By Matt Present. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — App State used a pair of big innings offensively, climbing out of an early hole in the third and taking the lead in the seventh, on their way to a 9-6 win over ETSU on Feb. 27 at Thomas Stadium.
Trailing 4-1 after two innings of play, App State (7-1) came back to tie the score in the third. CJ Boyd led off with a single off the second base bag, and Austin St. Laurent was hit by a pitch to begin the inning. Banks Tolley then ripped a double to the left-center field gap to score Boyd. One batter later, Braxton Church lined a gapper in a similar spot to plate a pair and tie the score at 4-4.
After the Bucs regained the lead with a two-run sixth, App State was quick to answer in the top of the seventh. After Joseph Zamora was hit by a pitch to begin the frame, the lineup turned over for Boyd, who clobbered his fourth home run of the season to straight away left field to tie the score.
St. Laurent then followed with a single up the middle to continue the rally, and Tolley belted his second double of the ballgame one batter later to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the contest. Tolley came into score later in the inning on a wild pitch to give the Mountaineers an 8-6 lead.
Grey LaSpaluto (win, 1-0) picked up the win in relief, striking out four batters in 2.1 innings of work while allowing just one hit and no walks.
Tyler Tuthill also allowed just an unearned run in his second outing of the season, striking out two, while Zach Lewis (save, 1) earned the team’s first save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning of work.
Tolley finished the day 3-for-5 at the plate, adding a home run in the ninth inning, his third of the season, to provide App State an insurance run. The Mountaineers have now hit 16 home runs though eight games on the season.
App State makes the trek to Carbondale, Ill. For a three-game weekend series against Southern Illinois. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET, with the middle game on Saturday slated for 3 p.m. The series finale against the Salukis is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
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