MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Picked to finish 12
th in the Sun Belt preseason poll, the Mountaineers defied expectations all season long, and were among the final four teams playing in the Sun Belt Conference when they fell in an elimination game to No. 16 Southern Miss, 11-1, on Saturday at Riverwalk Stadium.
The Mountaineers opened the season 7-0 and were one of the final 13 undefeated teams in the nation, ten days into the season. They went on to win a program-record 16 Sun Belt Conference contests, posting ranked victories against No. 8 Coastal Carolina and No. 16 Southern Miss.
Southern Miss scored in five of the seven innings in Saturday's elimination game rematch, winning on a run-rule walk-off in the seventh inning. Will Armistead held the Mountaineers in check at the plate, tossing a complete game and giving up just one unearned run on four hits.
The Mountaineers scored their lone run in the third inning when
CJ Boyd singled to center field and then advanced from first to third on an errant pickoff attempt, leading to a sac fly from
Xavier Moronta.
Boyd finished the season on a 19-game hitting streak, ending his year with a .363 batting average while tying the App State single-season record with 17 home runs.
Five-year Mountaineers
Luke Drumheller,
Hayden Cross, and
Andrew Terrell all played their final game in a Black and Gold uniform. Drumheller finished his career as the all-time leader in games played with 228, starting in each of the last 211 contests. The trio set the tone for a 10-win increase from a season ago, coming within two wins of their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2012.
