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.
Appalachian State Club Baseball 