BOONE, N.C. – App State Baseball takes on No. 2 Wake Forest, in the second game of a home-and-home series, Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Keeter Stadium in Shelby N.C. The game is being played in honor of Shelby native Jim Horn, who played on Wake Forest's 1955 National Championship squad, and helped bring the American League World Series to Shelby.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (19-18, 9-8) is coming off their fourth Sun Belt series win of the season, taking two of three from Old Dominion over the weekend. Both Mountaineer wins came in walk-off fashion. Entering the ninth inning down by a run, on Friday,
Jonathan Xuereb tied the game with an RBI single, and
Dylan Rogers won it with a single of his own, one batter later. On Sunday, the Mountaineers got a walk-off single in the seventh inning from
CJ Boyd to run-rule the Monarchs 18-8. It marked the largest scoring output of the season for App State. The Black and Gold also posted Sun Belt series wins over Marshall, Georgia State, and Louisiana. App State is led at the plate by
Luke Drumheller who is hitting .333 on the year, and has hit safely in 18 of his last 19 games.
Hayden Cross leads the squad with 13 doubles and 37 RBIs in 37 games, and has reached base safely in 26 straight contests. On the mound, App State is led by Friday night ace
Xander Hamilton, who leads the Sun Belt with 75 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS
Wake Forest (35-6, 16-4) has yet to lose an ACC series this season, and Tuesday, posted a signature win over No. 6 Coastal Carolina 11-1 (7 inn.). Brock Wilken led the way for the Deacs, hitting his 59
th career home run, to become the Wake Forest all-time home run record holder. Wilken has hit 19 home runs this season, while batting .329, one of seven Wake Forest regulars batting over .300 on the campaign. On the mound, the Demon Deacons sport a national-best 2.43 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, while opponents are hitting just .196 against them this year. The Deacs also lead the nation in walks drawn with 282.
SERIES HISTORY
The Mountaineers and Demon Deacons have met 64 times on the diamond in a series that dates back to 1970. Wake Forest leads the series 49-15, including a 10-4 victory on April 11 in Boone. App State took a 3-2 lead into the fourth inning, following a go-ahead home run from
Jonathan Xuereb, but the Deacs plated five runs in the fifth to pull away. Wake Forest has won five straight in the series, with the Mountaineers last win coming in 2020.
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 11 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. This season App fell 16-15 to #24 Campbell, despite scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth and putting the tying and winning runs on base.
BEAT THE DRUM
Fifth-year senior
Luke Drumheller is among the most experienced players in all of college baseball. He has started 193 consecutive games for the Mountaineers at second base and has played a total of 210 games in his career, which is tied for 21
st among active Division 1 players. Drumheller is slashing .333/.434/.449 in 37 games, including 14 multi-hit contests, highlighted by a four-hit game against Campbell on March 10. The Charlotte native tallied two hits on Sunday against ODU, giving him 250 hits in his career. He becomes the fifth Mountaineer all-time to reach that milestone. Drumheller is riding a 10-game hitting streak (15-for-40, .375), and has hit safely in 18 of his last 19 games. Drumheller has not gone hitless in consecutive games all season, hitting safely in 31 of 37 games. Drumheller was a first team All-Conference selection at second base in 2021.
FAST & PHYSICAL
In his postseason press conference in June,
Kermit Smith said he wanted his 2023 team to play a fast and physical style of baseball. Through 37 games this season, App State has tallied 116 extra-base hits, including 35 home runs, with 11 different players leaving the park. On the bases, the Mountaineers have swiped 46 bags in 56 tries (82%), and have had 13 different players steal a base. By comparison, last year's squad finished the campaign with 29 home runs and 36 stolen bases in 53 games.
UP NEXT
App State will face James Madison this weekend in their first battle as Sun Belt opponents. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m. with game two slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday. The series will conclude Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. in the finale. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
