By David Rogers. MOBILE, Ala. (remote) — Just one day after suffering a doubleheader sweep at the hands of South Alabama, App State stormed back with a vengeance on May 11 to win the final game of the 3-game weekend series, 12-2.
The Jaguars and the Mountaineers matched each other’s offensive production in the first inning, completing the frame at 2-2, but those were the only runs allowed by App State pitchers (and defense in the field) for the rest of the contest.
Meanwhile, the Mountaineers added two more in the second inning, exploded for five runs in the fourth frame and just for good measure brought three more runs home in innings No. 8 and No. 9.
Hitting from the No. 9 spot in the Mountaineers’ batting order, left fielder Riley Luft led off the top half of the big fourth inning with a double down the left field line, into the corner. The Jaguars pitcher, Zach Willingham, retired the next two batters, Tanner McCammon on grounder to third and striking out Tyler Lichtenberger, but issued 2-out walks to 2B Joseph Zamora and DH Kameron Miller to load the bases.
That set the stage for one of App State’s power hitters and Juan Correa delivered. With the bases loaded, Willingham was forced to hurl strikes at the Mountaineer first baseman or have a run forced home with a walk. It was as if Correa, the senior transfer from Charlotte was salivating at the prospect of getting pitches he could hit. He got the meat of his bat on the very first pitch, pounding it out of the park over the left centerfield fence for a grand slam home run.
That earned Willingham a ticket to the showers and the Jaguars brought Tyler Smith to the mound — but App State wasn’t quite done in the inning. Catcher Braxton Church promptly doubled down the left field line, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Shortstop Tyler Figueroa worked the count to 2-2 before slapping an RBI single to left center, scoring Church for App State’s final run of the inning.
In the first inning, McCammon opened the game with a leadoff double, but was thrown out at home trying to score on Lichtenberger’s follow-up single to center. Undeterred, the Mountaineers loaded the bases a first time for Correa, who ripped a single to left, scoring Zamora and Lichtenberger ahead of him for his initial RBIs for the day.
Those two RBIs, combined with the grand slam HR (4 RBIs) and another, 2-run home run in the top of the 8th inning, gave Correa 8 RBIs for the afternoon, the most for any Mountaineer since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. It was also the Weston, Fla. native’s fourth, multi-homer game of the 2025 season.
Three Mountaineer pitchers combined to hold the Jaguars scoreless over the final eight and two-thirds innings, giving up just four hits while backed by a stellar defensive effort in the field. Out of 35 batters faced by the trio, they forced 10 ground outs, including two double plays. Cal Clark, a 6-4, 223 lb. righthander, did yeoman’s work in pitching the middle four innings. He was highly efficient, with 30 of his 54 pitches going for strikes.
App State returns to the friendly confines of Smith Field on Thursday, May 15, for its final 3-game series of the regular season, vs. Georgia State. First pitch on May 15 and 16 is scheduled for 6 p.m, and 1 p.m. for the final home game on Saturday.
Georgia State brings an overall record of 24-29, 9-18 in Sun Belt play. App State is now 22-28 overall, 12-15 in the Sun Belt — and currently clinging to the No. 10 spot in the SBC standings. Only the top 10 earn trips to Montgomery, Ala., May 20-25, to play in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament at Riverwalk Stadium.
KEY PERFORMERS
- APP – Juan Correa: 3-4, 2 runs scored, 8 RBIs, 2 HRs, walk
- APP – Joseph Zamora: 3-5, 3 runs scored
- APP – Kameron Miller: 1-4, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs, walk
- APP – Tyler Lichtenberger: 1-5, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, walk
- APP – Tyler Figueroa: 1-4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI
