BOONE, N.C. – Following its best Sun Belt finish in program history, App State Baseball heads to Montgomery, Ala. as the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt tournament. The Mountaineers will square off with sixth-seeded Texas State on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and an audio stream will be available at AppStateSports.com and on the App State Athletics App.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
App State (30-22, 17-13) has recorded 30 wins in a season for the third time in the last four years. Prior to this current stretch, App State had not won 30 games since 2013. The Mountaineers also won a program-record 17 Sun Belt games this season. App State leads the Sun Belt in batting average, on-base percentage, hits, runs scored and RBIs, while the pitching staff lowered its ERA by nearly two runs per game from a year ago. The team is led at the plate by First Team All-Sun Belt selection
Steven Smith, who boasts a 1.022 OPS with 18 doubles, six home runs and 49 RBIs on the year. On the mound App State is led by Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year
Gage Peterson, who is a perfect 8-0 on the season and leads the Sun Belt with 101 strikeouts, the second-most by an App State pitcher in a single season. Peterson has recorded six quality starts in 14 outings this year and will start Wednesday's tournament opener.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Texas State (34-22, 16-14) swept Marshall in its final series of the season to clinch the final spot in the double-elimination bracket. The Bobcats have won seven of their last eight games, including a midweek win over Baylor and a series sweep of Arkansas State. They also swept a ranked Louisiana team in the opening month of league play. The Bobcats present a major power threat, leading the Sun Belt with 108, the eighth-highest total in all of college baseball. The Bobcats have hit at least six home runs in a game five times this season. Seven Texas State players have hit double digit home runs this year, led by 16 from Jaque Stewart. Rashawn Galloway is hitting a team-best .329 with a dozen long balls.
SERIES HISTORY
App State and Texas State did not meet in the 2026 regular season. They did square off four times last year with App State sweeping the Bobcats for the first time in program history to open league play in Boone. The sweep was highlighted by
Joseph Zamora's walk-off single in the 11th inning of game two. Texas State avenged the sweep with a win over the Mountaineers in the single-elimination round of the 2025 Sun Belt tournament. Bryson Dudley delivered a nine-inning shutout, allowing just two baserunners and striking out 10 for the Bobcats. App Stat's first ever Sun Belt tournament victory came over Texas State in 2021 in a 1-0 win.
APP STATE AT THE SUN BELT TOURNAMENT
Double Elimination Format (Play In)
5/21/19 Louisiana (#8) L, 6-2
Pool Play Format
5/25/21 Texas State (West #6) W, 1-0
5/27/21 Louisiana (West #1) L, 7-2
Single Elimination Format
5/24/22 Little Rock (#8) W, 10-3
5/27/22 Georgia Southern (#2) L, 7-1
Double Elimination Format
5/24/23 Troy (#3) L, 10-9 (10 inn)
5/25/23 James Madison (#7) W, 8-7
5/26/23 Troy (#3) W, 14-10
5/27/23 No. 16 Southern Miss. (#2) W, 4-2
5/27/23 No. 16 Southern Miss. (#2) L, 11-1
Double Elimination Format
5/22/24 Troy (#3) L, 6-5
5/23/24 Coastal Carolina (#7) W, 6-3
5/24/24 Troy (#3) W, 10-6
5/25/24 No. 25 Southern Miss (#2) L, 7-5
Double Elimination Format (Play In)
5/20/25 Texas State (#7) L, 3-0
IN PLAY, RUN(S)
App State leads the Sun Belt in runs scored this season with 422, and its 8.1 runs per game scoring average ranks 30
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 (346) and tied for first in hits (555). App State has also drawn 247 walks (the second-most in the league), resulting in a league-best .415 on-base percentage.
GAS FROM GAGE
Gage Peterson has been sensational in his first season with the Mountaineers, earning Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year honors in addition to being named to the All-Sun Belt first team. The transfer from Walters State Community College led the Sun Belt in strikeouts with 101, while ranking among league leaders in opponent batting average (.196 – second), wins (eight – tied for second), innings pitched (78.0 – fifth), ERA (3.12 – sixth) and hits allowed (55 – eighth).
Peterson's 101 strikeouts are the second most in App State single-season history, trailing only Xander Hamilton's 115 in 2023. He is the first App State pitcher to win at least four regular-season games without a loss since Ryan Arrowood went 11-0 in 2012. Peterson recorded six quality starts on the season and threw at least five innings in six of his final seven outings. He struck out at least six batters in 13 of his 14 starts this season, highlighted by 11 strikeouts against Presbyterian on March 7 and 10 against ULM on April 11. Peterson also fanned nine in seven scoreless innings against No. 16 Coastal Carolina on March 14.
SCORCHING SMITH
Steven Smith has been a huge part of the Mountaineers' success in his first season in Boone, earning All-Sun Belt first team honors on Monday. Smith ranks among league leaders in batting average (.371 – fourth), OPS (1.022 - fifth), doubles (18 – tied for seventh), slugging percentage (.575 – 10th), hits (69 – 11th), RBIs (49 – tied for 12th) and runs scored (47 – 14th). He reached base safely in each of his final 32 regular-season games, hitting safely in 27 of those contests.
Smith was named the Mid-Major Performer of the Day on April 7 after bashing two home runs as part of a four-hit game against UNC Asheville and scoring a career-high five runs in the contest. Smith also drove in five runs against Troy on May 2. He has notched 22 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games this season. A two-way player, the Emory and Henry transfer recorded five scoreless outings in six appearances on the mound. He is the Mountaineers' first two-way player since Phillip Cole and Andrew Terrell in 2021.
TALK TO CHUCK
App State center fielder
Charlie Evans has been elite both at the plate and in the field this season and was named to the All-Sun Belt second team on Monday. The senior from Levittown, Pa., ranks among league leaders in batting average (.377 – third) and triples (4 – tied for third). He also recorded hits in 32 of his final 35 regular-season contests, including a 22-game hitting streak, the fifth-longest in App State program history. Evans is the league's leading hitter in conference play, batting .420 against Sun Belt foes while also ranking among league leaders in triples, hits, OPS, on-base percentage and runs scored.
Evans hit two home runs during the Mountaineers' 10-0 win over James Madison on April 17 and tallied two triples in the April 11 game against ULM, becoming the first Mountaineer to triple twice in a contest since 2009. His second triple marked his 100th collegiate hit. Evans tripled again a day later and finished a home run shy of the cycle in the series finale. He has recorded 22 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games this season while leading the team with 10 stolen bases. Evans has also been an exceptional defender, ranking third nationally among center fielders with 12.12 defensive runs saved.
UP NEXT
With a win, App State will face the winner of the game between (2) Coastal Carolina and the better-seeded winner of Tuesday's play-in games. That contest would be played on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET. With a loss, App State would face the loser of that same contest at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. 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.
