BOONE, N.C. – Sophomore
Kameron Miller blasted a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and App State made timely defensive plays late to edge Western Carolina 7-6 at Smith Stadium on Wednesday.
After giving up the lead in the top of the sixth when Western Carolina (16-16, 2-4) scored three runs to take a 4-3 advantage, App State (17-15, 7-5) responded in a big way in the home half of the inning.
Graham Smiley reached on an infield single to begin the inning and with one out,
Dillon Moquin reached on an error.
With two down, Miller worked the count full and after fouling off a 3-2 pitch unloaded on a 471-foot tape measure blast to left field to put App State back in front. The home run was the longest recorded in the trackman era (since 2019) and featured an exit velocity of 113 miles-per-hour.
Braxton Church continued the rally with an infield single and
Juan Correa capped the frame with an RBI triple to right-center to give the Mountaineers a 7-4 advantage.
App State maintained the lead with some exceptional defensive plays in the final three innings.
Jake Beaty came out of the bullpen with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh inning and promptly induced a 4-6-3 double play on his way to allowing just one inherited run to score in the frame.
Beaty rolled an inning-ending double play ball in the eighth inning to face the minimum, while
Joseph Zamora made a diving stop and an acrobatic throw from second base in the ninth inning to retire the would-be tying base runner.
App State built a 3-0 lead early in the contest. Moquin and Zamora began the first inning with back-to-back singles and came into score on a Church RBI groundout and a Correa RBI single respectively.
The Mountaineers then mounted a two-out rally in the third. Church and Correa hit back-to-back singles, and
Tyler Lichtenberger came through with an RBI single to center field to extend his hitting streak to 11 in a row and his on-base streak to 31 straight games.
Liam Best pitched a scoreless first inning, making his first start of the season.
Cal Clark followed with two scoreless innings and
Conner Barozzino followed with one run across two innings of work. Beaty also tossed two scoreless frames, while
Jordan Fisher pitched the ninth, recording his fifth save of the season.
App State will return to the road this weekend as the team visits Marshall in a three-game series, Friday through Sunday.
The 2025 App State baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
