiMare is in his first season as Miami's head coach after replacing Jim Morris, who was an App State assistant in 1975 and the Hurricanes' head coach from 1994-2018. He is not the same Jim Morris who served as App State's head coach from 1974-98 — they spent one season together in Boone.
FACING TOUGH COMPETITION
Three of App State's five opponents have a winning percentage of at least .750, as South Carolina (10-2) and Tennessee (13-0) are both ranked. Tennessee has six shutouts with only 13 total runs allowed, and Gardner-Webb is 6-2.
ASSESSING THE BULLPEN
App State moves forward without 2018 closer
Luke Watts, who had a team-leading 2.29 ERA in 30 appearances, but the Mountaineers bring 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, who has appeared in six of App State's 10 games, struck out the side in a perfect inning at South Carolina and had two strikeouts while recording a save in a perfect ninth inning Tuesday at FAU. Bowman has made six appearances, including his first career save vs. Manhattan, and he recorded five strikeouts in three innings Tuesday against FAU.
Jack Hartman has allowed one hit and no runs over three innings in three games. Opposing batters are hitting .125 against him.
