LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – With no shortage of drama on Saturday, Appalachian State University baseball came back from a 1-0 deficit in the series to win both Games Two and Three in the doubleheader against Little Rock.
The Mountaineers (12-16, 3-6 Sun Belt) won out a tight race in the first of two on the day, 3-2, before having to rally back from a 6-3 Trojan (10-18, 3-6 Sun Belt) lead in the sixth to win 7-6 and secure their first conference series win of the year.
GAME ONE: APP STATE 3, LITTLE ROCK 2
Appalachian started off the day and finished the day by throwing three scoreless innings, but Little Rock would be the first to draw blood, putting up two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take their lone lead of the game.
The Black and Gold responded, however, in the sixth, beginning with a Jason Curtis walk and stolen second base. That set up the two-run bomb to right field by Tyler Stroup – his sixth home run of the year.
They then extended the lead in the seventh after holding strong on the defensive end again when Conner Leonard shot one up the middle before Avery Jackson singled through the right side, advancing Leonard to third. Calev Grubbs then capitalized on an error by the shortstop to reach first and bring home Leonard.
Five Mountaineers finished with a base hit in the first of two on the day with Stroup's homer bringing in the most RBI.
Colin Schmid had an impressive start on the mound, allowing just six hits and one earned run in 6.0 innings of work. Schmid finished striking out four batters and only walking two before Reed Howell got his team-high fourth save of the season by pitching 3.0 scoreless innings to close, getting two punchouts and allowing just two hits overall.
GAME TWO: APP STATE 7, LITTLE ROCK 6
In a wild rubber match to end the series, Appalachian took a 3-1 lead to start the game before falling behind in the seventh, only to retake the lead from the Trojans by scoring four runs over the final two innings.
The Diamond Apps carried momentum forward from the first game in the doubleheader by getting on the board first. Jared McCarver recorded a rocket to the center-field wall for his first career hit as a Mountaineer before Connor Baldy was able to draw a walk before a wild pitch sent both baserunners forward a base.
Calev Grubbs then got a groundout RBI, bringing home McCarver, before Matt Vernon sent a double down the left-field line to bring home Baldy.
Little Rock responded in the third, fourth and fifth innings, clawing back to tie the game 3-3 by putting up one run in each. The Trojans then really made things difficult for Appalachian by putting up three runs off five hits in the bottom of the sixth, making the game 6-3.
But the Black and Gold kept their composure and put their rally caps on in the eighth, firing off back-to-back doubles by Jason Curtis and Vernon to put runners at second and third to start. Tyler Stroup then fired a fast-rolling grounder to the shortstop who mishandled the fielding to allow him to reach first and both runners to score to bring App State within one.
After a scoreless bottom-half, the Mountaineers again went to work at the plate. After Grubbs reached first on a hit-by-pitch and was moved to second on a bunt by Jason Curtis, Vernon fired a clutch shot one up the middle to bring home Grubbs and tie the game again at 6-6.
After a caught stealing at third put two outs on the board, Stroup once again came through by singling to first base before an errant throw allowed Vernon to cross the plate for the would-be gamewinner.
On the mound, Matt Brill had razer-sharp focus to close the final three innings of the game, allowing just one hit overall. Brill put up a tied-season-high four strikeouts on the night, two of which came in the bottom of the ninth to finish with the win. Luke Watts started the game for App State and went 5.0 innings before Tristan Helms provided relief for the sixth inning.
The come-from-behind victory is the Mountaineers' 14th since the beginning of last season and the third this year. It's also the 10th time since 2016 that App State has won the ballgame in its final at-bat.
The Mountaineers will try to carry this two-game win streak forward as they head to a midweek contest at East Tennessee State on Tuesday, April 4. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
