CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With App State down to its final out in the ninth inning,
Luke Drumheller ripped a two-run single up the middle to tie the score at 7-7, and paved the way for a 9-7 win over Charlotte in 12 innings, in a ballgame that spanned 5:40.
Hunter Bryson made a game-saving diving catch in the bottom of the 11
th inning to strand the winning run at second base and get the App State offense to the plate one final time.
In the top of the twelfth inning,
Alex Aguila walked and
Andrew Terrell was hit by a pitch to open the frame. Two batters later,
Andrew Greckel singled to center to give the Mountaineers their first lead since the first inning.
Austin St. Laurent then bunted for a hit to score Greckel and give App State a 9-7 advantage.
App State (6-8) struck first in the ballgame scoring a pair in the top of the first inning. Terrell walked to begin the ballgame and then
Dylan Rogers was hit by a pitch. After a sac bunt from Greckel to advance both runners into scoring position,
Hayden Cross slashed a double down the left field line to score both runners.
Charlotte (10-5) responded with six runs in the bottom half of the first inning, highlighted by a Jake Cunningham three-run home run. The 49ers sent 11 men to the plate in the inning.
After
Jason Cornatzer was unable to get out of the first inning, the Mountaineer bullpen was tremendous.
Trey Tujetsch fired 5.1 scoreless innings in relief, striking out five, while allowing just seven baserunners.
Eli Ellington followed with three innings, in which he yielded only one run and struck out four.
Cameron Carter earned the win, tossing the final three frames. He struck out three and did not give up a hit.
App State scored runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth to trim the deficit to 6-5. In the fourth, Bryson walked with one out. After a single from Drumheller advanced Bryson to second, and Aguila followed with a single to right-center to drive him in. In the fifth, the Mountaineers used a safety squeeze to plate a run, with St. Laurent beating out a bunt to score Greckel, who drew a walk and went first-to-third on a Cross single.
Cross finished with a two- hit game, and has now hit safely in his last six contests, going 12-22 over that stretch. Cross also threw out a 49er attempting to steal in the sixth inning. The Mountaineers tacked on one more run in the sixth on back-to-back doubles from Terrell and Rogers.
App State will be in action again on Tuesday when they head to Greensboro, for a matchup with North Carolina A&T at 6 p.m.
The 2022 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
