BOONE, N.C. — A four-run third inning helped Appalachian State Baseball take a two-run lead into the fifth inning against visiting Wake Forest, but the Demon Deacons used a power surge to claim a 10-6 win at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium on Tuesday night.
Wake Forest took a 5-4 lead with a three-run top of the fifth and led 10-4 before
Drew Beck hit a two-run double to bring home freshmen
Kyle Decker and
Hayden Cross in the eighth inning.
Alex Leshock's infield single triggered the entry of closer William Fleming with the tying run on deck, and he struck out all five batters he faced.
After the Demon Deacons (16-14) managed single runs in the first and third innings on an RBI single and Bruce Steel's solo homer, the Mountaineers (11-16) scored four two-out runs in the bottom of the third.
Robbie Young hit a leadoff double over the center fielder's head and scored from third on
Luke Drumheller's infield single. Walks to Philip Cole and
Dalton Williams loaded the bases for
Kendall McGowan, who delivered an RBI single to right, and Cross followed with a two-run single up the middle to prompt a pitching change.
On a staff day, App State freshman reliever
Austin Primm retired the final batter of the first inning with two runners aboard before pitching a scoreless second inning and allowing one run in the third. Taking the mound with a 4-2 lead,
Will Herman struck out one batter in a scoreless fourth. App State's pitching staff also got a scoreless ninth inning from
Jason Cornatzer.
Offensively, McGowan went 2-for-3 as the Mountaineers totaled eight hits. Drumheller recorded at least one hit for the 22nd time in the last 23 games to keep his average above .400 for the season.
They also had standout defensive plays, as McGowan made a leaping catch at the wall in left, and Drumheller's diving stop deep in the hole between first and second initiated an out on a close play at first.
Wake Forest erased its 4-2 deficit with a four-hit fifth that included an RBI single and Michael Ludowig's two-run double with the bases loaded. Brendan Tinsman hit a two-run homer in the seventh and Bobby Seymour followed Chris Lanzilli's RBI double in the eighth with a two-run homer.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2019 season. The Mountaineers return to action Friday with the start of a Sun Belt home series against Georgia Southern.
Game 1 is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., and single-game tickets can be purchased online by
clicking HERE.
