CLINTON, S.C. – App State Baseball worked a bases loaded walk in the ninth inning to break a 5-5 deadlock on its way to a 7-5 victory over Presbyterian in their series opener on Friday.
After squandering an early 5-0 lead, App State (8-5) surged to the finish line. With the score tied at 5-5 in the ninth,
Riley Luft was hit by a pitch to set the table.
Drew DuPont bunted him into scoring position and
Steven Smith reached on an infield single to push the go-ahead run to third base. After a walk to
Tank Yaghoubi to load the bases,
Colton Dentoncoaxed a bases-loaded free pass to put the Mountaineers back ahead.
Joseph Zamora added an insurance run with an RBI single to push the advantage to 7-5 and Smith fired a scoreless ninth, striking out two to earn his first save of the season.
The win marked the third last-at-bat win of the year for App State.
Nick DiRito made his first start of the season and continued to deliver swing-and-miss stuff. The right-hander struck out seven while walking just one in five innings of work.
Logan Tibbett followed with two innings, allowing three unearned runs and striking out two.
Cal Clark tossed a scoreless eighth inning, helped by an excellent catch in center field by Yaghoubi with the bases loaded to preserve the 5-5 deadlock.
App State and Presbyterian will play game two of the series on Saturday in Hickory, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
The 2026 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
