BOONE, N.C. – App State baseball plays their final home series of the season, as the welcome Arkansas State to Smith Stadium for senior weekend. First pitch on Friday is set for 8 p.m. (it has been pushed back two hours due to inclement weather) with the middle game slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday. The series concludes on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. in the finale. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+. Saturday is senior day, with a pregame ceremony scheduled to begin at 2:40 p.m.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (23-21, 12-11) is coming off a victory over No. 8 Coastal Carolina last Friday, before falling by a run in extra innings last Saturday, ultimately dropping the series in Conway. The victory Friday night was in dominant fashion, 11-0, allowing just one hit, as the Mountaineers earned their highest ranked win in a decade. The Mountaineers sit in ninth place in the Sun Belt standings, but are just two wins back of fourth place in the conference. App State has won a program-best five conference series this season, taking two games each from Marshall, Georgia State, Louisiana, Old Dominion, and James Madison. App State is led at the plate by
Xavier Moronta, who is batting .331 on the season and is riding a ten-game hitting streak.
Golston Gillespie boasts a team-best 14 home runs on the season, holding an OPS of 1.100, while
Hayden Cross has driven in 44 runs in 44 games played. On the mound, Friday night starter, and reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week,
Xander Hamilton leads the Sun Belt in strikeouts with 94, which also ranks 11
th nationally.
SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
Arkansas State (17-28, 6-16) is coming off a midweek victory over former Sun Belt member Little Rock on Tuesday. Prior to that, the Red Wolves dropped back-to-back Sun Belt series to Old Dominion and Southern Miss. A-State has won just one conference series this season, but did hold a lead against Ole Miss midway through their contest on April 18. Offensively, the Red Wolves are led by Brandon Hager who is batting .335 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs in 45 games this season. On the mound, Saturday starter Kyler Carmack boasts a team-best 2.77 ERA with opponents' batting just .226 against him this season.
SERIES HISTORY
The Mountaineers and Red Wolves have met 15 times previously, all since App State joined the Sun Belt in 2015. A-State holds an 8-7 lead in the series, but App State most recently swept a three-game series in 2021. App State got strong starts from
Tyler Tuthill, Quinton Martinez and Noah Hall in that series, as the trio combined to toss 20 innings and allow just five earned runs. The two squads did not face one another in 2022.
SIGNATURE WIN
App State's 11-0 victory over Coastal Carolina on Friday was their first ranked win since defeating No. 24 Wake Forest in 2020. Additionally, it was their first win over a top-10 program since 2013 when they defeated No. 8 NC State in the season opener. The Mountaineers were led by
Xander Hamilton who recorded a program-record 15 strikeouts in the victory.
ONE HIT WONER
The Mountaineers held the No. 8 Chanticleers to just one hit on Friday night, the second consecutive season in which they have one-hit an opponent. Last season at UT Arlington,
Eli Ellington and
Caleb Cross combined to allow just one hit in a 3-1 App State win. App State also combined to throw a one-hitter in 2019 against Furman in a 14-0 triumph.
DYLAN DIALED IN
Outfielder
Dylan Rogers has been locked in at the plate over the last couple of weeks. He is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak in which he is 17-for-38 (.447), while reaching base 32 times over his last 11 games. April 29 against JMU, Rogers was hit by four pitches and also walked, officially going 0-0 in five plate appearances. Over this most recent stretch, Rogers has raised his average from .233 to.308, a 75-point increase.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Xander Hamilton was named the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season, after recording a program-record 15 strikeouts across eight scoreless, and one-hit, innings in Friday's victory over No. 8 Coastal Carolina. Hamilton has now recorded a league-best 94 strikeouts on the season, which ranks 11
th nationally, and is the most by an App State pitcher in a single season. Hamilton previously was named pitcher of the week following a 13-striekout performance in a win over Louisiana. Hamilton has stuck out nine or more batters in six of his 12 starts this season. App State is 10-2 when Hamilton starts, including a 7-1 mark in Sun Belt play. Hamilton's eight wins this season are tied for 4
th in the Sun Belt, and tied for 10
th for a Mountaineer in a single season.
BEAT THE DRUM
Fifth-year senior
Luke Drumheller made history this past weekend in Conway, starting in his 200
th consecutive game. Drumheller is the only player in program history to reach that milestone, while matching Tyler Zupcic (2010-14) for second all-time with 217 games played, trailing only Hector Crespo (2010-13), who suited up 225 times for the Black and Gold. Drumheller is 22
nd among active Division 1 players for career games played. The Charlotte native is slashing .294/.402/.395 in 44 games, including 14 multi-hit contests, highlighted by a four-hit game against Campbell on March 10. He has tallied 253 hits in his career, and ranks fifth in program history. Drumheller has hit safely in 36 of 44 games. Drumheller was a first team All-Conference selection at second base in 2021.
WINNING WAYS
App State's 23 victories this season are the most since 2013, when App State won 30 games – the last time (full season) that the Mountaineers finished a year above .500. The Mountaineers won at least 30 games in seven straight seasons, from 2007-2013, highlighted by a program record 41 victories in 2012 when they made the NCAA Regionals.
UP NEXT
App State will close out the regular season with a three-game series at Troy. The series opener will take place on Thursday, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. First pitch Friday is also slated for 7 p.m. with the series concluding at 4 p.m. on Saturday. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
