Box Score BOONE, N.C. — Wake Forest scored in each of the first six innings of a wild 15-9 win over Appalachian State University baseball on Tuesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian State (10-27) led 3-1 after one inning and 4-3 after two but Wake Forest (23-17) plated six runs in the top of the third inning and never relinquished the lead.
After the Demon Deacons took a 9-4 lead with its six-run third, the Mountaineers immediately cut the deficit to 9-6 with two runs in the bottom of the frame. However, while Wake Forest kept scoring in the middle innings (three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and one in the sixth), App State's bats went cold and the Demon Deacons grabbed a commanding 14-6 advantage.
The score remained 14-6 until the ninth when Wake Forest scored a single run in the top of the inning and Appalachian closed the scoring on a three-run home run by freshman pinch-hitter
Jason Curtis in the bottom of the stanza.
Curtis' homer capped an power-packed evening that saw the teams combine for seven home runs (four by Wake Forest, three by Appalachian State). Prior to Tuesday's power surge, there had been only nine home runs hit over the first 13 games of the season at spacious Smith Stadium.
Eight different Mountaineers contributed to App State's 12-hit attack.
Matt Vernon,
Caleb McCann and Curtis all homered and freshman designated hitter
Colin Schmid finished 3-for-3. McCann's homer was the first of his career. The senior, who transitioned from a full-time pitcher to a two-way player this season, also doubled in a 2-for-3 showing that raised his batting average to .312 on the season.
Wake Forest's Logan Harvey, a late addition to the starting lineup after regular catcher Ben Breazeale was sidelined during pregame warmups due to illness, went 2-for-4 with five RBI and the first two home runs of his career. His first homer was a back-breaking grand slam during the Deacons' six-run third inning.
Appalachian State returns to Sun Belt Conference action this weekend with a three-game series at Georgia State. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex in Decatur, Ga.
Next Tuesday, the Mountaineers and Demon Deacons meet again at BB&T BallPark in Charlotte. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
