BOONE, N.C. – Entering the final stretch of conference play, App State Baseball will look to cement itself as one of the top teams in the Sun Belt, as the Mountaineers visit the Troy Trojans in a three-game series this weekend at Riddle-Pace Field. The Mountaineers enter the weekend tied for second place in the Sun Belt standings and one game ahead of the Trojans with nine conference games remaining. Friday's game has been pushed up to 2 p.m. ET to accommodate for weather. First pitch Saturday is set for 4:30 p.m. ET and the series concludes at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (26-17, 13-8) has won four consecutive Sun Belt series and five of seven series overall in league play. The Mountaineers fell in a pitchers' duel to Wake Forest on Tuesday, despite
Kameron Miller hitting his seventh home run in the last seven games. Miller was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday. It marks the second consecutive week that App State has earned a weekly award, with
Nick DiRito earning Pitcher of the Week honors last week following eight scoreless innings at James Madison on April 17. App State enters the weekend leading the Sun Belt with a .321 team batting average, a mark that ranks ninth nationally.
Charlie Evans and
Steven Smith both rank among the top three in the league individually in batting. App State's current starting rotation has a combined record of 14-1 on the season, while the bullpen has pitched at least six scoreless innings twice in the last five games.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
Troy (22-23, 12-9) has also won four straight Sun Belt series, capped by taking two of three games at Marshall last weekend. The Trojans most recently dropped a midweek contest at No. 5 Georgia 11-1 on Tuesday. The Trojans earned a marquee victory earlier this season against the Bulldogs in extra innings. They also posted wins over Rutgers and Maryland in non-conference play. Jimmy Janicki leads the Trojans at the plate with a .352 average, 16 doubles, 13 home runs and 59 RBIs in 44 games. Hayden Smith joined the starting rotation last week after an outstanding stretch in the bullpen. Now their Sunday starter, Smith owns a 2.39 ERA on the season and has held opponents to a .191 batting average. The Trojans rank 57th nationally in RPI.
SERIES HISTORY
App State and Troy met for the first time in 2015 when the Mountaineers joined the Sun Belt conference. While the Trojans have had the better of the head-to-head series overall, leading 22-9, App State has earned some noteworthy postseason wins, knocking off the Trojans in Sun Belt elimination games in 2023 and 2024 on their way to a pair of tournament semifinal appearances.
ON A HEATER
App State has won 10 of its last 11 games against Sun Belt opponents and had won seven straight overall before its one-run loss to Wake Forest on Tuesday. The Mountaineers have not dropped back-to-back games since March 24 (High Point) and March 27 (at No. 11 Southern Miss).
APRIL SHOWERS FLOWERS
App State enjoyed a sensational month of April, going 12-5 in the month. During the month, App State is slashing .367/.469/.552 while pitching to a 5.07 ERA and holding opponents to a .249 batting average. They outscored their opponents 159-96 in April, highlighted by 43 runs in a weekend at James Madison, April 17-19.
FOR THE GREATER GOOD
App State leads the nation with 35 sacrifice flies, accounting for 9% of the team's scoring this year. App State has already eclipsed last year's total when the team finished the year with 29 sac flies. App State has also been much more small-ball oriented this year, registering 31 sacrifice bunts, nearly triple their 11 sacrifices from a year ago.
IN PLAY, RUN(S)
App State leads the Sun Belt in runs scored this season with 371, and its 8.6 runs per game scoring average ranks 19
thnationally. A big reason behind the success has been the Mountaineers' ability to put the ball in play. App State ranks last in the Sun Belt in strikeouts (280) and first in hits (475). App State has also drawn a league-best 214 walks, resulting in a league-best .426 on-base percentage.
TALK TO CHUCK
Outfielder
Charlie Evans saw his 22-game hitting streak come to a close with an 0-for-3 performance on Tuesday but bounced back with a 6-for-12 weekend and has now hit safely in 25 of his last 27 games. The senior recorded the fifth-longest hitting streak in program history, hitting safely in every game from March 10 through April 19 and raising his average from .250 to .404 during that span. Evans hit two home runs during the Mountaineers' 10-0 win over James Madison last Friday, marking his first home runs of the season and his second career multi-home game, with the first coming against App State in 2024 when he was a member of Winthrop. Evans hit two triples in April 11 game against ULM, becoming the first Mountaineer to triple twice in a contest since Isaac Harrow in 2009. His second triple marked his 100
th collegiate hit. Evans tripled again a day later and finished a home run shy of the cycle in the series finale. He ranks among Sun Belt leaders in average (.397 – 2nd), triples (3 – T3rd), and OPS (1.008 – 10
th). Evans is an elite defender, leading the nation in defensive runs saved by a center fielder (11.89), while ranking 10
th overall.
IT'S MILLER TIME
After missing a month of the season due to injury, preseason All-Sun Belt selection
Kameron Miller has found his groove. The junior made history on Friday against Georgia Southern, becoming the third App State Baseball player all-time to hit three home runs in a game. He led the Mountaineers to a run-rule victory over the Eagles and a perfect 4-0 week. For his efforts, Miller was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday and continued his hot hitting with a solo home run against Wake Forest that day for his seventh long ball in his last seven games. Miller joins Banks Tolley (2024 vs Georgia Southern) and Andre Crawford (1986 vs Marshall) as the only players to homer three times in a contest. Miller was walked six times on the weekend following his three-homer game. He finished the week going 5-for-11 (.455) with seven RBIs and seven runs scored, adding a single as part of a four-hit effort Friday night. Miller has now hit 25 home runs in his career, putting him within two of ninth place all-time.
2-WAY STANDOUT
Steven Smith has impressed for the Mountaineers this season – both at the plate and on the mound. Smith ranks among league leaders in AVG (.396 – 3rd), hits (63 – T-3rd), on-base (.468 – T-5th), doubles (16 – T-6th), OPS (1.078 - 6th), slugging (.610 – 8th), RBIs (43 – T-9th) and runs scored 43 – 7th). He has reached base safely in a season-best 25 consecutive games, hitting .421 during that span. He has recorded a team-high 21 multi-hit games this season. On April 7, the transfer from Division II Emory and Henry belted the first pitch of game against UNC Asheville over the left field fence for what began a career night at the plate. Smith finished with four hits (including a second home run and a double) and scored five runs. He also pitched a scoreless inning and earned D1Baseball's Mid Major Performance of the Day. The two-way player has also recorded five scoreless outings in six appearances on the mound. He is the first two-way player for the Mountaineers since Andrew Terrell and Phillip Cole pitched and hit in 2021.
JAKE RAKES
Jake Mummau has been on a tear since returning to the lineup for the Mountaineers in late March. The transfer from FGCU has hit safely in 16 of his last 19 games, batting .405 during that span. This includes nine multi-hit efforts, highlighted by a 4-for-4 game against UNC Asheville on March 31. Mummau registered two hits in all three games against Georgia Southern last weekend.
WHAT A RELIEF
App State's bullpen has excelled as of late, tossing seven scoreless innings of relief last Tuesday in a 3-1 win over ETSU and bookending the week with 6.1 scoreless frames to cap a sweep of Georgia Southern on Sunday.
Individually:
- RHP Jordan Fisher recorded his ninth career save on Sunday to tie him for eighth all-time. He has not allowed an earned run in six consecutive outings (10.1 IP).
- RHP Ethan Wilson earned the win on Sunday with a season-high 3.1 scoreless innings. He has not allowed a run in last six appearances (7.1 IP)
- RHP Max Tramontana fired 2.1 scoreless innings to close out the victory on Saturday. Across his last eight outings, Tramontana has allowed just two earned run in 14.0 innings (1.29 ERA).
- LHP Jake Beaty recorded the final four outs against ETSU on Tuesday to notch his first career save. He has not allowed an earned run in 10 of his 13 appearances this season.
PUIG PACKS A PUNCH
Sophomore infielder
Ethan Puig has now hit safely in 21 of his last 25 games. Puig is batting .402 during that span, raising average from .246 to .333. The transfer from Maimi has tallied 19 multi-hit games on the season.
LED BY LUFT
Sophomore outfielder
Riley Luft has been on a surge for the Mountaineers, hitting safely in eight straight and 29 of his last 33 games. Over that stretch, Luft is batting .375 with 28 RBIs, raising his average from .172 to .314 during that span. Luft's improved play this season can be attributed to a more selective approach. He walked six times as a freshman in 42 games played and has already walked 23 times this season in 41 games. He also earned a spot on D1 Baseball's Top Defensive plays of the week for an outfield assist in which he threw out a runner at third base from right field on April 18 at JMU.
SUPERB SUN BELT
The Sun Belt continues to be one of the top conferences in college baseball, and ranks fifth in the nation in conference RPI, boasting six top-60 teams and eight top-110 teams. Coastal Carolina was the College World Series runner-up a season ago, falling to LSU, while Southern Miss joined the Chanticleers in hosting a regional in 2025. The league sent four teams to regionals in 2022 through 2024 and has done so six times since 2000. Coastal Carolina is ranked ninth in this week's top 25 poll, with Southern Miss also ranked 12th.
UP NEXT
App State will return home to face Louisiana in its final home series of the season next Friday through Sunday. The Cajuns are 9-12 in Sun Belt play but rank 49th nationally in RPI. App State will celebrate senior day on Saturday and Sunday.
