BOONE, N.C. – Following a rainout Tuesday, the Mountaineers return to action this weekend, as they travel to Atlanta for a three-game series against Georgia State. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m., with game two scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday. The series wraps up Sunday, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. in the finale.
SCOUTING APP STATE: The Mountaineers (15-26, 6-15 Sun Belt) took one of three from Louisiana last weekend in Boone. After falling in the first two games, App State claimed the finale on Sunday, led by a season-high four-hit game from
Luke Drumheller. The offense produced 14 total hits for the Mountaineers in the ballgame, with
Austin St. Laurent and
Jacob Whitley also each tallying a three-hit game.
Jason Cornatzer was fantastic on the mound, working a career-high 6.1 innings to earn the win.
App State has won four series overall this season, including taking Sun Belt series from Little Rock and ULM on the road.
Alex Aguila leads the offense with a .307 average and has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games.
Hayden Cross is slashing .301/.384/.413 and is tied for fifth in the Sun Belt with 13 doubles on the year. Out of the bullpen,
Caleb Cross has held opponents to just a .225 average on the year, while
Cameron Kepley has struck out 30 in 28 innings in relief.
SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE: The Panthers (25-21, 10-11 Sun Belt) played two mid-week contests this week, defeating Alabama State, 13-7, on Tuesday before falling to Middle Tennessee, 9-7, on Wednesday. Georgia State opened conference play red hot, winning ten of their first 12 games, including sweeping Little Rock, South Alabama, and Coastal Carolina, which they followed up with a win over cross-town rival Georgia Tech, April 12. However, since that win over the Yellow Jackets, the Panthers have lost nine straight Sun Belt games, and 11 of 13 overall.
The Panthers have excelled at the plate this season, posting a .459 slugging percentage as a team, the second-best mark in the conference. Max Ryerson leads the conference with 16 home runs on the year, and teammate Griffin Cheney is not far behind with 12 long balls. Luke Boynton leads the club with a .381 average (second in the conference) and has also gone deep nine times. The inconsistencies have come on the mound, with a pitching staff that has been forced to utilize 11 different starters through 45 games this season. Cameron Jones has been the steadiest reliever, working to an ERA of 2.15 while striking out 31 batters in 29.1 innings this year.
ON THE BUMP:
RHP Trey Horton (0-1, 5.08) vs LHP
Tyler Tuthill (1-5, 6.43)
LHP Brandon Kaminer (1-1, 4.60) vs TBA
RHP Mason Patel (1-1, 0.98) vs RHP
Jason Cornatzer (2-1, 5.46)
SERIES HISTORY: The Mountaineers and Panthers have met 23 times previously in a series that dates back to 1979. The Panthers lead the all-time series 14-9, but App State won two of three games in their series last season in Boone.
Jason Cornatzer earned the win in game one, striking out four in 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Georgia State won a wild finale by scoring nine runs in the top of the ninth inning to win 15-13.
GOOD EYE!: Since the installation of the new batter's eye at Smith Stadium, the Mountaineers have enjoyed plenty of success at the plate, going 44-for-141 (.312) in four home games last week. App State has now tallied 90 hits in their last seven games, winning four of those contests. Additionally, the Mountaineers scored ten runs in two of those games, and this season are 8-0 when scoring at least 10 runs in a game.
AGUILA ABOARD: Shortstop
Alex Aguila has been red hot at the plate, and has now hit safely in nine of his last 11 games, including six multi-hit efforts. Aguila has gone 16-for-37 (.432), with 4 RBIs, and 8 runs scored.
WALK THIS WAY: Third baseman
Andrew Terrell has been incredibly patient at the plate as of late, drawing ten walks over his last six games played. Terrell worked three free-passes last Tuesday against Davidson, matching his season-high. The junior now has walked 29 times this season which ranks fifth among Sun Belt hitters. By comparison, Terrell has struck out just 24 times in 135 at-bats.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Catcher
Hayden Cross and outfielder
Dylan Rogers have each tallied 13 doubles this season, which is tied for fifth in the Sun Belt conference. Rogers is also tied for seventh in the conference in hit-by-pitches, being plunked 10 times on the year. Cross has really enjoyed an uptick in production this season, slashing .301/.384/.413 with 43 hits and 26 RBI through 38 games. Last season Cross played in 41 games and totaled 25 hits and just three doubles, driving in 10, and finishing with a slash line of .236/.364/.311.
BEAT THE DRUM: Junior second baseman
Luke Drumheller tallied a season-high four-hit game on Sunday, and has now hit safely in five straight games, and nine of his last ten. Over that span, Drumheller has gone 14-for-42 (.333) with five RBIs and seven runs scored. Drumheller was named a pre-season All-Sun Belt selection this season, after being chosen as the First Team All-Conference second baseman a season ago.
GOING STREAKING: Drumheller is not the only Mountaineer riding a hitting streak entering the weekend,
Andrew Greckel has hit safely in his last five games, going 7-for-18 (.389), while
Dylan Rogers is riding a seven-game hitting streak, going 11-for-27 (.407) with three doubles over that stretch.
ALL SAINT'S DAY: Redshirt freshman
Austin St. Laurent, tallied a three-hit ballgame in the finale against Louisiana on Sunday, and over his last seven games has gone 12-for-31 (.381), with seven RBIs, and eight runs scored, to raise batting average from .280 to .301. St. Laurent leads the Mountaineers with a .436 slugging percentage, and his .301 average is tied for second on the team.
HEY MR. CARTER: Sophomore right-hander
Cameron Carter closed out the finale Sunday, to earn his first save as a Mountaineer. Carter recorded the final five outs of the ballgame, and has now worked in multiple innings in 11 of his 13 relief appearances this season. Overall, he has recorded 29 strikeouts in 26.2 innings of work.
QUALITY CORN: Redshirt-senior
Jason Cornatzer earned the win on Sunday, working a career-high 6.1 innings, and striking out four. The win was the second for Cornatzer this season, and he has now struck out 26 batters in 29.2 innings of work on the year. The right-hander has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his eight starts this season.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: The win over Little Rock on March 27, marked the 100
th win for
Kermit Smith since taking over the App State program ahead of the 2017 campaign. Smith ranks fourth (106) on the all-time wins list at App State behind
Jim Morris (611),
Chris Pollard (244), and
Frank Lovrich (125).
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 38-48 in their last 86 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.
NEXT UP: The Mountaineers are right back on the road next weekend when they travel to Arlington, Texas for a three-game series against the UTA Mavericks. First pitch on Friday is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with game two scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday. The series concludes Sunday with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. in the finale.
The 2022 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
