TROY, Ala. – App State Baseball saw its offense erupt for 11 runs in the seventh inning of game one, while
Gage Peterson led the pitching staff to a shutout victory in game two as the Mountaineers swept Troy in a doubleheader Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field.
App State (28-17, 15-8) took game one 13-7 and game two by a 5-0 final. It marks the first time in program history that the Mountaineers have earned a series over Troy (22-25, 12-11). The Mountaineers have now won nine consecutive games against Sun Belt opponents.
At the plate, the offense combined for 25 hits on the day, while the pitching staff walked just five batters across 18 innings of play. The Mountaineers remain tied for second place in the standings and now sit two wins ahead of third place South Alabama.
Game 1
Trailing 5-2, the App State offense exploded for an 11-run seventh inning. It all began with a dropped fly ball in left field that allowed
Drew DuPont to reach second base to begin the frame. After a walk to
Tommy Walker,
Charlie Evans laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the Trojans threw late to second base, loading the bases.
Steven Smith then ripped a two-run double down the left field line to make it a one-run ballgame and forced Troy to pull starter Benjamin Stubbs who had allowed just two runs through six innings.
From there, the floodgates opened. After
Riley Luft bunted a pair into scoring position,
Ethan Puig belted a go-ahead home run to left field to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the game at 7-5.
Kameron Miller then walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, setting the table for
Joseph Zamora who cranked an RBI double off the wall in right-center.
Following a pitching change,
Jalen Seward kept the rally going with an RBI single back up the middle. DuPont then singled through the right side and Walker drew a free pass for the second time in the inning to force another pitching change.
Against the new arm, Evans drew a bases loaded walk and Smith capped the onslaught with a two-run double down the line in left to clear the bases. App State totaled eight hits in the inning, sending 15 batters to the plate and forcing Troy to use four pitchers in the frame.
It continued a recent trend of putting up big innings against the Trojans – eliminating Troy from the Sun Belt tournament in 2023 with a ten-run sixth inning and again in 2024 with a seven-run seventh.
App State climbed out of an early 2-0 hole with a pair of runs in the second. After back-to-back doubles from Seward and DuPont put a pair in scoring position to begin the inning, Walker plated a run with a sac fly and Evans tied the score with an RBI single.
Troy went back in front with a three-run third inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Josh Pyne and Blake Cavill. Jimmy Janicki also hit a solo home run for the Trojans in the ninth.
Ethan Wilson earned the win out of the bullpen, allowing just a run in three innings of work. The graduate right-hander has now surrendered just a single run across his last 10.1 innings.
Nick DiRito struck out six in the start for the Mountaineers, but an elevated pitch count forced his outing to conclude after four innings.
Reyn Watson retired six of the final eight batters to seal the victory.
DuPont and Luft each notched a three-hit effort, while Smith drove in five runs out of the leadoff spot.
Game 2
Gage Peterson was locked in from the get-go in game two, improving to 7-0 on the season with seven scoreless innings of work. The right hander struck out six and walked just one batter, conceding just two singles and a double in the outing.
Peterson did not allow a Trojan to reach third base until two outs in the sixth inning and promptly set down the next batter on a flyout to end the threat.
Peterson's six strikeouts give him a league-high 88 on the season, which moves him into fourth place on the Mountaineers' single-season strikeout list.
The Mountaineers broke the scoreless deadlock in the sixth. Luft reached on a fielding error to begin the inning and advanced to second on a groundout. Miller singled to put men at the corners and DuPont followed with an RBI single to bring Luft into score.
DuPont finished the day with a pair of three-hit efforts.
App State was able to widen its advantage down the stretch. In the seventh, Evans worked a walk, and Smith was hit by a pitch, forcing Troy to turn to its bullpen after Tommy Egan had not allowed an earned run through six innings.
Luft was the first batter to face the reliever and uncorked an opposite-field three-run home run to push the lead to 4-0. It was Luft's third home run of the season, and it extended his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games.
The Mountaineers added an insurance run in the eighth. DuPont beat out an infield single and, on the play, made it to second base on an overthrow. With Seward batting, DuPont moved to third on a wild pitch, before Seward slapped a single to right to bring him home and push the lead to 5-0.
Max Tramontana came out of the bullpen to fire the final two scoreless innings. After walking the leadoff batter in the eighth, following a long delay due to an injury to the home plate umpire, Tramontana bounced back with a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play. He worked around a leadoff hit batter in the ninth to preserve the shutout.
App State will look to sweep its third straight Sun Belt series on Sunday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. ET in the finale.
The 2026 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
