By Matt Present. SHELBY, N.C. — Four App State pitchers combined to allow just three runs in the ballgame — and just one after the third inning — but the Mountaineers were held to only one hit at the plate in a 3-2 loss to Wake Forest Tuesday at Keeter Stadium.
App State (21-23, 11-10) got exceptional efforts from Carter Boyd and Cody Little in relief. Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, Boyd extinguished a Wake Forest (30-16, 12-12) rally by coming out of the bullpen to strike out the final batter of the frame and strand two runners on base. The right-hander followed it up by striking out the side in the sixth inning.
Little pitched the final two innings of the contest and did not allow a run, scattering three hits and striking out two.
App State opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with Joseph Zamora belting a solo home run to put the Mountaineers in front 1-0. Zamora’s home run was App State’s only hit of the night. The senior second baseman accounted for both App State runs, working a walk in the sixth inning and later coming around to score on a bases loaded free pass to Juan Correa.
Matthew Dallas picked up the win for the Demon Deacons, retiring 17 of the 22 batters he faced, while Griffin Green, Luke Schmolke and Haiden Leffew combined to retire 10 of the final 11 batters of the ballgame.
Wake Forest tied the score in the second on an RBI double from Matt Scannell. The Demon Deacons took the lead on a sac fly in the third, and plated the game’s final run on another sac fly in the fifth.
Luke Oblen made his first career start for the Mountaineers and after walking the leadoff batter in the first inning, rebounded with a strikeout and a double play ball. After loading the bases in the third, he gave way to Jake Beaty who was able to minimize the damage to just one run. Oblen and Beaty each worked 2.1 innings in the contest.
App State will continue its road trip this weekend when the team heads to Conway, S.C. for a three-game series against No. 19 Coastal Carolina.
