JONESBORO, Ark. – With the Mountaineers down to their final out in the ninth,
CJ Boyd crushed a game-tying three-run home run to force extra innings, before the Mountaineers and Red Wolves settled for a 12-12 tie after ten innings of play, due to a travel-related time limit.
It marks just the eighth tie in program history and the first for the Mountaineers since 2010 against Western Carolina. The series also marks the Mountaineers first unbeaten road series in Sun Belt play since sweeping UT Arlington in 2018.
Trailing 12-8 when the ninth inning began, App State (22-14-1, 8-9-1) wasted no time igniting a rally as
Hunter Wilder and
Joseph Zamora opened the inning with back-to-back singles. After a Red Wolves pitching change,
Austin St. Laurent came through with an RBI single to make it 12-9. Following a groundout and a strikeout, Boyd represented the Mountaineers final chance, and the senior delivered, pumping a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for his 14
th home run of the season, tying the game at 12-12.
In the bottom of the tenth, Arkansas State (17-22-1, 4-14-1) put the winning run in scoring position, but
Zach Lewis was able to roll a game-ending double-play ball to secure the draw.
It was a seesaw battle throughout the contest. App State took a 2-1 lead in the second on an RBI single from St. Laurent followed by an RBI groundout from
Drew Holderbach.
After Arkansas State tied the score at 2-2 with a run in the bottom half of the frame, the Mountaineers would again go in front in the fourth with a Holderbach single through the left side to score Zamora. Holderbach extended his on-base streak to 37 in a row in the contest.
Arkansas State batted around in the fifth inning, scoring six times to take an 8-3 lead midway through.
The Mountaineers continued to battle back. In the seventh, Wilder ripped a two-run single and St. Laurent drove him in two batters later with an RBI single to center field to make it 8-6.
After
Xavier Moronta delivered a two-run single in the eighth to cut the deficit to 9-8, the Red Wolves responded with a three-run homer in the bottom half of the frame to take a four-run cushion to the ninth.
App State finished the ballgame with 12 hits, led by St. Laurent's three-hit effort, but despite drawing eight walks and four hit-by-pitches, App State stranded 12 men on base.
The Mountaineers will return home on Tuesday to wrap up their home-and-home series with ETSU. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The 2024 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
