BOONE, N.C. – After sweeping North Carolina A&T to move to 7-0 on the season, App State Baseball returns to action Tuesday, as they take on ETSU in Johnson City. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State is off to a 7-0 start for the first time since 2010, following a weekend sweep of North Carolina A&T. The Mountaineers built a 12-1 lead in game one of the series, but the final two contests came down to the late innings. App State won game two, 9-8, as
Hayden Cross came through with a game-tying single in the sixth and a go-ahead double in the eighth. In the finale,
Zach Lewis escaped a bases loaded jam in the ninth to send the Mountaineers to extra innings, paving the way for
Jonathan Xuereb's go-ahead two-run single. App State ranks third in the Sun Belt in batting at .323, led by Cross who is hitting .531 on the campaign, and has hit safely in all seven games. The Mountaineers are led on the mound by
Xander Hamilton who has struck out 15 while allowing just three runs in two starts this season.
SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
ETSU is 3-4 on the season after taking one game of their weekend series against Georgia Southern. The Bucs opened the year taking two of three from Toledo, before falling at 14
th ranked Virginia Tech in their first mid-week contest. Tommy Barth has begun the season batting .394 with five runs driven in, while Cameron Sisneros has driven in seven, and is batting .385 on the campaign. Colby Stuart has made three relief outings this season for ETSU, striking out eight in 8.1 innings, allowing just two runs, and holding opponents to a .167 batting mark. The Bucs went 30-21 last season including an 11-10 mark in SoCon play.
SERIES HISTORY
Formerly rivals in the Southern Conference, ETSU and App State will meet on the diamond for the 140
th all-time battle. Despite two scheduled meetings last season, the two squads did not face one another, as both games were canceled due to inclement weather. In 2021, the teams split the home and home series, with App State winning 5-4 in Johnson City on February 23, and the Buccaneers winning 10-5 in Boone on May 11.
STARTING STRONG
At 7-0 on the season, App State is one of just 13 teams nationwide that is unbeaten through the first 10 days of the college baseball regular season. App State is off to their best start since 2010 when the Mountaineers won their first ten games of the season, posting wins over Presbyterian (2), USC Upstate, Gardner-Webb, Niagara (2), Marist, and Rider (3).
GET OUT THE BROOMS
App State has completed back-to-back weekend sweeps to begin the campaign. The sweep against Queens marked the Mountaineers' first since March 19-21, 2021 when they opened Sun Belt play by sweeping Arkansas State at home. The last time App State had swept a non-conference opponent was in 2020 when they defeated Charleston Southern in three consecutive games, March 6-8. Those three wins were part of a six-game winning streak for the Mountaineers that was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. App State's current seven-game winning streak is the longest since 2012, when the Mountaineers won seven in a row from April 20-29, sweeping Furman and Wofford, sandwiched around a mid-week win over High Point. That year was also the last time the Mountaineers came away with more than one sweep in a single season. App State finished 2012 with six sweeps, also winning three straight from Oakland, The Citadel, Davidson, and Rider (4 games) on their way to a program-record 41 wins. The Mountaineers rattled off 12 straight victories that season Feb. 25-March 13, beginning with their series win at No. 7 LSU.
BEHIND THE DISH
Fifth-year senior catcher
Hayden Cross has enjoyed a sensational start to his 2023 campaign. Cross has hit safely in all seven games this season, going 17-for-32 (.531) with four doubles, 12 RBIs and 10 runs scored. He leads the conference in hits this season, while ranking 4
th in average, 6
th in doubles, 7
th in RBI, and 9
th in runs scored. Cross was named a second team All-Conference catcher last season, slashing .305/.399/.429 with 16 doubles and 33 RBI in 49 games. Cross finished the campaign with 15 multi-hit games, compared to 14 hitless games, while throwing out 37% of base stealers to rank third in the Sun Belt. In just seven more games played than in 2021, Cross tallied 29 more hits, 13 more doubles and drove in 23 more runs than he did the season prior.
UP NEXT:
App State will open their home season at Smith Stadium this weekend, with a three-game series against Gardner-Webb. First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will both begin at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs are 4-4 on the season and will face Western Carolina on Wednesday in a mid-week battle.
