BOONE, N.C. – App State built up an early lead but was unable to hold it down the stretch, falling 13-5 to Troy in the series finale at Smith Stadium on Sunday.
After Troy (25-12, 9-6) took a 1-0 lead on three singles in the top of the first, App State (20-13, 6-9) delivered a big counter punch in the home half of the inning.
CJ Boyd led off with a single to left field, and
Austin St. Laurent followed with an opposite field two-run home run, his ninth of the season, to jump start the App State offense. The Mountaineers have now hit 60 home runs on the season.
Banks Tolley continued the first-inning rally with an infield single, and
Braxton Church rifled an RBI triple into the right field corner to make it 3-1.
Drew Holderbach plated Church with an RBI groundout.
Hunter Wilder walked to begin the second inning, and with two outs, St. Laurent came through again with an RBI double to right field to increase the advantage to 5-1.
The Mountaineers, however, were unable to muster much offensively following the second. The Black and Gold were held to just three hits over the final seven innings, and finished the day going just 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11 men on base on the afternoon.
The Trojans chipped away, scoring two in the third and one in the fifth to trim the deficit to just a run. Then in the sixth, Troy jumped ahead with back-to-back-to-back home runs, going in front 7-5.
After 1.2 scoreless innings in relief from
Cody Little, the Trojans pulled away with a five-run eighth inning and another run in the ninth. The Trojans finished with 18 hits in the ballgame.
Logan Ross picked up the win for Troy, striking out six in four scoreless innings in relief.
Holderbach finished with a two-hit game for the Mountaineers, extending his on-base streak to 33 consecutive games.
App State will return to action on Tuesday, as the team travels to Western Carolina for a mid-week contest. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN+.
The 2024 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
