By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Senior outfielder Banks Tolley clubbed two home runs in Appalachian State’s 15-10 baseball win vs. Marshall on March 29. Teammate Drew Holderbach described Tolley’s second HR in the decisive 8th inning as “a missile” that might still be in orbit around Mother Earth.
While Tolley’s two home runs provided bookends for his day at the plate, coming in the first and eighth innings, App State’s run production was otherwise broad. A total of seven players in the lineup scored two runs each. The list includes 3B Austin St. Laurent, CF Tolley, C Braxton Church, 1B Holderbach, SS Adam Quintero, RF Hunter Wilder, and 2B Joseph Zamora.
Without hitting a home run, Zamora had arguably the best day at the plate, only an HR short of hitting the cycle, with three RBIs produced by his single, double and triple.
On the mound, Bradley Wilson was the Mountaineers starter, going five full innings while giving up three runs on six hits, with two walks and two strikeouts. In facing 23 batters, Wilson threw 97 pitches, 62 of them strikes.
Wilson was followed on the hill by Grey LaSpaluto, who has been stellar of late but had some challenges on this day. After a sixth inning in which he retired the side in order, LaSpaluto was roughed up in the seventh. Marshall manufactured four runs off the senior righthander from Apex, N.C., on five hits. After Max Tramontana relieved him, two more runs scored were credited to LaSpaluto (runners inherited).
Tramontana, the redshirt freshman, faced three batters before getting the third out of the frame, but the first two proved costly. He hit The Herd’s RF Calin Smith, then gave up a 2-run single to AJ Havrilla before getting 1B Caden Kaiser to ground out to second and bring the inning to a close.
Righthander Zach Lewis, a redshirt sophomore, pitched the final two innings and was the pitcher of record when App State exploded for six runs in the 8th, giving Lewis is third win of the season.
App State hosts Marshall in the third game of the weekend series on Saturday, March 30, with first pitch at 1 p.m.
TOP PERFORMERS
- APP – Banks Tolley: 3-5, 2 runs scored, 4 RBIs, 2 HRs
- APP – Drew Holderbach: 2-3, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, 2B, HR, twice hit by pitch
- APP – Joseph Zamora: 3-4, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, 2B, 3B
- APP – Braxton Church: 1-3, 2 runs scored, 2 walks
- APP – Adam Quintero: 2-5, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI
- APP – Kameron Miller: 1-4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, HR, hit by pitch
- APP – Austin St. Laurent: 1-6, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI
- MAR – Owen Ayers: 3-4, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, SF
- MAR – Gio Ferraro: 2-5, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, 2B
- MAR – AJ Havrilla: 2-3, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs. walk
- MAR – Jack Firestone: 3-4, 1 run scored, 3 RBIs, walk
BONUS PHOTOS by David Rogers for High Country Sports
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