GREENSBORO, N.C. – App State's baseball team dropped a 15-inning heartbreaker in its second straight Sunday matchup, falling 8-7 to UNCG in the series finale. App State's pitching staff tied a single-game record with 19 strikeouts with six pitchers recording punch outs on the mound.
After UNCG stretched its lead to 6-2 in the seventh, the Mountaineers tallied a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth to send the game to extra innings. Junior
Kendall McGowan jumpstarted the rally with a two-out double down the left-field line in the eighth. Sophomore
Phillip Cole then doubled to right center on a 1-1 pitch to cut UNCG's advantage to 6-3. Sophomore
Hayden Cross tacked on another run for App State with two outs on an RBI single to left field.
The Mountaineers (4-6) tied the game with two runs in the ninth. Redshirt senior
Luke Allison reached base after being hit by a pitch. Junior
Andrew Greckel then smacked a double to right center, scoring Allison all the way from first base to cut the lead to 6-5. Greckel advanced to third base on a fielding error in center field before senior
Robbie Young shot a ball through left side to plate Greckel from third, knotting the game at 6-6.
App State took a 7-6 lead in the 11
th with a two-out RBI double from McGowan, scoring sophomore
Andrew Terrell from second. Terrell drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to reach base and had entered the game in the seventh inning for junior
Tyler Leek.
The Spartans (7-3) retied the game at 7-7 with a home run from UNCG's Hogan Windish in the bottom of the 11
th. UNCG's Spencer Smith walked off Sunday's series finale with a walk-off single to left field, bringing home Caleb Webster from second base.
The Mountaineers (4-6) struck first in their fourth straight game with an RBI groundout from Young in the fourth inning. Young's grounder to second base plated Allison from third to take a 1-0 lead. Allison opened the inning with a leadoff walk before moving to third on junior
Andrew Greckel's double to right field.
The Spartans responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 4-1 lead. UNCG tallied another score in the sixth with a sacrifice fly from center fielder Jacquez Koonce.
App State trimmed UNCG's lead to 5-2 in the seventh with an RBI groundout from sophomore
Luke Drumheller, bringing home Cross from third. Drumheller's RBI groundout extended his RBI streak to five straight contests.
Greckel's double in the fourth marked his fourth game in a row with an extra-base hit. The junior batted .368 (7-for-19) this week with two home runs, seven RBIs, two doubles and a triple in four road contests.
Junior left-hander
Quinton Martinez allowed just one hit through his first three frames, facing the minimum twice in five innings on the mound. Four App State pitchers – Martinez, senior
Jack Hartman, freshman
Noah Hall and Cole – each recorded at least three punch outs in today's contest. App State's 19 strikeouts ties a single-game record last reached in a 3-1 win over Davidson in 12 innings back on April 21, 2011.
"Another Sunday, another long day on the field," head coach
Kermit Smith said. I'm proud of our guys for competing for 15 innings. Being in these type of pressure situations this early in the season will pay huge dividends later in the year. Bailey [Welch] and Greck made two SportsCenter-type plays. Our bullpen was stellar again, stranding seven of eight inherited runners and punching out 13 over the last 9.1 innings. Obviously, you want the sweep, but anytime you go 3-1 in a week and win the weekend you have to hold your head high. Look forward to getting back out there with these guys and building on the week."
App State returns to the diamond on Wednesday at Western Carolina. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2020 season.
