BOONE, N.C. — Andrew Greckel created a nine-run cushion with an inside-the-park homer,
Phillip Cole delivered a grand slam after North Carolina A&T cut into its deficit and eight App State pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts on a staff day that ended with a 14-5 home victory.
The Mountaineers (7-8) improved to 4-0 at home this season — all wins against the Aggies (5-11) — and are 6-0 on Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium since the new turf was installed before the shortened 2020 season.
App State got at least one hit from 10 different players, including a 3-for-3 day from
Kendall McGowan, while
Luke Drumheller had an RBI triple off the top of the wall and
Bailey Welch recorded a two-run triple.
Peyton Idol also added a triple. Cole's grand slam traveled 391 feet with an exit velocity of 102 mph.
The game began with a battery of two freshmen, pitcher
Ben Peterson and catcher
Carson Arnold, making their first career starts. Arnold's first career RBI was a single that produced the first run of the game, and Peterson was credited with the win, as he threw two scoreless innings and gave way to
Jeriah Henry with a 5-0 lead. With two runners in scoring position and nobody out in the top of the third, Henry struck out three straight batters.
AJ Stinson and
Shane Roberts also pitched a scoreless inning apiece to help the Mountaineers build a 9-0 lead through five innings. North Carolina A&T had turned a 10-1 deficit into a 10-4 game with the bases loaded and two away in the seventh, but
Cam Roberts came in and stranded three runners with a strikeout before pitching a scoreless eighth.
Arnold threw out a dirt-ball attempt to swipe third base late in the game. Offensively,
Andrew Terrell,
Alex Leshock, Drumheller and Cole also had multi-hit games.
On Greckel's inside-the-park homer in the sixth inning, he hit a deep drive toward the wall in left-center. The ball sharply hit the back of the left fielder, who had tried to make a leaping catch, and rolled behind him nearly to the foul line. It took approximately seven seconds for the defender to retrieve the ball, giving Greckel time to round the bases and score with an uncontested slide.
Cole's seventh-inning grand slam followed Leshock being hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, Welch drawing a walk and Terrell hitting a single to center.
