BOONE, N.C. — Possessing the sixth-best league record in the 12-team Sun Belt and the fourth-best record in the six-team East, App State caps the regular season with a home series against first-place South Alabama.
The Mountaineers (18-29, 9-9 Sun Belt) and Jaguars (28-18, 14-7) are scheduled to play at 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday before concluding the regular season Saturday at noon. During a Senior Day ceremony scheduled for Friday, the following team members will be recognized: Luke Davis, Alex Leshock, Joseph Lowder, Kendall McGowan, Andrew Papp, Cam Roberts, Bailey Welch and Robbie Young.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+, and after previously being at 30-percent capacity, Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium will be at 100-percent capacity for the first time this week.
Ticket information is available by clicking HERE.
App State allowed five runs over three games in last weekend's series win at Little Rock and lost 2-0 Tuesday at No. 21 South Carolina. Tyler Tuthill threw a complete game last Friday in a 2-1 win, and Trey Tujetsch pitched six scoreless innings before giving way to Eli Ellington in a 5-0 shutout Sunday.
Tuthill's 1.83 ERA in league play ranks No. 3 in the Sun Belt and overall ERA of 3.09 ranks sixth amomg starters. With his last three starts being 6.2 no-hit innings vs. ULM, 11 Ks at Miami and 11 more Ks against Little Rock in a 2-1 victory that's the only complete-game win on the road by a Sun Belt pitcher this season, Tuthill has allowed two earned runs or less in six of his last eight starts.
Offensively, Welch leads the Sun Belt in batting (.414) and on-base percentage (.521) in league games and is No. 3 in slugging (.621). The shortstop has also produced a D1Baseball.com Defensive Play of the Week this season with a quick-reflex play on a ricochet to initiate a 6-3 double play at Lipscomb. Welch's fielding percentage of .987 in league play is No. 2 (No. 1 in .988), and that's while ranking No. 2 in the Sun Belt in assists (51).
First baseman Robbie Young, who is batting .303, has not committed an error in Sun Belt play despite leading the league with 158 chances.
Another noteworthy effort in league play has come from Hayden Cross, who leads Sun Belt starting catchers in on-base percentage (.444) and ranks fourth with a batting average of .286. He has thrown out 10 steal attempts this season.
This weekend's series will help determine seeding for the six-day Sun Belt Tournament begins Tuesday at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala. All 12 teams qualify, with four "pool" groups of three teams apiece and each team playing a minimum of two games (vs. the other two teams in its pool). Semifinalists will emerge from pool play that runs Tuesday-Friday, and the highest seed in a pool would win the tiebreaker if all three teams went 1-1.
Currently No. 4 in the East, App State enters the South Alabama series percentage points ahead of No. 5 Georgia State (10-11 going into a home series vs. Little Rock) and three games ahead of No. 6 Coastal Carolina (6-12 going into a home series vs. Texas State). Below are tourney scenarios for:
— No. 4 in East: Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET vs. No. 6 in West, Thursday at 7 p.m. ET vs. No. 1 in West
— No. 5 in East: Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET vs. No. 3 in West, Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET vs. No. 2 in East
CLOSER LOOK AT LAST WEEKEND'S STARTERS
• Tyler Tuthill
— In his last three starts, has totaled 22.2 innings, 25 strikeouts and three earned runs allowed.
— The only Sun Belt pitcher with a nine-inning, complete-game win on the road this season, he struck out 11 batters (tying a career high set the previous week) and allowed four hits in a 2-1 win at Little Rock. Tuthill retired 14 of the first 15 batters and 12 of the final 13 to be named the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week.
— Finished with 11 strikeouts during his seven innings at Miami, allowed just two earned runs and extended his hitless streak to 10 consecutive innings before allowing Miami's first hit.
— Allowed no hits in 6.2 innings against ULM as App State pitched 7.1 no-hit innings (Tuthill struck out three and walked six in his 90-pitch outing, twice walking three batters in a row but getting out of those jams and then exiting with two runners in scoring position in a 4-0 game).
• Jason Cornatzer
— Started last Saturday (his first start since the 2019 Sun Belt Tournament) in a 4-2 loss at Little Rock and allowed three earned runs in five innings, which tied a career high.
— Has excelled in high-leverage weekend relief situations, notably a 4-2, series-opening win against Georgia State as he earned the win by striking out four batters in 2.2 scoreless innings.
— Began career with 23 straight relief appearances before making four starts late in his sophomore season.
• Trey Tujetsch
— Recorded his first career win last Sunday by allowing four hits and striking out four batters over six innings in a 5-0 victory.
— Took a 6-3 lead into the seventh inning of a midweek home start vs. Charlotte, holding the 49ers scoreless in five of the first six innings and totaling seven strikeouts.
— Struck out six batters in 4.1 innings in a home start vs. Wake Forest, retiring 11 of the 15 batters he faced through four innings.
