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+.
