BOONE, N.C. – App State Baseball opens conference play Friday as they begin a three-game weekend series against the Georgia Southern Eagles. First pitch Friday is slated for 5 p.m. The contest Saturday will begin at 3 p.m., and Sunday's finale will feature a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SCOUTING APP STATE: The Mountaineers (6-9) are coming off a 4-2 loss to North Carolina A&T on Tuesday.
Phillip Cole enjoyed a three-hit game for App State, while
Austin St. Laurent and
Luke Drumheller each recorded a two-hit game.
Over the weekend to the Charlotte 49ers. On Sunday, the Mountaineers found themselves behind 6-2 after the first inning, but chipped away across the middle innings to cut into the deficit. Down to their final out in the ninth,
Drumheller tied the game with a two-run single.
Hunter Bryson made a diving catch in the 11
th inning to strand the would-be winning run at second base, paving the way for a go-ahead RBI single from
Andrew Greckel in the 12
th to win it for the Mountaineers. The ballgame spanned 5:40.
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN: The Eagles (11-6) are winners of four straight, following an 8-3 win over Mercer on Wednesday. That followed a weekend sweep of William & Mary. The Eagles also have two ranked wins this season, beating No. 20 Georgia, March 9, and No. 19 Georgia Tech on February 22. The Eagles are led by Noah Ledford who boasts an OPS of 1.120 with four home runs and 20 RBIs on the season. Friday starter Jaylen Paden has worked to a 2.60 ERA this season with 15 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. The Eagles were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt this season.
ON THE BUMP:
Friday - RHP Jaylen Paden (2-0; 2.60) vs LHP
Tyler Tuthill (1-3; 8.38)
Saturday - LHP Ty Fisher (0-1; 4.50) vs RHP
Xander Hamilton (1-1; 4.94)
Sunday - RHP Ben Johnson (1-1; 5.62) vs RHP
Trey Tujetsch (1-0; 1.45)
SERIES HISTORY: Georgia Southern and Appalachian State will meet for the 95
th through 97th this weekend in Boone with Georgia Southern holding a 71-23 advantage. Last season the Mountaineers were able to take one of three in Statesboro, but have lost eight of the last 10 head-to-head meetings.
LET'S PARTY LIKE IT'S 2012: App State Baseball will honor the 10
th anniversary of the 2012 team this weekend as they host players from that historic tournament run for a bunch on Saturday morning, ahead of game two against the Eagles. The 2012 team claimed the Southern Conference regular-season title and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986, beating Oklahoma and Virginia in the regional round. They came within one win of a Super Regional berth, finishing the season with a record of 41-18.
MOUNTING A COMEBACK: Despite falling behind 6-2 in the first inning on Sunday, the Mountaineers rallied to tie the ballgame at 7-7 in the ninth inning before winning the contest 9-7 in 12 frames. It marked the third time this season that App State won a ballgame when trailing after eight innings of play. Last Saturday against UNC-W the Mountaineers scored four runs in the eighth and four in the ninth to claim a 12-11 walk-off victory. They also topped Campbell 5-4 on February 20
th to take the series, on a go-ahead eighth inning home run from
Hunter Bryson.
RED HOT HAYDEN: Mountaineers catcher
Hayden Cross has been on a tear at the plate as of late. He tallied three two-hit games against the 49ers over the weekend and has now hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 12-for-25 (.480) over that stretch with two doubles and a home run. On the season Cross boasts a slash line of .400/.492/.580.
WHAT A RELIEF: In Sunday's win over Charlotte, the Mountaineer bullpen was a big catalyst for their comeback.
Trey Tujetsch entered the ballgame in the first inning, and went on to strike out five in 5.1 scoreless innings.
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. The Mountaineers bullpen added 3.2 scoreless innings on Tuesday against the Aggies and has now delivered 15 consecutive scoreless innings.
BASHIN' BRYSON: Redshirt freshman
Hunter Bryson has made an instant impact in his first action for App State. Through 14 games, he leads the team with four home runs, which have accounted for more than half of his seven hits. He is also ranks third on the team with nine RBIs.
BUILDING BLOCKS: Under the direction of
Kermit Smith, App State went 11-10 in Sun Belt Conference regular season games last season to post the sixth-best record in the 12-team league. It was the program's first winning record and best Sun Belt finish since joining the league in 2015. The Mountaineers also earned their first-ever Sun Belt tourney win with a 1-0 victory against Texas State.
With the Sun Belt ranking as a top-10 league (out of 31 Division I conferences) in each of Smith's first five seasons, the Mountaineers are 32-33 in their last 65 Sun Belt regular season games after winning nine times in 45 Sun Belt regular season games during Smith's first year and a half of rebuilding.
RACKIN' UP THE K's: In four starts for the Mountaineers this season,
Xander Hamilton has overpowered opposing hitters, striking out at least nine batters in each outing, and totaled 41 strikeouts on the season, which leads Sun Belt pitchers. He also ranks third in innings pitched (23.2). In contrast, he has walked only eight batters this season.
NEXT UP: The Mountaineers will head to Chapel Hill on Tuesday for a midweek contest against the Tar Heels. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the contest will be aired on ACC Network Extra.
The 2022 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
