BOONE, N.C. – App State will begin a five-game homestand this weekend, with a three-game set against 24
th ranked Campbell at Smith Stadium. Friday and Saturday's games will begin at 3 p.m., with the finale on Sunday set for 1 p.m. All three contests will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (8-3) will look to rebound from back-to-back losses for the first time this season, after falling to Duke, 5-0, on Tuesday in Durham. App State was held to just one hit in the ballgame, their fewest since being one-hit by Georgia State April 22, 2016.
Trey Tujetsch started the ballgame for the Mountaineers, allowing just two runs in four innings of work.
Jackson Steensma fired a scoreless ninth inning, and has yet to allow a run in five outings for App State. On the season,
Hayden Cross leads the Mountaineers offensively with 20 hits and 15 RBIs in the first ten games of the season, batting .426 on the year. On the Mound, the Mountaineers are unbeaten with
Xander Hamilton starting. He is 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA and 19 strikeouts and 16 innings this season.
SCOUTING THE CAMELS
Campbell (10-2) comes into the series having won eight of their last nine games, and are ranked 24
th in the nation, garnering a ranking for the first time since 2013 when they were as high as 23
rd in the polls. The Camels took two of three from Sun Belt member Louisiana over the weekend, before sweeping a mid-week set from Tulane. Campbell also posted an extra-inning win over #11 ECU earlier this year. The Camels are led offensively by Tyler Halstead, who is batting .444, while Bryce Arnold and Drake Pierson have each hit five home runs apiece on the campaign. The squad has also been effective on the bases, having stolen 33 bags in 40 tries through 12 games. Friday night starter Cade Kuehler was named the preseason Big South Pitcher of the Year by D1 Baseball. So far this season he is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 16 innings of work.
SERIES HISTORY
The Mountaineers and Camels have met 20 times in head-to-head play in a series that dates back to 1980. The Camels lead the series 8-11-1, but the Mountaineers took two of three to open the 2022 campaign in Buies Creek. After falling 9-0 in the opener, the Mountaineers claimed the final two games of the series, winning 5-1 on Saturday behind 6.1 scoreless innings from
Xander Hamilton, and 5-4 on Sunday on a go-ahead two-run home run from
Hunter Bryson in the eighth inning.
APP VS RANKED
The Mountaineers are searching for their first win over a ranked team since they defeated #24 Wake Forest, 11-9, on Feb. 26, 2020 in Winston-Salem. The win ignited a six-game winning streak, which was ultimately halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the win over the Demon Deacons, the Mountaineers have lost eight straight matchups with ranked opponents, despite several games which were close in the late innings. Last season App State fell to #13 North Carolina, 4-2, despite tying the ballgame in the top of the eighth inning on a home run from
Luke Drumheller.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Xander Hamilton returned from injury to assume the Friday night starter role this season and has been excellent through three outings. Hamilton has gone 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA in three outings, striking out 19 batters in 16 innings of work. The Mountaineers are 3-0 in his outings. Hamilton transferred to App State from Virginia Tech prior to the 2022 campaign. He began his year by striking out nine or more batters in each of his first five starts, and ranked second in the nation with 51 strikeouts one month into the season. Hamilton earned the Sun Belt's first pitcher of the week award in 2022, following 6.1 shutout innings at Campbell on Feb. 19 in which he struck out 10. Hamilton was ultimately limited to just nine outings due to injury. Hamilton features a four-seam fastball, a splitter, and a slider that is regarded as the top pitch on the team.
BEAT THE DRUM
Fifth-year senior
Luke Drumheller is among the most experienced players in all of college baseball. He has started 167 consecutive games for the Mountaineers at second base and has played a total of 184 games in his career, which is tied for 20
th among active division 1 players. Drumheller was a first team All-Conference selection in 2021. Drumheller has gotten off to a hot start in 2023, slashing .349/.451/.512 in 11 games. On Saturday, Drumheller clocked a go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning against Gardner-Webb, part of a three-hit, four-RBI game.
SEMICENTENNIAL
The Mountaineers will honor the 50
th anniversary of the 1973 SoCon Championship team this weekend with a pregame brunch on Saturday. Frank Lovrich led the Mountaineers to an 11-3 regular season title that season, before defeating South Alabama and N.C. State in the NCAA District III Playoffs in Starkville, Miss. The squad was led by All-Conference selections Steve Anspaugh (1B), Mike Ramsey (SS), Frank Dziadul (3B), and Robbie Williams (OF). The conference championship was the first for App State in any sport at the Division I level.
UP NEXT
App State will host Big12 foe West Virginia for a two-game mid-week series on Tuesday and Wednesday. The
other Mountaineers are 7-4 on the season and will host Minnesota this weekend in Morgantown. Tuesday's game will begin at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN+. Wednesday is education day at Smith Stadium, with first pitch set for 11 a.m. an audio stream will be available on appstatesports.com
