BOONE, N.C. — Moving forward from a 14-5 home win against North Carolina A&T on Tuesday, App State (7-8) opens its Sun Belt Conference schedule with a three-game home series against Arkansas State (3-9).
Game 1 is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, followed by a 2 p.m. start for Game 2 on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start for Game 3 on Sunday. All three games are scheduled to appear on ESPN+.
With the 2020 season being interrupted right before the Mountaineers' first league series, App State last played host to a Sun Belt series from May 10-12, 2019 (more than 22 months ago) against South Alabama. The win Tuesday enabled App State to improve to 4-0 at home this season and is 6-0 on Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium since the new turf was installed before the shortened 2020 season.
After winning nine times in the first 45 Sun Belt games under head coach
Kermit Smith, App State has won 21 times in the last 44 Sun Belt games under his direction (one league game in 2019 was canceled due to inclement weather). The Mountaineers were on the verge of flying to Texas for their first league series of 2020 against Texas State when COVID-19 interrupted the season.
This season, Arkansas State's three wins include a victory last weekend against Oklahoma. App State jumped out to a 6-2 start to this season.
App State leads the Sun Belt with a fielding percentage of .983 (second-place UTA is at .970). With nine errors, App State's total is the lowest in the league, followed by UTA's 16 (also in 15 games), and the Mountaineers have allowed four unearned runs in their 15 games entering the weekend.
Offensively,
Andrew Greckel has three two-hit games in the last four games, as he's 6-for-15 (.400) with four extra-base hits in that stretch.
The Mountaineers are 2-2 in series openers and 2-2 in Game 2s, with
Tyler Tuthill and
Quinton Martinez serving as the starting pitchers. App State swept series-beginning Saturday doubleheaders against both Winthrop (road) and North Carolina A&T (home).
Earlier this week, App State Athletics announced that, in compliance with North Carolina Executive Order No. 195, there will be additional but limited seating options available for the remaining home baseball games this spring at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. The executive order currently permits up to 30-percent capacity for outdoor athletic venues.
At all App State venues, six feet of social distancing between seating pods is required, and face coverings are required for all guests and game day staff.
Additional options for fans include small-group seating areas at picnic tables and on grass hill pods on the first-base side of home plate, four-person fire pit areas and a heated outfield deck area for groups of six-to-eight people.
Pricing is on a per-game basis, and seating is based on availability. To purchase or obtain more information about available options, contact
Elizabeth Probst in the App State ticket office at
probstef@appstate.edu.
App State will be offering concessions that are available through cashless transactions only (Visa, Mastercard and Discover). Available items include hot dogs, candy, nachos, popcorn and Pepsi products.
OUTFIELD DECK WITH HEATERS
Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium features one heated outfield deck space available for groups of six-to-eight people.
Cost: $160
OUTFIELD FIRE PITS
Each fire pit space comes with four Black & Gold Adirondack chairs, and bike racks will separate the three available fire pits into socially distanced spaces.
Cost: $110 per fire pit (includes free popcorn vouchers for concessions)
SMALL GROUP AREAS
Pet-friendly picnic table seating area for up to six fans.
Cost: $100 (per table)
Grass hill pods for up to four fans with pets.
Cost: $30 per pod
