GREENVILLE, S.C. — The 10th annual First Pitch Invitational has five teams at Fluor Field, the downtown home of the Greenville Drive: Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Furman, Michigan State and Ohio State (which won't play the Mountaineers).
The three-day event begins Friday afternoon, but App State (4-7) will play for the first time Saturday at 10 a.m. against Western Carolina (6-5). The Mountaineers have a Sunday doubleheader scheduled against Furman (2-8) at 9 a.m. and Michigan State (2-9) at 1 p.m.
Facing two former SoCon rivals, App State has all-time records of 61-95-1 against Western Carolina (including 2-0 last year) and 61-49 against Furman (last game was in 2014). It will be the Mountaineers' first meeting with Michigan State.
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 Wednesday at Miami, App State trailed 3-1 before giving up two runs on a two-out error in the sixth inning of a 6-1 loss. Luke Drumheller extended his hitting streak to nine games with a 2-for-4 night in which he scored App State's lone run. Kendall McGowan also went 2-for-4 at the plate and stole a base.
On Tuesday in Boca Raton, Fla., App 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 the Mountaineers a 6-0 lead.
Last weekend, 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.
GOING STREAKING
Freshman second baseman Luke Drumheller has hit safely in nine straight games and reached base in 10 straight going back to the opening weekend at Tennessee. He is 16-for-35 (.457) with 12 RBIs in those nine games.
FACING TOUGH COMPETITION
Six of App State's losses are against opponents with a combined record of 40-7: Tennessee (13-0), Miami (10-2), South Carolina (10-3) and Gardner-Webb, which improved to 7-2 with an upset of the Gamecocks on Wednesday.
TAKING THE MOUND
Will Sprinkle, who ranked second on the team with a 2.96 ERA last season, is the probable Game 1 starter against Western Carolina on Saturday. He had a 2-1 record in his five Sun Belt starts last season with road wins against ULM (4-1) and UTA (6-4). He left with a lead with two away in the fifth inning of an 11-7 victory against Coastal Carolina to close the season.
Sprinkle took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of a 5-2 win against Manhattan and finished with two runs allowed (one earned) on two hits over seven innings. During opening weekend at Tennessee, Sprinkle held the Volunteers' offense in check through five innings, allowing a single run on a third-inning sacrifice fly.
Left-handed freshman Tyler Tuthill, who is from Clayton, N.C., is the projected Game 2 starter against Furman on Sunday morning.
In his last start, Tuthill allowed no runs and just one hit through the first five innings of a 24-3 win against Gardner-Webb and finished with three runs allowed and seven strikeouts in seven innings. He picked up his first career win by allowing three earned runs in six innings and striking out six batters in a 14-5 victory vs. Manhattan. In his college debut at Tennessee, Tuthill finished with five strikeouts and one run allowed on two hits in four innings.
Cameron Kepley, the projected starter against Michigan State on Sunday afternoon, had a 2.2-inning start (on a pitch count) at Miami on Wednesday. He was the Game 3 weekend starter against Tennessee and Manhattan, and inclement weather shortened the Gardner-Webb series to two games.
Kepley allowed three runs on four hits while striking out four batters in six innings at Tennessee, gave up two earned runs in three innings vs. Manhattan and allowed one run on three hits against the Hurricanes. He made two starts as a freshman and had 29 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
