HARRISONBURG, Va. –
Nick DiRito dominated on the mound, firing eight scoreless innings, while
Charlie Evansblasted a pair of home runs in App State Baseball's 10-0 victory over James Madison on Friday at Veterans Memorial Park.
The Mountaineers (20-16, 8-8) scored two runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back. The first three batters of the ballgame all reached base to load the bases, and
Kameron Miller drew a walk to force home a run.
Jake Mummau followed with an RBI groundout.
That was all the support DiRito would need. The redshirt junior was dominant. After allowing a leadoff single to begin the home first, DiRito rolled a double play ball, beginning a stretch of 11 consecutive batters retired. He faced just two over the minimum in a career-high eight innings and matched a personal best with eight strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach third base until the seventh inning.
The Mountaineers carried their 2-0 lead into the sixth before pulling away down the stretch. Mummau led off the sixth inning with a solo home run to right field to push the lead to 3-0.
Jalen Seward followed with a double to left field and two batters later Evans uncorked his first home run of the season to right field to push App State in front 5-0. The home run extended Evans' hitting streak to 20 consecutive games.
App State continued its onslaught, batting around in the eighth inning and scoring three times, highlighted by RBI singles from
Riley Luft and Miller. Evans capped the scoring with his second home run of the game in the top of the ninth, marking the second multi-homer game of his career.
App State registered 13 hits in the ballgame, with Mummau and Evans leading the way with three apiece.
Ethan Wilsonclosed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth, collecting a strikeout.
Game two of the series is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The 2026 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
