DURHAM, N.C. – App State pitchers put up zeros in six out of eight innings on Tuesday night, but the team was unable to overcome a big bottom half of the third, falling 8-4 to Duke at Jack Coombs Field.
App State (19-17) got on the board first in the top of the third inning.
Graham Smiley walked, advanced to second on a passed ball and came around to score on an opposite-field RBI double from
Riley Luft. The Mountaineers made it a 2-0 advantage when Luft came into score on a groundout later in the inning.
However, the lead was short lived. The Blue Devils (25-14) scored seven runs in the bottom half of the frame on seven consecutive hits, including three doubles and two home runs.
Outside of that one inning, the App State pitching staff combined to give up just one run on six hits to a Duke team that entered the contest 43rd nationally in RPI.
Cal Clark started the ballgame and retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing a home run in the third inning.
Jake Beaty struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings in relief, while
Cody Little also delivered a scoreless sixth inning.
After the Blue Devils added on a run in the seventh inning,
Reyn Watson came out of the App State bullpen and escaped a bases loaded jam, minimizing the damage to just a run. He also stranded the bases loaded in a scoreless eighth inning.
App State cut into the deficit in the late stages with back-to-back doubles from
Jonathan Xuereb and
Kameron Miller in the eighth to make it 8-3. Then in the ninth, Smiley ripped an RBI double down the left field line to plate
Tyler Figueroa, who got on board via a walk to make it 8-4, but App State was unable to get any closer.
The Mountaineers struggled to sustain rallies in the ballgame, striking out 14 times in the contest. The offense did tally four doubles in the ballgame.
App State will host James Madison in a three-game series Thursday through Saturday at Smith Stadium. First pitch on Thursday and Friday is set for 6 p.m. with Saturday's contest slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The 2025 App State baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
