BOONE, N.C. — Despite a late rally in Game 1, Appalachian State University baseball suffered a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Georgia Southern won the opener of the twinbill, 8-6, and the nightcap, 5-1.

With the wins, Georgia Southern (11-5, 3-0 Sun Belt) swept this weekend's three-game Sun Belt series from Appalachian State (3-13, 0-3 Sun Belt).

Appalachian trailed 5-1 and 8-4 in Saturday's opener but scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to 8-6. The score was still 8-6 when Matt Vernon led off the bottom of the ninth with his third hit of the game, a sharp single up the middle. Henry Davis followed with a four-pitch walk and backup catcher Zach Hummel laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the tying run into scoring position with one out. However, Georgia Southern closer Chris Brown struck out freshmen Tanner Mann-Fix and Jason Curtis to squelch the Mountaineers' threat and end the game.

The bottom of the ninth inning was a microcosm of the game for Appalachian State, which saw the Nos. 5-8 hitters in its batting order go 8-for-14 with five RBI and four runs scored while the rest of the order combined for just two hits in 21 at-bats.

Vernon led the way, going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. It was a breakout performance for the junior-college transfer, who had only two hits in his first 12 games as a Mountaineer.

Three errors doomed App State in Game 1, as they led to three unearned runs in the two-run defeat.

App State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning in Game 2 but, after collecting two hits in the frame, managed just one hit the rest of the way.

Georgia Southern took advantage of Appalachian's offensive struggles and pieced together one run in the third, one in the fifth and three in the sixth to finish off the series sweep.

The highlight of Game 2 for the Mountaineers was the play of Hummel behind the plate. In his first start of the season, Hummel threw out three would-be base-stealers in the nightcap. He also gunned down a runner after replacing starter Chandler Seagle early in Game 1.

Appalachian State returns to action on Tuesday when it makes the short trip to Greensboro, N.C. to take on North Carolina A&T. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Greensboro's historic War Memorial Stadium.