LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Pitching a complete game is difficult enough. Finishing it with a one-run lead when the opponent gets to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning raises the stakes.
Tyler Tuthill was up to the task Friday night, tossing another gem as he struck out 11 hitters in App State's 2-1 victory at Little Rock. The left-handed standout produced the program's first nine-inning, complete-game victory on the road since Seth Grant's five-hit shutout at Elon in 2012.
The Mountaineers (17-27, 8-8 Sun Belt) trailed 1-0 with two away in the eighth inning, but
Bailey Welch drew a 3-2 walk before
Luke Drumheller hit an RBI double into the left-field corner and
Kendall McGowan drove in Drumheller with a single to right.
Tuthill (4-5) struck out one batter in a clean bottom of the eighth, struck out the first batter in the bottom of the ninth and gave up just the fourth hit against him on pinch-hitter Noah Dickerson's double. A flyout to
Alex Leshock in shallow center and groundout to Welch at short ended a dramatic league game that was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning.
App State won for the second time this season when trailing after seven innings — adding to a 5-4 victory at ETSU on Feb. 23 — and Tuthill authored the second complete-game victory of his career. Tuthill, who threw 125 pitches Friday, and Sam Agnew-Wieland are responsible for the four nine-inning complete games by an App State pitcher since the start of the 2013 season.
Tuthill has allowed two earned runs or less in six of his last eight starts, and in his last three starts, he's totaled 22.2 innings, 25 strikeouts and three earned runs allowed. After setting a career high with 11 strikeouts at Miami last Friday, he matched that number against Little Rock.
The three pitchers from Friday's game all ranked in the top five for the lowest ERAs in Sun Belt games this season, with Hayden Arnold (1.99 ERA) starting for the Trojans (19-25, 9-10) and giving way to Aaron Barkley (1.40 ERA) after Leshock was hit by a pitch to open the eighth inning.
With one away, Leshock tried to steal second base and was called out to the surprise of the speedy center fielder, who believed he had extended a hand to the bag in time. Nonetheless, Welch kept the inning going with his walk and scored all the way from first on Drumheller's clutch opposite-field double. McGowan then two-hopped a ball past the glove of Little Rock's left-handed first baseman, and Drumheller's slide beat a strong throw to the plate.
Little Rock's only run of the game came after Tuthill retired the first two batters in the bottom of the fifth. A double, walk and RBI single gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead with runners still at the corners, and a pop-out to
Robbie Young at first ended the frame.
Before the double, Tuthill had retired 14 of Little Rock's first 15 batters. He then retired 12 of the Trojans' final 13 batters and finished the game with just one walk.
The series resumes Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). Game 2 will be available on ESPN+.
