By Matt Present. ATLANTA, Ga. — Banks Tolley blasted his 18th home run of the season, establishing a new App State single-season home run record in the Mountaineers 11-7 victory over Georgia State, Friday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Tolley eclipsed the mark of 17 home runs in a season, set by Daniel Kassouf in 2012 and equaled by CJ Boyd last season.
The milestone home run came as part of a four-run fourth inning. Joseph Zamora began the rally with a two-out double to right, and Austin St. Laurent followed with an RBI single. Drew Holderbach, who extended his on-base streak to 39 consecutive games, doubled to left field to plate St. Laurent, setting the stage for Tolley’s no-doubt blast over the left field fence to put the Mountaineers (24-14-1, 9-9-1) in front, 7-1.
App State opened the scoring with a three-run third inning. St. Laurent reached on an error allowing Zamora to score and Holderbach capitalized with an RBI double down the line in left. Later in the inning, Braxton Church plated a run with an RBI groundout.
Bradley Wilson (win, 2-3) matched a career-high with six innings in his start for the Mountaineers. The right-hander struck out four and allowed just three runs on the night, posting a quality start, and earning his first victory since opening night.
Tyler Tuthill followed with an impressive two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in which he struck out three.
App State added on with a three-run sixth inning. Hunter Wilder led off the frame with a walk and two batters later St. Laurent was hit by a pitch. With two outs, the Mountaineers notched three-consecutive RBI singles, as Tolley, Boyd and Church all pushed runs across.
The Mountaineers finished the game going 8-for-16 (.500) with two outs. App State tallied 13 hits overall on the night, with Holderbach and Tolley each posting a three-hit effort.
App State will go for the series win on Saturday, with first pitch set for 3 p.m.
