BOONE, N.C. – App State Baseball gets set to face James Madison this weekend in the two teams first battle as Sun Belt opponents. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 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+.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (19-18, 9-8) had their midweek matchup with No. 2 Wake Forest canceled due to unplayable field conditions in Shelby. Prior to that, the Mountaineers won 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 DUKES
James Madison (23-17, 8-8) trails the Mountaineers by a half a game in the Sun Belt standings following a three-game sweep of Louisiana at home last weekend, outscoring the Ragin' Cajuns 32-14. The Dukes then took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning against Virginia Tech on Tuesday, before the Hokies scored four in the frame to pull out the midweek win. The Dukes also have a series win over Georgia State and also won their only meeting with Arkansas State, despite rain canceling the other two games of the series. Fenwick Trimble leads the Dukes at the plate, batting .350 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI in 40 games. Kyle Novak is also batting .351 on the season. On the mound, weekend starters Ryan Ertlschweiger, Todd Mozoki, and Ryan Murphy all boast ERAs of 4.50 or better, while Joe Vogatsky holds a 2.37 ERA out of the bullpen.
SERIES HISTORY
The weekend series will be the first meetings between the two squads as Sun Belt members. The Mountaineers and Dukes have met only once prior, a 23-8 win for the Dukes in Harrisonburg in 2001.
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 22
nd 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.
CLUTCH CROSS
Fifth-year senior catcher
Hayden Cross has reached base safely in 26 consecutive games, dating back to March 10, tallying 26 hits, 19 walks, and five hit by pitch during that stretch. Cross has enjoyed a sensational 2023 campaign, slashing .329/.435/.536. His 13 doubles on the campaign are tied for ninth in the Sun Belt this year. Defensively, Cross has also thrown out 13 runners, which leads the conference, while committing just one error in Sun Belt play.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Xander Hamilton has been incredibly impressive this season, winning the Sun Belt pitcher of the week award three weeks ago, following a career-high 13-strikeout performance against Louisiana, the most by a Mountaineer in recorded history. Hamilton leads the Sun Belt with 75 strikeouts this season, coming in 58.0 innings of work. Hamilton is tied for fourth in the conference with six wins this season, and the Mountaineers are 8-2 when he starts. Hamilton has struck out nine batters or more in five of his nine starts this season. App State has also given him tremendous run support, scoring an average of 8.9 runs in his outings, compared to 6.3 runs in games he does not start.
SUPER SUN BELT
The Sun Belt continues to be one of the top conferences in college baseball, ranking fifth in the nation in RPI, ahead of the Big Ten. Coastal Carolina leads the Sun Belt, ranking 7
th in the nation, while seven Sun Belt teams rank in the top-100, and 11 rank in the top-125. There is currently a log jam in the conference standings with three wins separating second place and 11
th place in the standings. The top ten teams in the conference make the Sun Belt Tournament, with the top six automatically advancing to the double-elimination bracket.
UP NEXT
App State will remain home for a midweek matchup with ETSU on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Bucs won the first meeting of the home-and-home, 5-0, in Johnson City on February 28. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
