BOONE, N.C. – App State will make the 90-minute drive west on Tuesday, as they head to Johnson City to face off with ETSU in the first of a home and home series this season. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. from Thomas Stadium.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Winners of five in a row, and 6-1 on the season, App State is coming off a weekend sweep of Siena at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory.
Austin St. Laurent hit two home runs in Friday's series opener, while
Jackson Steensma and
Dante Chirico each tossed five innings in their starts on Saturday and Sunday, with both right-handers earning their first victories of the year. App State bashed four homers in Sunday's finale, including back-to-back-to-back blasts in the fifth inning to take the lead for good. App State has homered 14 times in seven games this season, while the pitching staff has struck out 66 batters in 63 innings of work. App State is coming off a 30-win season in 2023, their best since 2013, en route to a Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals appearance. App State has added 15 newcomers to their 2024 roster, in addition to 23 returning player. Boyd has also been named to the 2024 Preseason All-Sun Belt team.
SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
ETSU is also off to a 6-1 start to the season sweeping weekend series from Lafayette and Rider. Their only loss this season was a midweek contest against No. 9 Tennessee in Knoxville. Cameron Sisneros leads the offense with a .435 average, two home runs, four doubles and 13 RBIs in seven games. On the mound, Carter Fink has impressed for the Bucs, tossing 8.1 scoreless innings, across two outings, striking out nine, while walking just one. As a team, Bucs pitchers have fanned 80 batters in 59 innings of work. The offense is batting .322 and slugging .581 as a unit. ETSU was picked fifth out of eight teams in the SoCon preseason poll, while Sisneros was named preseason All-Conference at first base.
SERIES HISTORY
In one of the most played series in program history, App State and ETSU have met 141 times, with App State leading 80-60-1, dating all the way back to 1955. Last year App State fell in Johnson City, 5-0, snapping a seven-game winning streak to start the season, but rebounded for a 14-6 win at home on May 2.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LHP Derek McCarley (ETSU) vs RHP
Carter Boyd (APP)
BOMBS AWAY
App State launched four solo home runs in their win on Sunday against Siena, and now have hit 14 home runs in seven games this season, a mark that ranks second in the Sun Belt and 22
nd nationally. Among the home runs on Sunday was a fifth inning barrage, where
Banks Tolley,
Braxton Church, and
Drew Holderbach hit back-to-back-to-back homers. It was the first time since April 14, 2017 against Georgia Southern that the Mountaineers had hit three consecutive home runs.
ALL ABOARD
Drew Holderbach has been a valuable addition for the Mountaineers this season, after joining the team as a grad transfer from Rice. The first baseman is slashing .429/.667/.810 and has tallied nine hits, nine walks, and been hit by six pitches, reaching base safely in 24 of his 36 plate appearance so far this year.
TAKE IT TO THE BANK
Banks Tolley has been seeing the ball well early in the season, batting .345 (10-29) with two home runs and seven RBIs, starting in all seven games this season. The Ole Miss transfer has also walked five times and been hit by three pitches, getting on base at a .486 clip on the year.
KING TUT RETURNS
After missing the entirety of the 2023 season recovering from Tommy John Surgery, 6
th year Mountaineer
Tyler Tuthill made his triumphant return to the mound. Pitching the second inning against High Point, Tuthill retired the side in order with a flyout, a groundout, and a strikeout to end the inning. It marked the first time he pitched for the Mountaineers in 642 days. Tuthill had been the Mountaineers' Friday night starter and was a second team All-Sun Belt selection in 2021. He has totaled 46 appearances in an App State uniform, with Tuesday marking his first out of the bullpen.
BASHIN' BOYD
Senior outfielder
CJ Boyd has been named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt team. Boyd was named first-team All-Conference following last season and garnered a spot on the Sun Belt All-Tournament team in 2023. After going hitless in each of the first two games of the year, Boyd erupted in the finale against Gardner-Webb last Sunday, tallying four hits and four RBIs, including a two-run home run in the Mountaineers' comeback win at Gardner-Webb. Boyd is now riding a five-game hitting streak, going 9-for-24, with three home runs and nine RBI. The Mountaineers have won all five of those games.
Boyd enjoyed one of the most productive offensive seasons in App State history, slashing .364/.399/.712 in 45 games (43 starts) for the Mountaineers. The transfer from East Carolina tied a program record with 17 home runs, blasting 12 homers in his final 16 games of the season. Boyd hit safely in the final 19 games of the year, going 42-for-93 (.452) over that span. Boyd became the first Mountaineer since Wes Hobson (2010) to finish a season with double-digit home runs, doubles and stolen bases. He finished top 10 in the Sun Belt in batting average, slugging, OPS and home runs.
LEATHERMEN
Through four games this season, the App State defense has committed just three errors in 248 chances for a team fielding percentage of .993, the best mark in the Sun Belt and 11
th in the nation. App State is one of just 25 teams in the country to have committed three errors or fewer this season.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
App State has registered a .433 on-base percentage this season, in large part due to being hit by a lot of pitches. App State batters have been hit 25 times in seven games, a mark that leads the Sun Belt and ranks third most in the country. Individually,
Drew Holderbach has been hit by six pitches, which leads the conference and ranks fifth in the nation.
COMEBACK KIDS
App State has been effective when playing from behind this season, trailing after four innings in three of their six wins. Most notably on Feb. 18 at Gardner-Webb, App State rallied to take a 10-7 lead, despite falling behind 7-1 early. After giving up the advantage late, the Mountaineers again came back to tie the score and force extra innings, where they won, 15-11. Last year the Mountaineers overcame a similar deficit, beating Georgia State 15-14, despite falling behind 8-0 in the second inning of play. Similarly in that ballgame the Panthers regained the lead, before
Hayden Cross won it on a walk-off single in the ninth.
2023 RECAP
App State enjoyed their best season in a decade last season, going 30-25 on the season and 16-13 in Sun Belt play. App State knocked off No. 8/7 Coastal Carolina on the road on May 5, and then toppled 16
th Ranked Southern Miss in the Sun Belt tournament. The team finished 88
th nationally in RPI, their best mark in seven seasons under
Kermit Smith. App State finished sixth in the Sun Belt, their best finish since joining the league in 2015, and boasted top-10 statistical seasons in runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs, stolen bases, batters struck out, saves and fielding percentage.
FAST & PHYSICAL
A focus going into 2023 was for the team to play a faster and more physical style of baseball. The Mountaineers went on to steal 73 bases, their ninth most in program history and most since 2013, doing so in 85 tries (86%). The team also belted 67 home runs, their fourth-most all-time and most since 2008.
CJ Boyd tied a program record with 17 home runs, while
Golston Gillespie added 15 long balls. So far in 2024, App State has hit 14 home runs and stolen 16 bases in seven games.
National Recognition
CJ Boyd has received national recognition leading up to this season, earning a spot on the Perfect Game All-Sun Belt preseason team, in addition to being ranked as the 59th-best outfielder in the nation by D1baseball.com.
UP NEXT
App State make the trek to Carbondale, Ill. for a three-game weekend series against Southern Illinois. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET, with the middle game on Saturday slated for 3 p.m. The series finale against the Salukis is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
