Category: College

By Bobby Neal for App State Sports. MURFREESBORO, TN – App State softball finished 4-1 at the MTSU Invitational after a pair of March 12 wins against Green Bay, 11-6, and Western Illinois, 3-0.

The Mountaineers have earned a run in the first inning in nine of their last 14 contests, going 9-0 this season when they score in the opening frame. The squad achieved this in both of its victories on Sunday.

Game 1 Recap (App State 11, Green Bay 6)

All nine starters posted a hit in the Mountaineers’ first win of the day, totaling 12 in the team’s second straight double-digit game in the runs column.
App State scored a combined 21 runs in its two games against Green Bay, marking the most over a two-game stretch since April 12, 2022, when the squad overtook N.C. Central in both games of a doubleheader.

The Mountaineers started the contest by going up 5-0 in the first two innings. Taylor Thorp started the powerful offensive output by bringing in Kayt Houston with an RBI single for the second consecutive game as the team’s first run.

Houston singled to bring in Abby Cunningham and Ambry Lucas to open the top of the second, and ran home herself moments later along with Mary Pierce Barnes, thanks to a sac fly from Sidney Martin.

The Phoenix made a statement in the bottom of the fourth when Samantha Saloun hit a grand slam to cut the lead to one.

At the top of the fifth, McKenzie McCullen inched her team ahead with an RBI single that brought in Thorp, who had just doubled. App State led, 6-4, at the end of the fifth.

In the sixth inning, the Mountaineers struck gold at the plate, bringing in five runs to stamp the lead at seven. Barnes doubled down the left-field line after a single by Cunningham to get things started. Moments later, Martin punched a two-run double, and was brought in herself by way of a Thorp single on the next at-bat. LaRousa finished the strong inning with an RBI single as Thorp ran home.

Green Bay picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough as App State improved its record to 3-1 for the weekend.

Sejal Neas earned her fifth win of the year after relieving Delani Buckner in the fourth inning. Neas saw 18 batters and allowed only one earned run.

Game 2 Recap (App State 3, Western Illinois 0)

LaRousa batted in all three runs as the Mountaineers picked up their fifth shutout of the season. Kaylie Northrop pitched all seven and struck out six batters.

App State did not allow a hit by the Leathernecks in the last five innings to hold its three-run lead that was gained in the top of the third.

LaRousa singled to the left side to bring in Thorp and Martin in the top of the first. She followed that with a double to right-field in the third to bring in McCullen in what would be the only runs scored by either team.

Northrop pitched her second shutout of the season as her team won its third straight game.

Up Next

App State will host six consecutive home games, starting with a ranked matchup against No. 11 Virginia Tech on March 15 at 5 p.m.

By Matt Present for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – Golston Gillespie blasted a three-run home run to give the Mountaineers the lead in the first inning, but 24th ranked Campbell was able to pull away in the middle innings and take the series with a 12-6 win on March 11 at Smith Stadium. The series finale on Sunday has been canceled due to inclement weather.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Hayden Cross began a two-out rally with a walk. Austin St. Laurent then reached on an error, setting the stage for Gillespie, who belted his second long ball of the series to put App State (8-5) ahead, 3-2.

Campbell (12-2) responded with three runs in the second inning, and pulled away with a grand slam in the fifth. The Camels also three more runs in the seventh.

The Mountaineers finished the ballgame strong, with impressive bullpen work from Skylar Brooks and Jackson Steensma. Brooks fired two scoreless innings, retiring all five batters he faced. Steensma followed with a scoreless ninth, picking up a strikeout. He has not allowed a run through six outings this season.

After adding a run in the seventh on a sac fly from pinch hitter Braxton Church, App State plated two more runs in the ninth inning. Vasili Kaloudis led off with a pinch-hit double into the right field corner and he scored two batters later on an RBI groundout from Andrew Terrell. Later in the inning, Xavier Moronta singled to right and Luke Drumheller walked, leading to an RBI double from Cross.

Moronta led the Mountaineers with three hits on the afternoon, raising his average to .370 on the season.

With the contest on Sunday canceled, the Mountaineers will return to action next week, when they take on West Virginia in a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday.

By Bobby Neal. MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — App State softball improved its MTSU Invitational record to 2-1 on March 11 with a 10-0 performance against Green Bay.

The Mountaineers brought home 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, their most in a frame since April 16, 2015, in a 20-3 victory over Radford. Those 10 runs against the Phoenix would be the only scores put up by either team throughout the game.

The last time App State scored 10 runs in a game was on April 12, 2022 in a win over N.C. Central.

Sejal Neas improved her record to 4-1 as her team earned its fourth shutout of the season. Neas struck out four batters and allowed only two hits as Kylie LaRousa held things down from the catcher slot.

After the Mountaineers forced a three-up, three-down top of the first, the squad came to the plate with aggression, tallying seven hits in the bottom of the inning. Kayt Houston was walked to start the inning, and Taylor Thorp singled to right-center to bring in Houston for the first of 10 runs. Thorp has batted in 11 runs this season, the second-most on the team.

Moments later, Addie Wray punched a two-run single, followed by a ground-rule double from LaRousa as McKenzie McCullen, Thorp and Kaley Coltrain reached home to make the score 5-0.

After an RBI from Barnes, the Black and Gold returned to the top of its lineup, leading to RBI singles by Houston, Sidney Martin, McCullen and Wray. The Mountaineers posted 15 at-bats in the first inning. Wray batted in three total runs through her two at-bats to lead the team.

The score differential allowed several non-starters to earn reps on both sides of the ball, as 17 Mountaineers saw the field.

Up Next

App State’s game against Western Illinois has been moved to Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. That will be the team’s fifth and final game of the MTSU Invitational, following a rematch with Green Bay at 11 a.m. ET.

By Matt Present for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – After trailing by as much as eight runs in the middle innings, App State put the winning run on base in the ninth, but ultimately was unable to deliver the final blow, as the Mountaineers fell to Campbell, 16-15, March 10, at Smith Stadium.

Trailing by five runs heading to the bottom of the ninth inning, App State sent nine men to the plate in the frame, plating four runs. The scoring was highlighted RBI singles from Hayden Cross and Austin St. Laurent, with Dylan Rogers coming through with a two-run single to pull App State to within a run. After a walk to Hunter Wilder put the winning run on base, Alex Reed worked the count full before swinging and missing at the payoff pitch to end the ballgame.

The Mountaineers (8-4) and 24th ranked Camels (11-2) combined for 36 hits and eight home runs on the day.

App State held a pair of early leads, going ahead 2-0 in the first inning, and 4-2 in the third inning, before tying the ballgame at five runs apiece in the fifth.

Campbell batted around in the sixth inning, scoring six runs, on a pair of two-run home runs to go in front, 11-5.

Trailing 13-5 in the seventh inning, the Mountaineers scored three runs to begin their comeback, on a three-run home run from Rogers, his third of the season.

After Campbell answered with two runs in the eighth, the Mountaineers responded with a three-run eighth, highlighted by a Golston Gillespie two-run home run, his second home run of the year, over the wall in right field to make it 15-11.

St. Laurent led the offense with a career-high five hits and five RBIs, including a third inning homer which made it 4-2 App State. Luke Drumheller also enjoyed a four-hit game for App State, while Cross and Rogers also tallied three hits apiece.

Jake Beaty turned in a scoreless ninth for the Mountaineers out of the bullpen, and has not allowed an earned run through the first five outings of his career.

Game two of the series is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By Matt Present for App State Sports. DURHAM, N.C. – The App State offense was held in check March 7, as the Mountaineers were limited to just one hit in a 5-0 loss to Duke at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

After allowing two runs in the first inning, Mountaineers’ starter Trey Tujetsch settled in, putting up zeros in each of his next three innings of work.

Dante Chirico was able to follow with a scoreless fifth inning, but the Blue Devils got on the board again with a two-run single in the sixth to push their advantage to 4-0.

Skylar Brooks took over from Chirico on the mound, stranding two runners in the sixth inning to minimize damage.

Freshman Jackson Steensma retired the side in order in the ninth, picking up a strikeout. He has yet to allow a run in five outings this season.

The Mountaineers best scoring opportunity came in the fourth. Xavier Moronta doubled with one out in the inning, and advanced to third base on a groundout, but the Mountaineers were unable to score him.

App State put two runners on in the seventh inning on a hit by pitch and a walk, but were unable to advance them past second base. The Mountaineers also drew a pair of walks in the eighth.

The Blue Devils delivered the final blow with a solo home run in the seventh to make it 5-0.

App State will welcome the 24th ranked Campbell Camels to Smith Stadium for a three-game series. Friday and Saturday’s games will begin at 3 p.m. with the finale set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By Bret Strelow for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — The at-large selections for the NCAA Championships announced March 7 included App State’s Will Formato, making him a three-time national qualifier.

Formato (165 pounds) joins automatic qualifiers Caleb Smith (SoCon champion at 125 pounds), Jon Jon Millner (SoCon champion at 149 pounds), Tommy Askey (SoCon champion at 157 pounds) and Will Miller (SoCon finalist at 174 pounds) to give the 20th-ranked Mountaineers at least five qualifiers for the fourth straight season.

The NCAA Championships run from March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., and seeding will be announced Wednesday during the NCAA selection show at 8 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Formato has a career record of 90-35, including a 28-7 mark this season with three ranked victories. He reached the SoCon final before dropping a 3-1 decision against another ranked wrestler, but the SoCon was allocated only one automatic qualifier at 165 pounds.

Smith (26-5) and Askey (30-11) both enter the NCAAs with 14-match winning streaks. With a 121-24 career record, Millner is 29-3 this season with his only losses coming in close matches to wrestlers ranked No. 3, No. 4 and No. 7 nationally.

Miller is 24-10 this season with an 18-5 mark since he took the mat before a win against returning All-American Clay Lautt from North Carolina. App State’s 19-16 dual victory over the Tar Heels propelled the Mountaineers into the top 25.

Ethan Oakley (20-11) is among the highest-ranked wrestlers in the 133-pound weight class who wasn’t chosen for an at-large berth. It’s unclear at this point if he will be named an alternate and travel to Tulsa in case any wrestlers drop out of the 133-pound bracket.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State only needed to score two late touchdowns to defeat Gardner-Webb on March 5. If only they were playing football instead of baseball.

The visiting Bulldogs scored runs in every inning except the 3rd and the 8th but they saved the best for last, scoring six runs in the top of the 9th for a runaway, 19-6 win over the Mountaineers to split the weekend series.

If folks thought Gardner-Webb was productive, offensively, in the 12-11 loss on March 4, the Bulldogs put an exclamation point on that thinking a day later — and all but kept App State’s bats at bay in the process. GW’s starting pitcher, Tyler Switalski, pitched five scoreless innings before back-to-back, 2-out doubles by the Mountaineers’ Golston Gillespie and Dylan Rogers put a run on the scoreboard for the home team in the bottom of the sixth inning.

It was just a nibble into GWU’s 12-1 lead as the two in-state adversaries finished the sixth inning. More offensive production was to come. The visitors’ second baseman, Pete Capobianco homered to lead off the top of the 7th, but with a change in Bulldog pitchers (Phil Fox replacing Switalski on the mound), the Mountaineers manufactured five runs in the bottom half of the inning.

It might have been too much for the almost 700 mostly Mountaineer fans in attendance to hope for another comeback miracle, but the five-run outburst started with a single by shortstop Jonathan Xuereb, leading off from the bottom of the batting order. Third baseman and leadoff batter Andrew Terrell was promptly hit by a Fox pitch that was a bit too far inside. Designated hitter Xavier Moronta popped up to short for the first out, but leftfield Austin St. Laurent drew a walk to load the bases.

In one of the more interesting personnel moves of the afternoon, head coach Kermit Smith brought North Wilkesboro native and sophomore catcher Braxton Church on to hit for senior catcher Hayden Cross, the previous day’s hero in bringing home the winning runs with a 2-out, 2-RBI double in the bottom of the 9th to produce a 12-11, walk-off victory. On the first pitch to Church, Fox was again too far inside, hitting Church, advancing the runners and forcing Xuereb home in the process.

Next up was Mountaineer second baseman Luke Drumheller. He fouled off the first pitch, but on an 0-1 count ripped the ball to left field, all the way to the fence, scoring St. Laurent and Terrell.

App State wasn’t done and the energy in Smith Stadium was building. With runners now on second and third, leaving first base open, Gillespie walked to again load the bases. Rogers fouled off three pitches before facing a full count, then watched ball four sail wide of the plate to force in another run in the form of Church.

That was enough for Gardner-Webb head coach Jim Chester, who brought in the Bulldogs’ third reliever of the afternoon, Connor Maggi. The sophomore hurler from Virginia didn’t help his cause by throwing wild on a pickoff attempt, scoring Drumheller on the error, but settled down to get the remaining two outs and produced a three-up, three-down inning the App State half of the 8th inning.

For the Bulldogs, a six-run outburst in the top of the 9th inning was just icing on the proverbial cake. They scored the half dozen runs on little more than “small ball,” including four singles, an error-producing bunt, two walks and an RBI-producing fielder’s choice before the Mountaineers’ sixth pitcher, Jake Beaty, was able to get the final two outs.

App State didn’t threaten in the bottom of the 9th, only sending four batters to the plate.

For Gardner-Webb, designated hitter Humberto Torres was arguably the offensive hero for the Bulldogs, with two home runs. He hit 2-for-5, but the two hits were big ones. His day included three runs scored and 5 RBIs. Third baseman Trevor Mattson also had a productive day at the plate, rapping out two doubles while going 4-for-5, scoring three runs and knocking in 4 RBIs. First baseman Alec Burns only hit 1-for-4 on the day, but was credited with 1 run scored and 4 RBIs thanks to forcing in a run with a bases loaded walk, a run producing Mountaineer error that allowed him to reach base. His 2-RBI single in the top of the 9th inning helped put the game fully out of reach for the Mountaineers.

On the mound, GWU’s Switalski gave up only a walk and one single in the first three innings before having to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the 4th inning. He gave up two more singles in the bottom of the 5th, but no runs. He finally gave up a run in the bottom of the 6th inning on those back-to-back doubles by Gillespie and Rogers, but escaped major damage before being pulled.

Most of App State’s offensive damage came after Switalski’s exit. On the day, they left 10 runners stranded while producing six runs on seven hits and two Bulldog errors. Gardner-Webb countered with 19 runs on 17 hits and one Mountaineer error, stranding 5 runners.

“Our hitting coach, Anthony Morris, had a great plan going into this weekend and our guys executed at a high level, with quality at-bats,” said Gardner-Webb head coach Jim Chester after the game. “We had multiple extra-base hits and took advantage of mistakes made by the App State pitchers. It all led to a great weekend that we had, offensively.”

Chester also had high praise for his starting pitcher.

“Switalski also did an outstanding job against an App State offense that was on fire, yesterday,” said Chester. “He came in today and had their bats pretty well silenced for his whole time in there, on the mound for us.”

Asked about how fast Switalski worked between pitches, Chester noted his hurler’s development from last year to this year.

“As a freshman, he was pretty slow between pitches. Now, with the new college rules (limiting pitchers to no more than 20 seconds between pitches) and our efforts to get him to move quicker, it has allowed him to be more effective,” said Chester.

Now in his third year at the helm of the Bulldog program, Chester said his team is looking to play North Carolina A&T on Tuesday (March 7) before facing St. Bonaventure next weekend in a 4-game series, then UMass on March 15 as they prepare for the start of Big South Conference play vs. Longwood. After consecutive wins most recently against the Big 10 Conference members Northwestern and Michigan State, as well as non-conference wins over Toledo and Western Carolina before splitting the weekend series with Appalachian State, the Bulldogs are 6-5 on the young season.

“The great thing is that Boone showed up this weekend for these two games,” said Mountaineer head coach Kermit Smith, obviously disappointed in the Sunday result but enthusiastic about the local support. “Both Saturday and today we had great crowds. It was awesome, so a big thank-you for our community for coming out to support these guys. We could feel the energy.”

Smith had a lot of praise for the Bulldogs.

“Their starting pitcher, Switalski, did a really good job. We waited a little too long to get adjusted to him,” said Smith. “And while he was doing that, they were doing a really good job, offensively, too. We simply weren’t doing a very good job on the mound and we weren’t doing a very good job offensively. He kept us at bay. When you have an (opposing) team putting up some runs and having a guy filling up the strike zone with some pretty good stuff, it usually doesn’t go your way.”

Winning pitcher was Switalski (2-1), while Mountaineer starter Ryan Sleeper (0-1) was credited as the losing pitcher of record.

Now 8-2 on the season, Appalachian travels to Durham on March 7 to face the Duke Blue Devils. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. They return to Boone for two more back-to-back non-conference series, including three games vs. Campbell (March 10-12), then two games vs. West Virginia (March 14-15), before opening their Sun Belt Conference slate at Marshall for three games, March 17-19.