By Matt Present. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Despite falling behind by six runs in the bottom of the first inning, App State chipped away at the deficit and ultimately put the go-ahead run on base in the ninth, before falling 7-6 to Charlotte at Hayes Stadium on Tuesday.
Summoned into action in the first inning, the App State (11-9) bullpen was sensational in the ballgame, with five relievers combining to work 7.2 innings, giving up just one run, while striking out 11.
Trailing 7-1 in the sixth inning, the Mountaineers scored the final five runs of the contest. Dillon Moquin led off the sixth with a single up the middle, and Joseph Zamora and Kameron Miller each walked to load the bases. After a sacrifice fly from Braxton Church, Charlie Evans reached on a fielding error to push a run across, and Tanner McCammon singled through the middle to push across another run and cut the deficit to 7-4.
After Carter Boyd ended the home sixth by picking up a strikeout to stand the bases loaded, the App State offense went right back to work. Tyler Lichtenberger and Moquin opened the seventh inning with back-to-back doubles, trimming the deficit to two. Later in the inning, Tyler Figueroa lifted a sac fly to center field to make it a 7-6 game.
Still down by a run in the top of the ninth, App State put runners at the corners with one out, following a walk and a single, but a double play put an end to the App State comeback effort.
Cody Little highlighted the effort from the App State bullpen, collecting a career-high five strikeouts across three innings of work. Jake Beaty fanned three more over 1.2 innings of work, while Boyd tossed two scoreless innings and picked up a pair of strikeouts.
Charlotte (10-9) opened the game with a bunt single followed by a two-run home run two batters later. The 49ers ultimately sent 12 men to the plate in the frame, scoring six runs on six hits, and took advantage of three walks in the frame.
Moquin and Lichtenberger led the offensive effort for the Mountaineers, extending their on base streaks to 16 and 19 games respectively.
The Mountaineers return to conference play this weekend, as the team heads to Statesboro, Ga. for a three-game series against Georgia Southern. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+
