App State’s Offense Too Much For The 49ers; 5 Home Runs Lead to 20-6 Victory.

Once again, the bats got hot early for App State. Leadoff hitter, Matt Alexander, started the game off with a bang, driving a solo shot over the left field fence to get App State out in front from the start. From there, they never looked back. 2 more runs were added by singles from Brandon Jones and Noah Dancy.

UNC Charlotte responded with a solo home run from Avery Sisk in the second inning to make the score 3-1. The game remained close until the top of the fifth inning, when the Mountaineers broke it open with 5 runs of their own. Several batters drew walks for App State, and a Jacob Bishop Sac-fly pushed across another run making it 4-1.

With the bases loaded from walks, 1B, Brandon Jones stepped up to the plate. With a 2-1 count, Jones smashed a fastball over the wall in left field for a grand slam! This boosted the Mountaineer lead to 8-2 after 5 innings.

Starting pitcher Todd Rule had his best stuff on display for this Sunday afternoon contest with UNC Charlotte. He was dominant, with 5 IP, he allowed only 5 hits, 2 ER, while striking out 7 in his Fall 2019 debut.

App State added 5 more runs in the top of the 6th, with a 2-run homer from Catcher, Noah Dancy, and a 3-run bomb from MIF JP Roque, that blew the game open to make the score 13-2 after 6 innings played.

App State made substitutions at all 9 positions heading into the bottom of the 6th, with Reliever Jaxon Mays coming out of the pen. He held his own on the mound, going 2 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 ER and striking out 3 batters in his Fall debut as well.

The App State offense never took their foot off the gas, as they put up 7 runs combined in the 7th and 8th innings. They were able to do this off some great base running by Nick Kilduff and Jordan Howlett, a long double in the gap for DH Tyler Nigro, and a 3 hits from Zach Covington which included a home run and 3 RBI.

Junior reliever Jordan Hrabar, came in to finish out the game in the 8th inning. He went 2 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 ER, and striking out 4 in his first appearance of the Fall.

UNC Charlotte pushed across 2 runs in both the 7th and 8th inning, but it was too little too late, as the Mountaineers went on to win the game 20-6, and win the series 2-1!

App State looks to keep the momentum going, as they are on the road again at Virginia Tech on October 26-27 to face the Hokies in a 3-game series!

Important to Note:

The Mountaineers tallied 5 home runs in the game. Brandon Jones , Matt Alexander, JP Roque, Zach Covington, and Noah Dancy each had one in the contest. Six different Mountaineers had multi-hit games, which included Covington, Dancy, Edmiston, Nigro, Jones, and Roque. Dancy and Covington had 3 a piece.

App State Drops Game 2 of the Series to UNC Charlotte After Late Score

Game 2 Saturday was far from the slugfest that took place in the first game. Instead, it was a pitchers duel between App State’s lefty Ryan O’Kelly, and UNC Charlotte’s Daniel O’Kelly. If you’re wondering if they are related, the answer is yes. The two are brothers, and they battled it out in this low scoring game 2 on Saturday.

Ryan O’Kelly pitched five and a third innings, allowing three hits and three runs while striking out three. He had all of his stuff working, and had all the UNC Charlotte hitters off balance.

Going into the 6th inning, the score was 0-0. The game turned though when third baseman, Jax Hackett singled to start off the inning. He advanced to second on a ground ball to the first baseman from Tyler Nigro. The first run of the game was then scored by a hard hit line drive into the right centerfield gap by Zach Covington. It was a huge hit for the Mountaineers and broke the 0-0 tie.

After a Jordan Howlett walk, Holt Biersecker smacked a double into right field to score Covington and Howlett to increase the Mountaineer lead to 3-0.

App State lost the lead late in the 6th inning, after UNCC tallied a few baserunners and a deep fly ball to center was just out of reach for Covington to make a play on it. UNC Charlotte took a 4-3 lead in the inning, and App State couldn’t capitalize in the top of the 7th, resulting in a tough 4-3 defeat to UNC Charlotte.

ICYMI: Cade Pearce saw some time on the mound, coming into the game for O’Kelly in the 6th inning. He pitched 2/3 innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 run, and striking out 2 in his first appearance.

App State tallied 7 hits in the game, with multi hit performances from MIF Tim Lazur, and 1B/3B Holt Biersecker. Jax Hackett, Zach Covington, and Tyler Nigro each added a hit a piece.

Four RBI Day From Edmiston and Dancy Seals The Deal In Appalachian State’s Victory Over UNC Charlotte

Evan Edmiston was bad news for opposing pitchers on Saturday, driving in four on three hits to lead App State past UNC Charlotte, 13-4 on Saturday. Edmiston drove in runs on a home run in the first and a single in the sixth.

The Mountaineers got things started in the top of the first with a leadoff double by Matt Alexander. JP Roque reached safely on an error, and Evan Edmiston smacked a 3-run homer to jump out in front early in the contest. The Mountaineers would take that lead and never look back.

App State would put 3 more runs on the board in the third inning on a Matt Alexander Sac fly, and a JP Roque Single. UNC Charlotte would respond in the bottom half of the 3rd inning, making the score 6-4 going into the fourth.

The Mountaineers blew the game open in the sixth, scoring 6 more runs. The offense in the inning came from singles by JP Roque and Edmiston, a sac fly by Griffin Mercer, and a 3 run bomb to straight away center field by Noah Dancy.

Christian Stokes took the win for the Mountaineers opener. He threw a great game, allowed four hits and four runs over four innings, while striking out four. Andrew Sellers and Andrew Payne entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief.

Matthews was on the mound for UNC Charlotte 49ers Club. He surrendered six runs on five hits over two and two-thirds innings, striking out one. Melton, Stevens, and Richardson each contributed in relief for UNC Charlotte 49ers Club.

App State showcased some power on Saturday, tallying two home runs on the day. Evan Edmiston had a homer in the first inning. Noah Dancy went yard in the sixth inning.

App State collected ten hits on the day. Edmiston, Roque, and Gerlach all recorded multiple hits while Matt Alexander, Jacob Bishop, and Noah Dancy each had one a piece.

Three Mountaineers Collect All-Region Accolades

After finishing with a 6-8 record and finishing fourth in their conference back in April, App State received more good news today.

The All-Region teams have been announced and three Mountaineers were recognized for their great seasonal performances.

Junior third baseman Evan Edmiston received second team honors. Edmiston showed signs of breaking out last season but really improved this season. The team MVP led all Mountaineer hitters in home runs (4), RBI (18), and slugging percentage (0.745). Edmiston also served as team vice president and will return as team president next year.

Junior outfielder Nick Goard joined Edmiston on the second team. Despite an anemic offensive season in 2018, Goard bounced back to win comeback player of the year this season. He led all Mountaineer hitters in average (0.432), on-base percentage (0.509), on-base plus slugging (1.237), runs scored (18), triples (1), and stolen bases (4) while hitting 3 home runs and 11 RBI out of the leadoff spot. The former treasurer will student teach next spring and will not return for his senior season.

Junior first baseman Brandon Jones received third team honors in his rookie campaign. Jones finished the year with a slash line of 0.385/0.478/0.615 along with 2 home runs, 9 RBI, 3 doubles, and zero defensive errors in 71 chances. Jones will return next season as team secretary.

The three-headed offensive monster for the Mountaineers combined for a collective 0.415 batting average, 0.477 on-base percentage, a 0.707 slugging percentage, 9 home runs, 38 RBI, 38 runs scored, and only 16 strikeouts.

Although Goard and fellow offensive standout Justin Greer will not return, the Mountaineers will return every other batter in their lineup and add several more bats. The team’s young depth was the strength of their roster and they should have no problem filling any gaps.

App State will continue to enjoy their summer and look forward to their first practice of the fall. Be on the lookout for team announcements via Twitter and here on the website!

Mountaineers End Season with a Win

Going into the weekend, App State’s playoff chances had been essentially eliminated, meaning the pressure was off when facing East Carolina.

ECU, which won the 2017 NCBA World Series and lost it last year, came into the series ranked atop the NCBA Division I poll with 9 first place votes. Apparently that was news to the Mountaineers as they gave the Pirates a run for their money.

App State lost both games of last Saturday’s double header by scores of 3-0 and 10-2, but over an eleven inning stretch from the third inning of the first game through the sixth inning of the second game, ECU and App State each only scored two runs.

The Mountaineers only collected five hits all day on Saturday coming from Nick Goard, Matt Alexander, Griffin Mercer, Evan Edmiston, and Jordan Howlett, but the starting pitching over the first two games gave them a chance to win both games.

Despite taking the loss in game one, Christian Stokes returned to form with a complete game performance. He allowed six hits, three earned runs, walked five, and struck out eight.

In game two, Ryan O’Kelly took the loss, but allowed only two earned runs over six innings. He allowed five hits, five total runs, seven walks, and struck out seven. ECU’s bats came alive in the seventh inning and put up eight runs on O’Kelly, Taylor James, and Jordan Hrabar.

App State showed signs that they could compete with ECU throughout the double header and on Sunday, it all came together. The Mountaineers scored five runs on nine hits including an RBI double from Justin Greer, two hits from Griffin Mercer including a 2-RBI single, an RBI single from Matt Anders, and two hits from Matt Alexander including an RBI single. The Mountaineers scored all five runs in the first three innings.

Todd Rule was brilliant on the mound for the Mountaineers. Over eight innings and 155 pitches, Rule allowed only five hits, three earned runs, and five walks while he struck out eight. Rule earned his second win on the year as Sam Goff earned the save.

Sunday marked the last day of four Mountaineers’ playing careers.

President and starting pitcher Presson Norwood finished the year with 6.0 IP, a 6.00 ERA, 6 K, 8 BB, and a record of 0-1. Norwood will graduate in December 2019.

Senior pitcher Taylor James finished the year allowing 4 runs on the year without recording an out, but James stepped up as a true leader in developing a positive environment and helping new pitchers understand the demands of club baseball. James will graduate this May.

Treasurer and outfielder Nick Goard finished the year one of the team’s offensive leaders. He led the team in batting average (0.432), on-base percentage (0.509), on-base plus slugging (1.237), triples (1), runs scored (18), and stolen bases (4) and was second in slugging percentage (0.727), home runs (3), and RBI (11). Goard will not graduate until May 2020, but plans on student teaching next spring.

Club Sports Representative and senior Justin Greer was also an offensive leader for the Mountaineers. He finished the year top-five in all major hitting categories among players with at least 20 plate appearances including average (0.314), on-base percentage (0.444), OPS (1.016), slugging percentage (0.571), doubles (6- led the team), home runs (1), RBI (10), runs scored (9), and stolen bases (2). Greer’s season would have likely been better if he had not sustained a hamstring injury late in the year. Greer will graduate in December 2019.

For the Mountaineers, they finish the season with a 6-8 overall record and 4-7 in the conference despite only playing two games against UNC and not playing against UNCW due to weather. All six wins came against teams that were at one point ranked or received votes to be ranked (UNCC-2, NC State-1, UNC-2, and ECU-1).

Among the 26 returning players are all three members of the starting rotation, new President and Vice President and offensive leaders Evan Edmiston and Griffin Mercer, and their entire young core. They have a great chance to compete again next year and in the years to come.