BOONE, N.C. – App State Baseball will close out a stretch of five consecutive road games on Tuesday, when they travel to face UNC Asheville for a mid-week contest. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (15-11, 6-3) is one of just three teams in the Sun Belt to have won each of their three weekend series to begin the season. The Mountaineers took two of three from Louisiana this past weekend, and are off to their best conference start since joining the Sun Belt in 2015.
Xander Hamilton set the tone for the weekend, striking out 13 in the ballgame on Friday, the most by a Sun Belt pitcher this season, and the most in recorded program history.
Bradley Wilson struck out six more in his start on Saturday to match a career-high and earn the win. The Mountaineers have also taken Sun Belt series from Marshall and Georgia State.
Hayden Cross leads the offense, batting .337 on the season, while
Golston Gillespie leads the squad with 10 home runs.
Xavier Moronta and
Luke Drumheller are both also batting over .300 on the campaign.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
UNC Asheville is coming off a series win over Presbyterian, in which they won the final two games of the series after dropping the opener. The Bulldogs also took two of three from Longwood the weekend prior, despite being one-hit by Tennessee in their mid-week game last Tuesday. The Bulldogs also won non-conference series over Sacred Heart, Iona, and UMass. Robbie Burnett leads the offense batting .381 with seven home runs, whole Dylan Bacot is not far behind, batting .369 with 13 doubles and 38 RBIs. UNC Asheville is batting .289 as a team.
SERIES HISTORY
The Mountaineers and Bulldogs have met 67 times on the diamond previously, in a series that dates back to 1985. App State holds a 44-23 lead in head-to-head play. Last season the Mountaineers defeated the Bulldogs 11-1 in seven innings last season in Hickory. App State scored five runs in the seventh inning to win it on a walk-off run rule.
SUN BELT SUCCESS
- App State is 6-3 in Sun Belt play, good for the best start since joining the conference in 2015
- The Mountaineers are one of three Sun Belt teams to begin the year by winning each of their first three Sun Belt series
- The last time the Mountaineers won their first three conference series was in 1986 when the Mountaineers won SoCon series over Marshall, Western Carolina, and ETSU on their way to a 40-win season and an NCAA regional bid
BOMBS AWAY
Redshirt senior
Golston Gillespie homered again in the ballgame on Saturday, notching his tenth home run of the season, and his ninth in his last 15 games played. His ten home runs are the most for a Mountaineer player since Dillon Dobson blasted 12 home runs in 2015. Gillespie is tied for sixth in the league in homers. He also leads the Sun Belt in walks (26), while ranking 8
th in OBP (.483) and 12
th in SLG (.711). The program record for home runs in a single season is 17, set by Daniel Kassouf in 2012.
STRIKEOUT STUFF
App State pitching struck out 18 batters against Louisiana on Friday night, coming within one strikeout of a program record.
Xander Hamilton led the way with a career-high 13 strikeouts, the most by a Sun Belt pitcher this season, and the most by a Mountaineer in recorded history (since 2013).
BEAT THE DRUM
Fifth-year senior
Luke Drumheller is among the most experienced players in all of college baseball. He has started 182 consecutive games for the Mountaineers at second base and has played a total of 199 games in his career, which is tied for 21
st among active Division 1 players. Drumheller is riding an 8-game hitting streak, while reaching base in 15 consecutive games. Drumheller is slashing .333/.443/.451 in 26 games, including nine multi-hit contests, highlighted by a four-hit game against Campbell on March 10. 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 26 games this season, App State has tallied 82 extra-base hits, including 26 home runs. On the bases, the Mountaineers have swiped 37 bags in 46 tries (80%), 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 return home to face ULM in a three-game series, Thursday through Saturday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 1 p.m. in the finale on Saturday. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
