Box Score BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University baseball couldn't cash in on early opportunities to take control of the ballgame and went on to suffer a 9-3 loss to Little Rock in the opening game of a three-game Sun Belt Conference series on Friday night at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.

Facing an early 2-0 deficit, Appalachian State (6-20, 1-9 Sun Belt) put runners on second and third base with nobody out in third and fourth innings. However, instead of potentially taking a commanding lead, the Mountaineers came away with only one run and still trailed 2-1 after four frames.

App State was still within striking distance at 3-1 going into the seventh inning but four Mountaineer pitchers combined to issue four walks and hit three batters over the course of the seventh and eighth stanzas. Little Rock batted around in each inning and, despite only recording five hits,  the Trojans scored three runs in each frame to turn their slim 3-1 lead into a 9-1 advantage.

Appalachian scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning but it was too little, too late for the Mountaineers, who fell to 0-4 in Sun Belt series openers this season.

Beau Myers highlighted four Mountaineers with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Brian Bauk went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Tanner Mann-Fix and Conner Leonard also had two hits apiece to help pace Appalachian's 11-hit attack.

Freshman starter Bobby Hampton pitched well, striking out six and leaving the game with the Mountaineers trailing just 3-1 in the seventh. However, the southpaw was charged with two runs after his departure and suffered the loss to fall to 1-4 on the campaign.

Ryan Scott (the nation's leading hitter with a .500 batting average coming into the game) and Dalton Thomas combined to go 7-for-8 with five RBI and four runs scored to lead Little Rock (13-12, 6-4 Sun Belt) to its seventh win in eight games.

The clubs continue their Sun Belt series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Smith Stadium.