STATESBORO, Ga. – Two errors in the fourth inning led to four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning were too much to overcome as Appalachian State University baseball fell 6-2 to Georgia Southern on Thursday night at Clements Stadium.
The Mountaineers (12-22, 3-10 Sun Belt) were otherwise impressive on an early start date due to the Easter holiday on Sunday, however, the Eagles (22-12, 8-5 Sun Belt) were simply able to capitalize on the two miscues for the go-ahead runs.
Appalachian was especially effective on the mound on Thursday night, with Travis Holden going 7.0 innings, allowing just six hits and getting five strikeouts. With only two walks and two earned runs, Holden put on one his best performances of the year.
Dallas DeVrieze provided an inning of relief to close and provided another fine outing after pitching just two days prior at Davidson, retiring three batters in 10 pitches without a hit.
Appalachian got on the board first in its first at-bat, as Matt Vernon hit a double to left field before a Tyler Stroup brought home Vernon to go up 1-0.
Georgia Southern evened the score in the third inning, but the Mountaineers responded immediately following in the fourth as Drake Zupcic reached on a hit-by-pitch before Avery Jackson singled and a throwing error by the shortstop allowed Zupcic to score.
The fourth would end up being the penultimate inning for Appalachian as the Eagles scored four unearned runs to take their 6-2 lead.
Overall, Stroup led all batters on the day with a 2-for-4 outing and an RBI. Jason Curtis, Vernon, Jackson and Chandler Seagle all finished the day with a hit.
The Mountaineers will try to even the series at 1-1 on Friday night as they move to Game Two in Statesboro. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and is broadcast live on ESPN3 with App State radio streamed at appstatesports.com.
