BOONE, N.C. – App State Baseball scored two runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to erase a six-run deficit, but was unable to get over the hump, in a 10-6 loss to No. 16 Coastal Carolina in Friday's Sun Belt opener.
In a game that was scoreless through five innings of play, there was plenty of drama late, as
Riley Luft tied the score at 6-6 with a two-run single in the eighth inning, before Coastal Carolina (11-6, 1-0) regained the advantage with a four-run ninth.
App State (10-7, 0-1) has now seen five of its seven defeats this season come in its opponent's final at-bat.
The majority of the game was a pitcher's duel between Mountaineers right-hander
Nick DiRito and Coastal Carolina righty Luke Jones.
In his second start of the season, DiRito struck out seven, while yielding just three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. The only two runs he was charged with came after his exit. He allowed just one hit through his first five innings of work.
Jones worked into the seventh inning. He did not walk a batter, while striking out four, and retired seven straight hitters on two separate occasions.
The Chanticleers forced DiRito from the ballgame with one out in the sixth, following a pair of weakly hit singles. Rex Watson then hit a three-run home run to break the scoreless tie. Coastal added an RBI single two batters later to push their lead to 4-0.
In the seventh, Blake Barthol hit a two-run home run to increase the Chanticleers' lead to 6-0.
Drew DuPont responded with a two-run home run of his own, clearing the visitor's bullpen in right field, scoring Luft who was hit by a pitch. The homer ended Jones' night on the mound.
App State continued to rally in the eighth.
Joseph Zamora reached on a single that went screaming off the first baseman's glove and
Nico Soul was hit by a pitch one batter later.
Steven Smith then ripped a ball that ricocheted off the third base bag for a double to plate a run. After
Jonathan Xuereb walked to load the bases, Soul scored on a wild pitch to make it a two-run contest, paving the way for Luft's game-tying hit.
Coastal used the bunt game effectively in the ninth, grabbing the lead for good, helped by a bunt single, an error on a misplayed bunt, and a successful safety squeeze. Jordan Taylor capped the scoring with an RBI triple.
The middle game of the series is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday as App State will honor Hall of Fame coach Jim Morris and the 40
th anniversary of the 1986 NCAA regional team. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The 2026 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
