CONWAY, S.C. – After trailing by four runs midway through the contest, App State fought back to tie the score in the top of the ninth inning, but No. 8 Coastal Carolina was able to prevail in extra innings, 6-5, to force a rubber game in the series.
With the Chanticleers leading 5-1 in the sixth, the Mountaineers (23-20, 12-10) began to chip away.
Hayden Cross was hit by a pitch,
Dylan Rogers singled up the middle, and
Alex Reed reached on an infield hit to load the bases.
Alex Aguila then walked in a run, and
Andrew Terrell followed with a sac fly.
CJ Boyd capped the inning with an RBI single, to trim the deficit to 5-4.
The score remained that way until the top of the ninth. With the Mountaineers down to their final three outs,
Xavier Moronta led off the inning with an opposite-field home run to left, his second of the season, to tie the score at 5-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Chanticleers threatened to score, but Boyd and Moronta each made stellar defensive plays in the outfield to force extra innings.
After Aguila was thrown out at the plate attempting to score the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth, the Chanticleers capitalized in the home half of the inning, as Graham Brown hit a walk-off homer to win it.
Bradley Wilson struck out five batters in 3.2 innings of work before turning it over to
Grey LaSpaluto who was terrific in relief. The righty tossed 4.1 innings allowing just one run on four hits, while striking out three, allowing the App State offense to get back into the ballgame.
Golston Gillespie opened the scoring with a solo home run in the fourth inning, his 14
th of the season, the fifth most in a single season in program history.
Boyd led the Mountaineers with three hits in the ballgame, after tallying four hits in the series opener on Friday. Moronta and Rogers each extended their hitting streaks to nine consecutive games, while Cross reached base for the 32
nd straight contest.
The series concludes with a rubber game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Right-hander
Caleb Cross will take the ball for the Mountaineers. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
