By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. – App State baseball won its weekend series against Old Dominion with a doubleheader split on Saturday, winning the first game 6-1 before dropping the finale 7-6 at Smith Stadium.

Game 1

Bradley Wilson retired the final 17 hitters of the ballgame, throwing a career-high seven scoreless innings to help App State to a 6-1 victory.

Jake Beaty made his first career start for the Mountaineers (14-13, 5-4), pitching two innings and allowing one run while striking out three.

Wilson entered in a 1-1 game in the third inning and didn’t yield a run the rest of the way, conceding just three baserunners – all singles. Much like Caleb Cross on Friday night, Wilson pitched to contact, and the App State defense did the rest. Wilson recorded three strikeouts, to go along with 10 groundouts and eight flyouts. He earned his first victory of the season, lowering his ERA to 3.13 on the season.

The Mountaineers grabbed the lead in the third inning. Joseph Zamora singled through the right side and Kameron Miller followed with a laser home run over the center field fence to give App State a 3-1 advantage.

The Black and Gold added some insurance in the fifth. Zamora singled with one out, advanced to second on a stolen base, third on a wild pitch, and came into score on an RBI single from Miller. Later in the inning, Juan Correa belted his league-leading 10th home run of the season to push the advantage to 6-1.

Game 2

App State lost a back-and-forth contest in game two, giving up two runs to the Monarchs (8-17, 4-5) in the top of the ninth inning after tying the game in the bottom of the eighth.

Riley Luft hit his first career home run as part of a career-high four-hit game. Braxton Church, Graham Smiley and Juan Correa also registered multi-hit efforts.

App State went just 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners on base in the ballgame.

Carter Boyd took over on the mound in the first inning and gave up just one run across 2.1 innings of work. Collin Welch, Reyn Watson and Max Tramontana combined to work three scoreless innings, keeping the Monarchs off the board from the fifth through seventh innings.

App State will be back in action on Tuesday as the team travels to Cullowhee, N.C. to face Western Carolina at 5 p.m.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With redshirt senior Caleb Cross tossing seven hitless and scoreless innings as App State’s starting pitcher vs. Old Dominion in Game 1 of the 3-game weekend series, the Mountaineers got all the offensive production they needed in cruising to a 9-4 Sun Belt Conference win at Smith Stadium on March 28, in front of 802 fans in bright, sunny weather.

With Cross mowing down the Monarch batters — the only Old Dominion baserunners were three walks scattered across Cross’ seven innings of work — App State manufactured three runs in the bottom half of the second, one in the bottom of the 4th inning, then exploded for five runs in the 7th and 8th frames.

I trusted the process… I let them hit the ball and let the defense work behind me.

Of his pitching performance, which only included two strikeouts, Cross said afterwards, “I just trusted the process, trusted the pitch plan and went straight at them. I let them hit the ball and let the defense work behind me.”

Redshirt junior Jordan Fisher came on in relief for the final two innings after Cross struck out the Monarchs’ designated hitter Efrain Morales on pitch No. 112. While Fisher had a rocky start, giving up four runs on three hits with a walk and two hit batters, the 6-4, 221 lb. right hander from East Lincoln HS settled down to strike out Monarch third baseman Tyler Zedalis on just four pitches to end the game.

Cross (3-1) was credited with the win, while Old Dominion’s Ben Moore (1-3) picked up the loss.

App State’s offensive production featured a pair of home runs, one each off the bats of Kameron Miller and Tyler Lichtenberger. For sophomore first baseman Miller, it was the No. 6 dinger of the young season. For freshman infielder Lichtenberger, it was the first HR of  his career.

App State catcher Braxton Church rapped out his 10th double of the year and stole his fifth base. Lichtenberger and center fielder Charlie Evans also were credited with doubles among the Mountaineers’ 14-hit power display.

App State and Old Dominion meet again for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29, at 2 p.m, and 6 p.m.

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. – With the score knotted 10-10 in the bottom of the tenth inning, Graham Smiley smashed an RBI double into the left field corner, scoring Braxton Church from first base and lifting App State to an 11-10 comeback win over High Point on Tuesday at Smith Stadium.

Church worked a walk to begin the inning, and after showing bunt on the first pitch of the at-bat, Smiley swung away on 1-0 to drive in the winning run for App State’s only lead of the night. It snapped the Mountaineers’ four-game losing skid.

App State (12-12, 3-3) trailed 10-7 when the ninth inning began. Tyler Lichtenberger led off with a double, and pinch hitter Xavier Lopez was hit by a pitch two batters later. Charlie Evans then drove in Lichtenberger with an RBI single to right-center to make it 10-8. With two outs in the inning, Joseph Zamora belted a ball to right-center that one-hopped the fence for a game-tying two-run double.

Despite the first two High Point (17-8, 3-0) batters reaching base in the top of the tenth, Max Tramontana delivered a clutch performance out of the bullpen to keep the contest tied. The redshirt sophomore was able to get the lead runner at third base on a sacrifice attempt for the first out of the inning. After the Mountaineers intentionally walked High Point’s scorching hot leadoff hitter Konni Durschlag to load the bases, Tramontana induced a pair of shallow flyouts to end the inning.

Durschlag finished the contest with four hits, including two doubles and a home run, and also walked twice, reaching base in all six plate appearances.

App State fell behind 6-0 before recording the first out of the ballgame. After the first three High Point batters reached to begin the evening, Brayden Simpson drew a bases loaded walk and Three Hillier reached on an error to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. Jake McCarter then followed with a grand slam to balloon the High Point advantage.

App State answered with a big inning of their own in the home half of the first. Dillon Moquin and Zamora worked back-to-back walks to begin the frame, and Kameron Miller reached on an error to load the bases. Church then got the Mountaineers on the board with an RBI single to center, and Juan Correa followed with a two-run single through the left side. Lichtenberger capped the scoring by bouncing an RBI single up the middle to cut the early deficit to 6-5.

After a pair of two-run homers – one in the second and one in the fourth – pushed the Panther lead to 10-5 in the fourth, Tyler Figueroa helped the Mountaineers continue their fight back. The sophomore doubled in the fourth and came into score on a Evans’ sacrifice fly, and then Figueroa uncorked a 415-foot home run in the sixth inning to bring the deficit to 10-7.

App State pitching struck out 14 batters in the ballgame, and did not allow a run after the fourth inning of play. Jake Beaty worked two scoreless innings in relief, followed by one scoreless inning each from Cody Little, Reyn Watson, Jordan Fisher and Liam Best. Tamontana collected the win, his first of the season, by recording all three outs in the ninth.

Offensively, Lichtenberger extended his on-base streak to 23 straight games with two hits in the contest, while Church also extended his on-base streak to 16 in a row with a walk and a single.

App State will continue its homestand with a three-game series against Old Dominion, Friday through Sunday at Smith Stadium. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By Matt Present. STATESBORO, Ga. — Despite quality relief efforts from Carter Boyd and Bradley Wilson, the Mountaineers’ offense was held in check, falling 5-1 to Georgia Southern in Sunday’s series finale at J.I. Clements Stadium.

After App State (11-12, 3-3) took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning, Georgia Southern (14-9, 3-3) responded with five unanswered runs in the contest, highlighted by a three-run second inning to take the lead.

After Everette Harris started the ballgame on the mound for App State, Boyd came on in relief in the third inning. The redshirt sophomore got a flyout to end the inning and ultimately worked 2.1 innings, allowing just a run, while striking out one.

Wilson then worked the final 3.0 innings and did not allow a walk or a hit and threw 27 of his 40 pitches for strikes.

The Mountaineers lone run came on a bases loaded walk to Tommy Walker, which followed walks to Braxton Church and Graham Smiley, sandwiched around a hit by pitch of Tyler Figueroa.

Tyler Lichtenberger led the offense with two hits, including a triple, raising his team-leading batting average to .403 on the season.

App State will return to Boone for four home games next week, beginning with a Tuesday contest against High Point at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By Jacob Plecker. BOONE, N.C. — The App State Softball team saw an opposite-field home run by sophomore Macy Hamby in the sixth inning, but a three-run second inning by the Georgia Southern was all the Eagles needed to win the game, 4-1, on March 23.

GSU used solid pitching performances to win both the game and the 3-game weekend series. App State was held hitless until the bottom of the third inning in game 3 and only tallied three hits on the day.

Hamby’s home run marked App State’s (10-20, 1-5 SBC) fifth home run of the weekend and helped break the Georgia Southern (20-13, 4-2 SBC) shutout bid. Hamby became the fourth different Mountaineer to hit a home run at the newly constructed Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium, joining Madison McIntyre, Leah Gore and Makayla McClain, who each hit homers on Saturday.

After seeing the Eagles take a four-run lead in the fourth inning, the Mountaineers turned to Sophie Moshos to keep App State within striking distance by posting 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. The lefty allowed just one hit in her outing while striking out three Eagle batters, moving her within one strikeout of eclipsing 400 career strikeouts at the collegiate level. For the weekend, Moshos posted a 1.50 ERA in 9.1 innings of work and tallied her sixth win of the year on Saturday.

Summer Simpson racked up another hit against the Eagles, marking her fourth knock of the three-game set. Her two-out single in the third inning helped extend her hitting streak to five straight games. Julia Girk stroked the Mountaineers’ third hit of the ballgame in the fifth inning, which was her second hit of the series.

How it Happened

On the final day of the three-game set between the Eagles and Mountaineers, Sejal Neas took the ball first and posted a scoreless first inning by working around a pair of singles. App State went quietly in its half of the first and Georgia Southern scored three runs in the top of the second to take a three-run lead. All three of the Eagles’ runs came with two outs.

Alana Barnard, who recorded the win on Sunday, sat down the Mountaineers in order in the bottom of the second, but Neas bounced back in the top of the third to keep the Eagles off the board. The senior worked around a lead-off double to do so.

App State tallied its first hit of the game in the third inning thanks to a sharply hit single by Simpson. The Eagles retired the first two hitters of the inning before Simpson shot one up the middle. Nothing came of the hit as Georgia Southern retired the next hitter to keep its three-run advantage.

The Eagles struck again in the top of the fourth inning to take a four-run lead. The inning started with a single and after two outs recorded by Bel Varadi, who relieved Neas at the beginning of the inning, Georgia Southern scored its fourth and final run to make it 4-0 after three and a half frames.

Needing to answer, the Mountaineers saw a walk to Grace Barrett to give them a one-out baserunner, but a fielder’s choice and a strikeout ended the threat with the Eagles still holding a four-run lead.

Moshos, who came on to pitch in the fourth inning, threw up a zero in the fifth inning and App State generated its first scoring chance of the game to lead off the bottom half. Girk reached base on an infield hit and McIntyre hustled through the bag to beat out a grounder to second, which put two on for Hannah Forbes with no one out. But the Eagle defense clamped down and made two straight nice plays to keep App State off the scoreboard.

A 1-2-3 sixth inning by Moshos helped bring the Mountaineer bats back to the plate immediately, and Hamby paid off the shutdown inning with a solo homer into the Eagle bullpen to break the shutout. It was her second home run of the year and first since Feb. 16. The Eagles made a pitching change after the homer and sat down three in a row to close the inning.

The Mountaineer defense posted another perfect inning in the top of the seventh, which kept their deficit to three as play entered the final half-inning. App State saw a two-out walk drawn by Forbes, but the Eagle defense held serve and won the game 4-1.

By Matt Present. STATESBORO, Ga. — With the Mountaineers down by a run and down to their final out in the top of the ninth inning, Graham Smiley blasted a go-ahead grand slam, but Georgia Southern answered with a walk-off single in the bottom half of the inning as App State fell to the Eagles 14-13 on March 22, at J.I. Clements Stadium.

In a contest that featured seven lead changes, App State (11-11, 3-2) and Georgia Southern (13-9, 2-3) combined for 27 runs on 31 hits, including nine home runs on the afternoon. Smiley finished the game with two home runs and five RBIs, while Kameron Miller belted a grand-slam of his own, finishing with a career-high four hits, two home runs and six RBIs.

App State trailed 12-9 when the ninth inning began. Miller led off the inning with a single and Braxton Church reached on a fielder’s choice. With two outs and App State down to its final strike, Tanner McCammon beat out an infield single, extending the contest for Smiley, who deposited a 1-0 pitch over the wall in dead center field to put App State in the lead, 13-12.

The Eagles worked a walk and a hit by pitch to begin the home half of the inning, and sacrificed the pair into scoring position, where Nico Senese lined a game-winning single to right-center field, just over the leaping Joseph Zamora at second base.

App State led the contest 3-1 early, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning, followed by a solo homer from Miller in the fourth. The Eagles answered with a three-run bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-3 advantage.

The Mountaineers delivered a massive counterpunch in the fifth. Smiley led off the inning with his first homer of the ballgame to center field. Charlie Evans, Dillon Moquin and Zamora followed with three straight singles, setting the table for Miller, who drilled a 1-1 fastball over the left field wall to give App State an 8-4 lead.

The Eagles continued the back-and-forth action, homering twice in a four-run bottom half of the frame to square the contest at 8-8.

The Eagles put together another multi-run frame in the sixth, hitting another home run as part of a three-run frame.

Tyler Lichtenberger, Zamora and McCammon all finished with two hits in the contest and all nine starters registered at least one hit for the Mountaineers, after the team was held to just four hits on Friday night.

App State will try to salvage the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.