CHARLOTTE, N.C. –
Andrew Greckel and
Alex Aguila each homered as part of a six-run fourth inning, but two Charlotte grand slams proved to be too much to overcome, in a 12-7 loss on Saturday.
Trailing 5-0 in the fourth inning,
Dylan Rogers led off with a double for App State (5-8), and two batters later
Hayden Cross doubled him home to put the Mountaineers on the board.
Austin St. Laurent was then hit by a pitch, and Greckel followed with his first home run of the season, to trim the deficit to one.
Luke Drumheller walked to continue the rally, and Aguila capped the inning with a two-run homer to right field to put App State ahead, 6-5.
Mountaineer starter
Xander Hamilton yielded a first inning grand slam to Jake Cunningham but settled down nicely in the middle innings, striking out the side in both the third and the fourth. Hamilton finished with nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings, to give him 41 strikeouts through four starts this season.
Hamilton did not factor in the decision as
Cameron Kepley came in to record a strikeout in the sixth inning to strand the bases loaded.
The 49ers (10-4) loaded the bases again in the seventh inning. This time they tied the game on a sacrifice fly, and then regained the lead on a home run from Will Butcher, their second grand slam of the day, to highlight a six-run inning for the home team.
The Mountaineers threatened in the ninth, loading the bases and scoring a run when Cross was hit by a pitch, but a groundout ended the ballgame, stranding the tying run in the on-deck circle.
App State will look to salvage the finale of the three-game series Sunday when they send right-hander
Jason Cornatzer to the mound for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Hayes Stadium.
The 2022 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
