BSB: Mountaineers Claim Series Win Over No. 13 Coastal Carolina with Doubleheader Split
Husky Sports Schedule Week of 4-2-24
March 22, 2024Tuesday, March 26th
March 25, 2024BSB: Mountaineers Claim Series Win Over No. 13 Coastal Carolina with Doubleheader Split
March 24, 2024
Contact: Matt Present (pr******@ap******.edu)
Box Score: PDF Attached
BOONE, N.C. — App State Baseball used an eighth-inning rally, highlighted by Braxton Church’s go-ahead, two-run single with two away, to open a Sunday doubleheader against No. 13 Coastal Carolina with a 9-8 victory that clinched the Mountaineers’ first weekend series win against a top-15 opponent since a memorable 2012 road trip to No. 7 LSU.
In the series finale, App State forced extra innings on a game-tying single from Hunter Wilder with two outs in the ninth, but ultimately fell 17-11 in 12 innings.
Game 1
Moving forward from a series-opening victory in which App State overcame a 6-0 deficit to prevail 16-8 on Saturday, the Mountaineers built a 5-0 lead through five innings of Game 2 before falling behind 8-5 entering the bottom of the seventh.
App State scored one run on Drew Holderbach’s RBI groundout in the seventh, and winning pitcher Colin Welch retired the side in order in the top of the eighth. Coastal retired the first App State batter in the bottom of the eighth, but Joseph Zamora singled before moving to second when CJ Boyd was hit by a pitch. Austin St. Laurent was also hit by a pitch to load the bases.
A strikeout sent Banks Tolley into the batter’s box with two away, and he fouled off an 0-2 pitch before running the count to 2-2 and reaching on a hit by pitch that brought Zamora home. In a lefty-lefty matchup with App State trailing 8-7, Church’s check-swing single sailed over the shortstop’s head and dropped in front of the center fielder to score both Boyd and St. Laurent.
Welch also retired the side in order in the ninth, inducing a groundout to short to end it. He retired all eight batters he faced and totaled two strikeouts.
The Mountaineers built a 5-0 lead heading to the sixth inning thanks to timely hitting and a strong start on the mound from Jackson Steensma, who had faced just one batter over the minimum through four innings and stranded two runners in a scoreless fifth.
App State took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, when Holderbach scored on Zamora’s RBI single and Adam Quintero raced home on Boyd’s sacrifice fly. The Mountaineers added to their lead in the fifth on Tolley’s two-run double and Church’s RBI single.
The Chanticleers finally broke through against Steensma in the sixth, getting a two-run, two-out single with the bases loaded, but a groundout limited the damage. Coastal scored six runs on just three hits against the App State bullpen in the seventh, capitalizing on two walks and two plunked batters.
Coastal broke a 5-all tie by scoring runs on a bases-loaded walk and bases-loaded hit by pitch. Welch entered and retired the next two hitters, with a flyout to right in the first at-bat resulting in a sacrifice fly.
Church and Tolley drove in three runs apiece, while Zamora went 3-for-4 to help lead an 11-hit attack.
Game 2
Hunter Wilder headlined a monster day at the plate for the Mountaineers in game two. Not only did he drive home the game-tying run with two outs in the ninth, but he opened the scoring for the Mountaineers in the second inning.
After Xavier Moronta reached on a one-out walk and Adam Quintero followed with a single through the left side, Wilder belted his first career home run over the right field fence to give the Mountaineers a 3-1 advantage.
App State (15-7, 3-3) pushed the lead to 5-1 in the fourth inning with back-to-back RBI doubles from Austin St. Laurent and Banks Tolley.
The Chanticleers (18-6, 3-3), stormed back with a six-run fifth inning, highlighted by a grand slam from Derek Bender.
Dante Chirico enjoyed a strong start to the ballgame on the mound for App State, retiring eight in a row, before running into trouble in the fifth inning. Chirico was aided by some outstanding defense in center field from Tolley, who made a pair of diving catches in center field, including one that led to a double play in the second inning.
Trailing 7-5 in the fifth inning, the Mountaineers tied the score on an RBI groundout from Joseph Zamora and a two-out RBI single from St. Laurent, who finished with a five-hit night.
App State then went ahead in the sixth on an RBI single from Wilder, plating Braxton Church, who led off the inning with a walk. Wilder finished the night with a career-high four hits and five RBIs, and reached base six times in the ballgame.
After surrendering the lead in the top of the seventh, the Mountaineers again tied the score in the home half of the inning, as Tolley ripped an RBI double to left-center, plating St. Laurent, who led off with a single.
The seesaw battle continued, with the Chanticleers going in front 11-10 in the top of the eighth inning, before the Mountaineers fought back in the ninth. With two away, Moronta worked a walk and Quintero reached on a fielding error to put runners at the corners, paving the way for Wilder’s game-tying hit.
After trading scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th innings, Coastal scored six runs in the 12th to salvage the finale, 17-11.
App State finished with a season-high 19 hits in the ballgame, and five Mountaineers tallied multi-hit efforts.
App State will be back in action Tuesday as the Mountaineers travel to UNC Asheville for a 5 p.m. showdown. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The 2024 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
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425 Jack Branch Drive
Boone, NC, 28608
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