HICKORY, N.C. – Behind a season-high 11 strikeouts from starting pitcher
Gage Peterson, App State Baseball clinched a weekend series win with a 13-3 win against Presbyterian in seven innings Saturday.
Peterson allowed six hits and three runs (all unearned) over six innings of work, with only two walks. His 11 strikeouts were the most by a Mountaineer pitcher since Xander Hamilton had 15 against Coastal Carolina in 2023.
App State (9-5) was led offensively by
Joseph Zamora, who went 4-for-4 with four runs, three RBIs and two triples.
Nico Soul was 3-for-5 with three runs, four RBIs and his team-leading fourth home run of the year.
Jalen Seward also stood out with a pair of doubles and three runs scored.
A six-run second inning broke the game open for the Mountaineers. Despite no extra-base hits in the frame, App State consistently made contact and manufactured the six runs on a pair of sac flies and three singles to chase the PC starter.
Presbyterian (2-13) answered with three runs in the top of the third, but that was all the Blue Hose would get against Peterson and then
Reyn Watson, who came on in relief to pitch a scoreless seventh.
Soul's sixth-inning homer extended the Mountaineers' lead to 10-3. In the seventh, Zamora smashed a high fastball to the wall in right-center for his second triple of the contest to drive in Seward for a 12-3 advantage. Later in the frame, Soul had singled and advanced to third before scoring on a game-ending wild pitch.
App State will go for a sweep in game three of the series on Sunday in Boone, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
The 2026 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
