BOONE, N.C. – A pair of 6-1 teams square off in Johnson City, Tenn., Wednesday, as App State and ETSU play the first game of their home-and-home series this season. First pitch from Thomas Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
At 6-1 on the season, the Mountaineers are off to their best start since 2023 (7-0) and their second-best record through seven games since joining the Sun Belt conference in 2015. App State is coming off back-to-back walk-off victories. Saturday,
Steven Smith belted a solo home run in the seventh inning to defeat North Carolina A&T 10-0 and Sunday
Joseph Zamora beat out an infield single in the bottom of the ninth to lift App State to a 9-8 win over Southern Illinois. Newcomers
Steven Smith,
Drew DuPont and
Ethan Puig lead the Mountaineers at the plate. Smith is batting .500 with two home runs and eight RBIs. DuPont is batting .375 with a home run and 10 RBIs in seven games. Puig is hitting .370 with six RBIs and nine runs scored. On the mound,
Gage Peterson has not allowed an earned run in his first two starts of the season, striking out 15 and earning a pair of wins.
Nick DiRito has fanned 13 across a pair of long-relief outings.
SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
Following their first SoCon tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013, the Bucs are off to a 6-1 start to begin the 2026 season, following a three-game sweep of Sacred Heart, where they outscored the Pioneers, 47-11 in three games, highlighted by a 26-3 win on Saturday. ETSU's lone loss this season came by two runs at Virginia Tech last Tuesday in Blacksburg. The Bucs are led at the plate by Tristan Curless who has hit four home runs in seven games, while batting .385. Henry Furguson is also batting .520 on the year. Evan Rolison has recorded three scoreless relief outings on the mound. The Bucs were picked to finish third in the SoCon preseason poll. Starting pitcher Michael Harpster, reliever Derek McCarley and outfielder Jamie Palmese were all named to the preseason all-conference team.
SERIES HISTORY
Two longtime rivals from their days together in the Southern Conference, App State and ETSU are meeting for the 146th time in program history. App State leads the head-to-head series 82-62-1 but dropped both meetings last season.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Four App State Baseball players have garnered national recognition heading into the 2026 season.
Nico Soul was projected to be the No. 1 impact freshman in the Sun Belt,
Gage Peterson (31) and
Carter Stanford (48) were both projected as top 50 draft prospects within the conference, while
Tanner Nolan was ranked as the 153rd best starting pitcher across Division I baseball.
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE
Entering the week, App State leads the Sun Belt in on-base percentage at .437, which also ranks 39
th nationally. App State has totaled 59 hits, 44 walks and 22 hit batters through seven games, averaging 18 baserunners per contest. The Mountaineers also lead the league in strikeouts-per-nine innings with a rate of 12.4 K/9. The Mountaineers staff has fanned 80 batters in 58 innings of work, led by 15 strikeouts from
Gage Peterson and 13 from
Nick DiRito.
2-WAY STANDOUT
Steven Smith has impressed for the Mountaineers in the early season – both at the plate and on the mound. The transfer from Division III Emory and Henry is batting .500 (8-16) with two doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs. Smith hit his first home run of the season on Friday against North Carolina A&T and followed with a walk-off home run on Saturday in a run-rule win. He has also pitched for the Mountaineers this season tossing a pair of scoreless innings and earning his first win in Sunday's finale. He is the first two-way player for the Mountaineers since Andrew Terrell and Phillip Cole pitched and hit in 2021.
GAS FROM GAGE
Right-handed pitcher
Gage Peterson has been sensational for the Mountaineers through two starts. Peterson improved to 2-0 on Saturday with six scoreless innings, striking out seven in a win over North Carolina A&T. Peterson also fanned eight batters in four innings against Canisius the week prior. The JuCo transfer from Walters Peterson posted an 11.98 K/9 across two seasons at the junior college level. He joins Jesus Tovar (TXST) as the only two pitchers in the Sun Belt with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA through two starts.
BASE THIEFS
App State was very aggressive opening weekend, stealing 18 bases in 20 tries through seven games played. The Mountaineers' offense has not been predicated on base stealing in recent years as the team went 35-for-48 across 54 games last season. Under
Kermit Smith, the Mountaineers most aggressive running seasons have been their winningest seasons as the team stole 73 bases in 2023 (30 wins) and 71 bases in 2024 (33 wins). App State is on pace to steal 139 bases this year. App State has stolen over 100 bases in a season just three times in program history, with their program-record 137 coming in 1974.
NEWCOMERS LEAD
Transfers
Ethan Puig and
Drew DuPont have been valuable additions to the Mountaineers so far this season. Puig, a transfer from Miami, is batting .370 with a team-high 10 hits, including a double and a home run. DuPont, a JuCo transfer from Lake Land College is hitting .375 with a team-best 10 RBIs.
FLAMIN' HOT DIRITO
Nick DiRito has led the Mountaineers bullpen this season with a pair of dominant long-relief outings. DiRito fanned six in four innings against Canisius on Feb. 13, allowing just one run and followed that up with a career-high seven strikeouts in four innings against North Carolina A&T on Friday to earn the save. DiRito is in his first year with the Mountaineers after transferring in from UMass Lowell.
UP NEXT
The Mountaineers travel to face Gardner-Webb in a three-game series next weekend in Boiling Springs. The Bulldogs are 6-3 so far this season and do not play a midweek contest this week. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
