BOONE, N.C. – App State Baseball heads to Atlanta for the final series of the regular season as the Mountaineers face off with Georgia State in a three-game series, needing one win to secure a top six seed in the Sun Belt tournament next week. The series will feature 6 p.m. games on Thursday and Friday and a 1 p.m. start in the season finale on Saturday with all three games airing on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (29-20, 16-11) has matched its highest Sun Belt win total and needs just one more victory (or a Texas State loss) to claim a spot in the double-elimination field at the Sun Belt tournament next week in Montgomery, Ala. A victory would also clinch a 30-win season for the third time in the last four years. App State leads the Sun Belt with a .316 team batting average which ranks 10th nationally. The Mountaineers also pace the league offensively in hits and runs scored. The team is led at the plate by
Steven Smith who boasts a 1.017 OPS with 18 doubles, six home runs and 49 RBIs on the year. On the mound App State is led by
Gage Peterson, who is a perfect 8-0 on the season and leads the Sun Belt with 94 strikeouts, the second-most by an App State pitcher in a single season. Peterson has recorded six quality starts in 13 outings this year.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Georgia State (24-27, 12-15) is fighting to make the Sun Belt tournament, entering the week as the final team in the ten-team field. The Panthers are coming off a series win over in-state rival Georgia Southern, sweeping a doubleheader last Friday. Georgia State turned heads in non-conference action this season when they upset No. 2 Georgia Tech on Feb. 24. They also posted a ranked win over No. 7 Coastal Carolina on April 19. John Beverley leads the team at the plate with a .377 average, six doubles, four home runs and 38 RBIs in 50 games. After 19 relief outings, top Panther arm Will Bartkoski has joined the starting rotation, he owns a 5-1 record and a 3.14 ERA on the year.
SERIES HISTORY
App State and Georgia State have met 35 times in a series that dates back to 1979. The Panthers hold a narrow 19-16 lead in the head-to-head series. Georgia State took two of three from the Mountaineers in Boone last season, but App State rallied to win the finale on Senior day and clinch the final spot in the Sun Belt tournament.
Braxton Church highlighted the win by hitting a bases-clearing double in the sixth.
WHERE THEY STAND
App State enters the weekend in third place in the Sun Belt standings at 16-11 on the season. The Mountaineers won a program-record 16 Sun Belt games in 2023 and 2024 and have a chance to eclipse that mark this weekend. In each of those seasons the Mountaineers finished sixth in the league standings, their best result as a Sun Belt member. The only time that App State has won more than 16 conference games came in 2012 when they won the Southern Conference regular season title with 21 league wins. App State has an opportunity to clinch a top six seed in the Sun Belt tournament with a win or a Texas State loss to Marshall.
GAS FROM GAGE
Junior right-hander
Gage Peterson has been sensational for the Mountaineers this season. The Saturday starter is a perfect 8-0 on the year and leads the Sun Belt with 94 strikeouts on the season, the second most by an App State pitcher in single season history, trailing only Xander Hamilton's 115 in 2023. Peterson has struck out at least six batters in 12 of his 13 starts this season. He is tied for the league lead in wins and ranks second in opponents' batting average (.197) and fourth in ERA (3.12). He has surrendered just three home runs in 75 innings of work this season. The transfer from Walters State Community College has led the Mountaineers to a 10-3 record in his starts this season.
FOR THE GREATER GOOD
App State ranks sixth in the nation with 37 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 36 sacrifice bunts, more than triple their 11 sacrifices from a year ago.
IN PLAY, RUN(S)
App State leads the Sun Belt in runs scored this season with 409, and its 8.3 runs per game scoring average ranks 26
thnationally. A big reason behind the success has been the Mountaineers' ability to put the ball in play. App State ranks second to last in the Sun Belt in strikeouts (321) and first in hits (534). App State has also drawn 233 walks, resulting in a league-best .419 on-base percentage.
SCORCHING SMITH
Steven Smith has impressed for the Mountaineers this season – both at the plate and on the mound. Smith ranks among league leaders in AVG (.371 – 5th), hits (69 – T-6th), doubles (18 – T-4th), OPS (1.017 - 7th), slugging (.575 – 10th), RBIs (49 –T-9th) and runs scored (47 – 10th). He has reached base safely in a season-best 31 consecutive games. He has recorded a team-high 22 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI 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.
TALK TO CHUCK
Outfielder
Charlie Evans has hit safely in 29 of his last 33 games batting .398 during that span. During that stretch, Evans registered a 22-game hitting streak, the fifth longest by a Mountaineer in program history. Evans hit two home runs during the Mountaineers' 10-0 win over James Madison on April 17, 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 (.376 – 4th) and triples (3 – T-5th).
FLAMIN' HOT DIRITO
After beginning the season in the bullpen, right-hander
Nick DiRito earned a spot in the starting rotation and has been the Friday night starter throughout conference play. DiRito is 4-1 on the season with a 4.44 ERA, highlighted by a career-high eight scoreless innings against James Madison on April 18 in which he matched a career-high with eight strikeouts. DiRito was dominant again against Georgia Southern on April 24, tossing seven scoreless innings for his first complete game of the season. He has thrown at least six innings in six of his last seven starts. The transfer from UMass Lowell ranks seventh in the Sun Belt with 74 strikeouts on the season.
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 April 24 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 and continued his hot hitting with a solo home run against Wake Forest on April 28 for his seventh long ball in a seven-game span. 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 has now hit 25 home runs in his career, putting him within two of ninth place all-time.
WHAT A RELIEF
App State's bullpen has excelled as of late:
- RHP Jordan Fisher recorded his ninth career save on April 26 to tie him for eighth all-time. He did not allowed an earned run in six consecutive outings (10.1 IP) from March 10-April 26, and seven of his last eight outings have been scoreless.
- RHP Ethan Wilson has earned a win in relief in two of the last three weekends. He has allowed just two runs in last 13.1 innings pitched for a 1.35 ERA across his last eight outings.
- RHP Max Tramontana lowered his ERA to 2.76 with a scoreless inning in Saturday's win over Louisiana. Across last ten outings, the righty has allowed just two earned runs in 17.0 innings (1.06 ERA).
- LHP Jake Beaty recorded the final four outs against ETSU on April 21 to notch his first career save. He has not allowed an earned run in 11 of his 15 appearances this season, pitching to a career-best 5.14 ERA.
PUIG PACKS A PUNCH
Sophomore infielder
Ethan Puig has now hit safely in 27 of his last 31 games. Puig is batting .388 during that span, raising average from .246 to .330. The transfer from Maimi has tallied 22 multi-hit games on the season.
LED BY LUFT
Sophomore outfielder
Riley Luft has been on a surge for the Mountaineers, reaching base in each of his last 25 games and hitting safely in 32 of his last 38. Over that stretch, Luft is batting .385 with 36 RBIs, raising his average from .172 to .330 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 26 times this season in 47 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 and gunned down another runner attempting to go first-to-third last weekend against Louisiana.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Four App State Baseball players have garnered national recognition heading into the 2026 season.
Nico Soul was projected to be the No. 1 impact freshman in the Sun Belt,
Gage Peterson (31) and
Carter Stanford (48) were both projected as top 50 draft prospects within the conference, while
Tanner Nolan was ranked as the 153rd best starting pitcher across Division I baseball. The recognition has continued into the season, as
Jonathan Xuereb was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, given to the top shortstop in college baseball, on March 4 and Peterson was named to the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List on March 11.
Steven Smith was awarded the Mid-Major Performance of the Week on April 7 after going 4-for-6 with two home runs and five runs scored – as well as pitching a scoreless inning – against UNC Asheville.
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 seven top-60 teams and nine teams in the top 100. 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. Southern Miss is ranked eighth in this week's top-25 poll, with Coastal also ranked at No. 20.
UP NEXT
App State will complete in the Sun Belt tournament next week in Montgomery, Ala. The tournament begins on Tuesday with the single-elimination games between the 7-10 seeds. With a win (or a Texas State loss), App State would clinch a spot in the double-elimination portion of the bracket and begin play on Wednesday at Riverwalk Stadium. All Sun Belt tournament games will be streamed on ESPN+ with an audio broadcast also available at AppStateSports.com and on the App State Athletics app.
