By David Rogers. HICKORY, N.C. — Senior righthander Dante Chirico gave up three runs on six hits in five innings of work on Feb. 25 at L.P. Frans Stadium but still picked up the win with a lot of help from the middle of the App State batting order. The Mountaineers completed their weekend sweep of the Siena Saints, 10-6, to improve their early season record to 6-1.
Chirico was credited with his first win of the season after the first three Mountaineer batters in the bottom of the fifth inning each launched solo home runs off of Siena starting pitcher Connor Byrne. Batting third in the order, centerfielder Banks Tolley was the first to hit a dinger, clearig the centerfield wall on a 2-0 pitch. Designated hitter Braxton Church followed with a shot over the right field fence and first baseman Drew Holderbach put an exclamation point on the Mountaineers’ “meat of the batting order” with an HR that cleared the left centerfield fence.
The three moonshots were enough to chase Byrne before Evan Saulys was brought in by Siena head coach Alex Jurczynski to quiet the App State bats. While the freshman hurler wriggled out of the rest of the fifth inning without allowing any further damage, he didn’t fare so well in the bottom of the 6th as he was credited with allowing three runs on two hits before giving way on the mound to junior transfer (from UConn) Ramsey Collins.
The Mountaineers’ mid-innings power surge was not the only hot offensive production. Leftfielder CJ Boyd got only one hit in six at-bats on the day but it was a big one: a solo blast to leadoff the bottom half of the first inning. Holderbach followed Boyd in the first with a double down the left field line that scored teammate Austin St. Laurent.
The Mountaineers used only three pitchers in relief the rest of the way and they combined to give up three runs on four hits in the final four innings to mostly quiet the Saints’bats.
Meanwhile, App State padded its margin of victory with two more insurance runs in the 8th inning, manufactured when catcher Tommy Walker laced a sacrifice fly to center, scoring pinch runner (for Church) Grey LaSpaluto. Then, second baseman Joseph Zamora rapped an RBI single to right, scoring Holderbach from second.
Top Mountaineer Performers
- 3B Austin St. Laurent: 3-5, 2 runs scored
- DH Braxton Church: 2-3, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, HR, 2 BB
- 1B Drew Holderbach: 2-3, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, HR, 2B, 2 BB
- CF Banks Tolley: 1-5, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, HR
- LF C J Boyd: 1-6, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, HR
