BOONE, N.C. – Following a series win over No. 13 Coastal Carolina, the Mountaineers are back in action on Tuesday as they make the trip to UNC Asheville to square off with the Bulldogs. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Twenty-two games in to the season App State is already halfway to the 30-win plateau, sitting at 15-7 overall and 3-3 in Sun Belt play, following a series win over No. 13 Coastal Carolina at home this past weekend. In the first game of the series, App State rallied from a six-run deficit to score six runs in the sixth inning on their way to a 16-8 victory. The Mountaineers then scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning of game two for a last-at-bat win, before falling in extra innings in the finale. The Mountaineers have won four of their last five games, and have scored 53 runs over that span.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
UNC Asheville enters the matchup 11-12 on the season and 1-2 in Big South play, following their first conference series of the season against Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs were able to salvage the finale behind a strong pitching performance from Colby Guy, who earned his fourth win of the season. The Bulldogs faced a challenging schedule out of the gates with a three-game series at Georgia and a midweek contest against No. 9 Tennessee. Cameron Johnson leads the team with a .337 average, while Robbie Burnett has belted a team-best nine home runs. Justin Needles has been their most relied upon reliever, appearing in six games in relief and striking out 16 batters in 19 innings of work.
SERIES HISTORY
App State and UNC Asheville have met 69 times in program history, with App State holding a 45-24 advantage all-time. Last season the Mountaineers won 7-3 in Asheville but fell 7-6 in the matchup at Smith Stadium. The two teams will face off again this season in Boone on April 9.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LHP Bryce Fisher (0-0, 16.88) vs. LHP
Tyler Tuthill (1-0, 4.50)
HISTORIC WEEKEND
App State recorded several milestones in its weekend series win over No. 13 Coastal Carolina. Saturday's series opening win marked the first time that the Mountaineers had beaten a ranked team at Smith Stadium since 2018. The series win was the first time the Mountaineers had taken a series from a top-15 opponent since the 2012 team won twice at No. 7 LSU. The Mountaineers have now beaten a ranked Coastal club in back-to-back seasons, topping the eighth-ranked Chanticleers last year in Conway. App State has now posted four ranked wins across the past two seasons, after previously not having a ranked win in the previous two years.
WINNING WAYS
App State is off to a 15-7 start to the season, which is their best record through 22 games since 2012, when the Mountaineers started 18-4, winning 12-straight, beginning with a pair of wins over No. 7 LSU in Baton Rouge on their way to a program-record 41 wins.
INSTANT OFFENSE
The Mountaineers offense has been impressive as of late, and has scored double-digit runs in eight games this year. Overall, the Mountaineers have scored 198 runs which is third-most in the Sun Belt and 45
th in the nation. The App State offense also ranks third in the conference in on-base percentage (.422), third in slugging (.488), third in home runs (37) and six in walks (131).
BOMBS AWAY
App State has hit 37 home runs through 22 games this season, which is third most among Sun Belt teams and 35
th nationally. After hitting just 29 home runs as a team in 2022, App State has seen a major uptick in the power department the last two seasons, slugging 67 home runs in 2023. On Feb. 25 at Siena,
Banks Tolley,
Braxton Church, and
Drew Holderbach hit back-to-back-to-back home runs, marking the first time since April 14, 2017 against Georgia Southern that the Mountaineers had hit three consecutive long balls in a game. Last Tuesday against Queens the Mountaineers slugged five home runs, marking just the third time in program history and the first time since 2008 that App State went deep five times in a single game.
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 .312/.500/.532/1.032 and has tallied 24 hits, 18 walks, and been hit by 12 pitches, reaching base safely in all 22 games this season. Holderbach belted the go-ahead home run in the March 17 win at Texas State, which was the longest home run hit by a Mountaineer in recorded history, traveling 465 feet. Holderbach tallied an 11-game hitting streak from Feb. 20 through March 10. His .500 on-base percentage ranks sixth in the Sun Belt.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Despite hitting ninth in the batting order,
Joseph Zamora has had a major impact on the Mountaineers offensive attack. Over the past week, Zamora tallied 10 hits and 10 RBIs including a three-hit, five-RBI performance in Saturday's win over the Chanticleers. Zamora has tallied four consecutive multi-hit efforts and has raised his season average by 88 points over that span.
WHAT A RELIEF
Senior right-hander
Grey LaSpaluto has been terrific for the Mountaineers out of the bullpen, as a multi-inning reliever this season. In six outings, LaSpaluto has worked to a 2.25 ERA and has not allowed more than one earned run in any appearance. LaSpaluto has won each of his last two relief appearances, highlighted by a career-high five strikeouts in four innings against Coastal on Saturday. The Apex, N.C. native has struck out 13 while walking just five in 12 innings this season. He is 3-0 on the year, which is tied with
Dante Chirico for the most wins on the team.
TAKE IT TO THE BANKS
Banks Tolley has been seeing the ball well this season, slashing .326/.451/.663/1.114 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs, starting in all 22 games this season. The Ole Miss transfer has hit safely in 18 of 22 games this season, including nine multi-hit efforts. Tolley ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in home runs, sixth in total bases, seventh in RBIs, and tenth in slugging. He also recorded an astonishing 11 putouts in center field in game two of Sunday's doubleheader, including a pair of web gems, one leading to a double play.
THE ZACH ATTACK
Redshirt sophomore
Zach Lewis has been superb in the back end of the Mountaineers' bullpen this season. Lewis leads the team with nine appearances this season and has allowed just two earned runs across 10.1 innings of work. Lewis has struck out 11 while allowing just five hits, collecting a pair of saves. The righty tossed a career-high 2.1 innings in relief on Sunday against Coastal.
GRAND GRAHAM
Redshirt freshman
Graham Smiley enjoyed a career-day at the plate on Tuesday against Queens. Smiley hit his first collegiate home run in the fourth inning, and followed it up with a grand slam in the fifth, becoming the third Mountaineer to hit two home runs in a game this season. Smiley finished with six RBIs, joining
Golston Gillespie (twice) as the only players to drive in six runs since App State joined the Sun Belt.
BASHIN' BOYD
Senior outfielder
CJ Boyd was 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. Batting in the leadoff spot for the Mountaineers this season, Boyd is slashing .307/.466/.693/1.159 with ten home runs and 26 RBIs. His ten homers rank third in the Sun Belt, and he ranks four in the conference in runs scored (31), eighth in walks (20) and ninth in slugging.
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.
In just 67 career games in two years in a Mountaineer uniform, Boyd has hit 27 home runs which ties him for eighth on the App State all-time list.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
App State has registered a .422 on-base percentage this season, in large part due to being hit by a lot of pitches. App State batters have been hit 64 times in 22 games, a mark that leads the Sun Belt and ranks second in the country. Individually,
Drew Holderbach has been hit by 12 pitches, which leads the Sun Belt and ranks 11
th in the nation.
LEATHERMEN
Through 22 games this season, the App State defense has committed just 18 errors in 764 chances for a team fielding percentage of .976, which ranks second in the Sun Belt and 47
th nationally.
SUPERB SUN BELT
App State enters the week with an RPI of 60, sitting as one of ten Sun Belt teams inside the top-80 in college baseball. The Sun Belt continues to be one of the top conferences in college baseball, ranking fifth in the nation in RPI, ahead of the Big Ten last season. Nine Sun Belt teams finished in the Top-100 in RPI individually a year ago, with four Sun Belt squads advancing to the regional round of the NCAA tournament.
UP NEXT
App State will return home for a Sun Belt series Thursday through Saturday against Marshall at Smith Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, with the finale on Saturday slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
