JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – After starting the day as one of only 12 unbeaten programs in the nation, the Mountaineers suffered their first blemish of the season, falling 5-0 to ETSU at Thomas Stadium.
Trey Tujetsch allowed just one run in five innings, striking out two in his first start of the season, but the offense mustered just six hits, five of which were singles.
Jonathan Xuereb continued the strong start to his career going 2-for-3, while
Hayden Cross came through with a ninth-inning single to extend his hitting streak to eight straight games.
ETSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly, after leading off the frame with a double.
It remained 1-0 until the bottom of the seventh inning.
Eli Ellington, who took over in the sixth, struck out two in the inning following a leadoff single. The Mountaineers issued an intentional walk to set up first and second with two outs, and on a 3-2 pitch, Ashton King came through for the Bucs with a two-run double to center field to push the deficit to 3-0.
Grey LaSpaluto came on to get the final out of the seventh.
ETSU added two more runs in the eighth inning, on a throwing error and a wild pitch, but
Jake Beaty came out of the bullpen to pick up a strikeout to end the frame and limit the damage.
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. An audio stream of all three games will be available at appstatesports.com.
