GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sophomore starting pitcher
Tyler Tuthill earned his first win of the season in a 5-1 triumph at UNCG on Friday.
Tuthill, freshman
Noah Hall and senior
Andrew Papp's performances on the mound helped snap UNCG's six-game winning streak, limiting the Spartans to just one run and six hits in the victory.
"Anytime you win on Friday night it's a huge shot in the arm," head coach
Kermit Smith said. "You go out and face the other team's best and chip away enough to get the win. A lot of credit has to go to Tut, Noah and Papp. Those guys made some really big pitches tonight. I'm proud of our offense for buying into a game plan today and implementing it. Can't wait to get back on the field with these boys tomorrow afternoon."
App State's offense provided Tuthill with an early lead, notching a run in three-straight innings to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Junior
Tyler Leek recorded a double down the left-field line to give App State a 1-0 advantage in the first. Leek's two-out double plated sophomore
Luke Drumheller from second, who kept the inning alive with a single earlier in the inning.
The Mountaineers (3-5) doubled their advantage in the second when junior
Andrew Greckel belted his third homer of the season. Greckel's solo shot over the right-field wall marked his second-straight contest with a home run. App State then added another run in the third with a two-out single from Leek, which scored junior
Kendall McGowan from second base.
Tuthill allowed no hits through the first three innings before UNCG (6-2) scored its sole run of the contest in the fourth inning. The southpaw finished with five strikeouts and four hits allowed in five innings on the mound. Hall then worked a trio of scoreless frames, striking out two Spartans and giving up just one base hit. Papp closed out Friday's victory with App State's fourth inning of scoreless relief, punching out UNCG's Hogan Windish to secure the win.
App State scored its final two runs of the game in the fifth and eighth innings. Redshirt-senior
Luke Allison smacked a double with one out in the fifth, moving to third base on a wild pitch. McGowan brought Allison home with an RBI groundout to third base, extending App State's lead to 4-1. In the eighth, Drumheller smacked his first homer of the season over the wall in right center to push Appalachian's advantage to 5-1.
Drumheller finished with a team-high three hits, finishing with two runs scored and an RBI to lift his batting average to .314 for the season. Allison, Greckel and Leek all tallied two-hit performances with at least one base knock going for extra bases.
App State will return to the diamond Saturday at 2 p.m. for Game 2 of this weekend's series. Sophomore right-hander
Shane Roberts will make the start for the Mountaineers.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2020 season.
