BOONE, N.C. – Despite rallying from an early deficit to take the lead in the middle innings, App State was unable to hold the advantage, as West Virginia scored 14 unanswered runs, winning the series with a 18-5 victory in the finale at Smith Stadium.
After West Virginia scored four times in the top the first inning, App State rallied to take the lead just two innings later. In the second inning,
Hayden Cross reached on an error to begin the frame, and advanced to second on a
Braxton Church single. Two batters later
Alex Aguila ripped a ground ball through the right side to score Cross and put App State on the board.
Church came through with another big hit for the Mountaineers an inning later. With the bases loaded and a run in, Church smashed a double to the gap in right-center, scoring
Austin St. Laurent and
Luke Drumheller to tie the score at 4-4. One batter later,
CJ Boyd pushed the go-ahead run across with an RBI groundout.
West Virginia tied the score in the fourth and went ahead in the sixth, before pulling away with an eight-run ninth inning.
Caleb Cross impressed for the Mountaineers out of the bullpen. He entered with men on base and nobody out in the second inning and was able to induce a ground ball double-play to get out of the jam. Cross ultimately worked two scoreless innings in relief.
App State (8-7) will head to Marshall (8-6) Friday to begin Sun Belt Conference play. Friday and Saturday's games are scheduled for 7 p.m. with the finale on Sunday set for 1 p.m. All three contests will be broadcast on ESPN+.
