Appalachian State Baseball (22-5, 7-2 SoCon) vs Oakland (3-21)

Oakland University has yet to play a home game this season. By the time they leave Boone on Sunday afternoon, they will have started the season with twenty three away games and two games on nuetral fields. The Grizzlies have averaged 3.9 runs per game while allowing 6.2 runs per game. The team batting average is .237 and have hit just seven home runs on the season. Opponents are averaging 2.6 steals per game against Oakland.

Appalachian is 12-0 at home this season, while batting .309 as a team. Appalachian averages 7.7 runs per game this season, while giving up 3.7 runs per contest. The Mountaineers have belted twenty home runs this season and have stolen 47 bases as a team, led by Will Callaway and Hector Crespo with with fifteen bags each.

Game 1

ASU RHP Ryan Arrowood (4-0, 4.59) vs OU Sr. LHP Jeff Gorecki (1-3, 5.08 ERA)

Appalachian fell into a 7-2 deficit after four and a half innings but rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth and went on to beat the Oakland Grizzlies 13-8 in the first game of a Saturday twinbill. Oakland came out swinging the bat and really roughed up Ryan Arrowood for 78 pitches. It was Arrowood’s shortest start of the season since his Akron, when he was a low pitch count. Arrowood has now given up at least four runs or more in four consecutive starts. In seven starts this season, Arrowood has only pitched six innings or more on two occasions.

The Mountaineers did a great job of turning over the lineup in the first game. The 8-9-1 hitters collected seven of the fifteen hits, highlighted by Brandon Burris (.524) who went 3/3, which gave hime six hits in his last six at bats. Trey Holmes and Hector Crespo drove in seven of the Mountaineers thirteen runs. Crespo stole two bases on back to back pitches, giving him the team lead with 17 stolen bases. Jamie Nunn (3-0, 1.69) picked up the win in relief, giving up only two hits and one run in 2.2 innings.

Game 2

ASU RHP Seth Grant (4-1, 2.72) vs OU So. LHP Hayden Fox (0-4, 7.52 ERA)

It took nearly 21 hours after the first pitch to complete the game, but Appalachian grabbed a series win on Sunday afternoon with a 14-5 win over Oakland. The game was suspended with Appalachian batting in the bottom of the fifth inning, leading 10-3 on Saturday afternoon. A couple minutes before noon on Sunday, the game resumed and Appalachian scored two more runs in the fifth inning to make it 12-3 through five innings. Appalachian used Will Helms, Josh Wilson, Zach Joyce and Tyler Jackson in the next four innings to seal the win for Seth Grant (5-1, 2.42) who has won his last five starts.

Massive defensive changes were made to finish the second game of the series on Sunday. A big highlight was the first career hit by freshman outfielder John Kincaid who doubled in the eight inning. The heart of the Appalachian order, Will Callaway, Daniel Kassouf and Tyler Tewell rocked nine of the fourteen Appalachian hits. Callaway joined Kassouf (.418) in the .400 club as he raised his average to .412.

Game 3

ASU Jr. LHP Rob Marcello (3-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. OU Brady Adamek (0-2, 5.43 ERA)

Oakland score all five of its runs in one inning but it was not enough to avoid the sweep against Appalachian State. Rob Marcello did not allow a hit for 3.2 innings but unraveled in the fifth inning when allowed six hits, five of them singles, to trim the Mountaineer lead to 6-5 through four and a half innings. After Marcello’s exit, Tyler Moore, Chad Farmer and Nathan Hyatt slammed the door, only allowing one hit in the final 3.1 innings. The highlight of the game came in the fifth inning, when Moore came in to replace Marcello. Oakland had two runners on base when Moore’s first pitch was smacked to left field. Brandon Burris made a diving catch, that would have surely scored both runners, to end the Grizzlies rally.

Tyler Tewell and Trey Holmes drove in six runs on the afternoon. Holmes hit a three run home run in the second inning and a solo shot in the fifth inning. Holmes’ home run in the second was followed by a homer by Hector Crespo (.301). Holmes second home run never had any doubt as it cleared the wall in right center by a good thirty feet. Tewell was 4/5 at the plate with his team leading eighth and ninth doubles of the season. Brandon Burris (4.64) also added two hits and a walk. The 22-5 start is the third best record after 27 games in school history. Appalachian moved to 15-0 at Smith Stadium this season. Appalachian stole 11 bases and hit five home runs against Oakland for the series. The Mountaineers raised their team batting average to .317 on the season.

SoCon Standings

 Appalachian    7-2

Charleston      11-4

Elon                11-4

WCU               6-3

Samford          7-5

Appalachian State Football to hold open Spring Practice

We all know that Jerry Moore has never been too fond of a “Spring Game”, but this is as close to a Spring Game as it gets. Let’s call this the compromise: an open practice, held on a Saturday morning, with officials and extensive 11 on 11 drills expected. By informing Mountaineers fans of the open practice with less than a week notice, it almost ensures a sparse crowd, which may have been the goal. With Appalachian Baseball hosting a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, many fans who drive up the mountain from major metroplitan areas will also take in some of the baseball games. If a major spring game was announced, the baseball stands possibly could not accomodate even half of the crowd a spring game crowd would bring.

APPALACHIAN STATE BASEBALL (19-5, 7-2 SoCon) vs. NORTH CAROLINA A&T (7-16, 2-4 MEAC)

Oddly enough, the Aggies are throwing the same starting pitcher against Appalachian as they did in the first meeting, that the Mountaineers won 5-3 last month. That game was the first for Appalachian after taking the series from Louisiana State. Appalachian is 11-0 at home and has won ten in row over NC A&T. Appalachian pitcher Jamie Nunn is making his third start in his career. Nunn has given up seven hits and three earned runs in those starts. Of the 31 outs that Nunn has recorded in his two starts, 26 were either by strikeout or ground out.

Starters

ASU Fr. RHP Jamie Nunn (1-0, 1.98 ERA) vs. N.C. A&T Jr. LHP Ruben Torrellas (0-2, 6.00 ERA)

Appalachian jumped out to 8-0 lead in the first inning and cruised to a 14-0 win over in state foe North Carolina A&T. Jamie Nunn (2-0, 1.78) pitched a solid five innings, only allowing three hits to get his second win of the season. Josh Wilson, Jordan Jessup, David Port and Nathan Hyatt all pitched an inning to complete the shutout.

Ten Mountaineers recorded the fifteen hits with freshman left fielder Brandon Burris (.444) going 3-3 with with a run and an RBI. Burris started his fifth game of the season for Preston Troutman who is nursing a sore hamstring. With Troutman (.206, 14 H, 15 K) struggling at the plate, Burris may see more playing time throughout the season. Will Callaway (.394, 15 SB, 24 RBI) , Hector Crespo(.304,  19 BB, 15 SB) and Jeremy Dowdy(.318, 18 RBI, 13 BB)  added two hits each. The Mountaineers top six batters in the order are averaging .300 or better. Eight Mountaineers have six or more doubles. The Mountaineers have outscored their opponents by 96 runs on the season, while only allowing 89 runs on the season. Appalachian has stolen 47 bases this season compared to just ten stolen bases by their opponents.

Appalachian hosts Oakland University for a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.

#29 Appalachian State Baseball (18-5, 7-2) @ Elon (14-11, 8-4)

 As much as Appalachian football has domintaed Elon in the last half century, the Elon basbeall team has been equally superior to Appalachian, who has only defeated the Phoenix twelve times in the past 56 years. Elon has played a very tough schedule this season, but has yet to pull off a win against some of the stronger teams on their schedule, while Appalachian has its four wins against Louisiana State and Duke to fall back on. This is a big series for several reasons. First, Appalachian looks to remain perfect in SoCon play, while Elon is sitting at 6-3 in conference. A series win for either team will be big. A sweep for either team would be very big. Secondly, for Appalachian, a series win would provide loads of confidence for a team that has struggled against Elon in the past. Lastly, for Elon, if they were to fall to 7-5 or even 6-6 in conference play, it would be tough for them to win the conference regular season championship. Both teams sport great pitching staffs, but Elon has struggled scoring runs this season and have lost four in a row, two of those to Davidson, who Appalachian swept earlier in March.

Game 1

ASU Sr. RHP Ryan Arrowood (4-0, 4.03 ERA) vs. Elon Jr. LHP Dylan Clark (5-1, 1.26 ERA)

A weather delay got in the way of Appalachian Baseball collecting its 18th win for the second time this week. A forty seven minute lightning delay forced Appalachian to the bullpen in the fifth inning and three huge errors allowed Elon to score ten runs, the most Appalachian had given up all season. Will Helms (0-1, 2.70) was charged with his first career loss. Ryan Arrowood (4-0, 4.59) gave up four runs on seven hits in only 4.1 innings of work. Arrowood also walked three batters to only four strikeouts. Only seven of Elon’s ten runs were earned.

Five of the twelve Mountaineer hits came from Daniel Kassouf (.427) who drove in three runs and hit his ninth homerun of the season. Tyler Tewell (.356) and Tyler Zupcic (.318) also collected two hits each. Tewell recorded his third triple of the season while Zupcic collected his eight double.

Game 2:

ASU Sr. RHP Seth Grant (3-1, 3.52 ERA) vs. Elon Jr. LHP Spencer Medick (0-0, 3.18 ERA)

When Seth Grant went to the mound on Saturday afternoon, he had no intentions of handing the ball back to Chris Pollard at any point during the afternoon. Grant pitched a complete game shutout of Elon, his second of his career, scattering five Elon hits. The Phoenix could only manage one runner past second base, on a sixth-inning triple. Grant did not allow Elon to record more than one hit in any inning, and only walked one batter while striking out four batters. Grant moved his record to 4-1 on the season and dropped his ERA by almost a whole point, to 2.72.

The Mountaineer offense woke up after the seventh inning, extending their one run lead after the eighth and ninth innings. Daniel Kassouf hit his SoCon leading 10th homerun in the eighth inning on blast to center field. It was his fifth homerun is as many SoCon games. The ninth inning saw three Mountaineers touch the plate as Tyler Tewll (.364, 3 HR, 21 RBI) drove in two runs on a two-out double. Dowdy tripled the next at bat, driving in Tewell to give the Mountaineers the final score of 5-0. Every Mountaineer starter recorded a hit with Hector Crespo and Tewell recording two hits each.

Kassouf’s RBI launched him into the lead in all three SoCon triple crown categories, with a .424 batting average, his 10th homerun and a four way tie with 30 RBI. Will Callaway stole his SoCon leading 15th base of the season in the sixth inning. Seth Grant also leads the conference in batters striking out looking with 16.

Game 3:

ASU Jr. LHP Rob Marcello (3-0, 1.82 ERA) vs. Elon RHP David Whitehead (0-2, 5.16 ERA)

Elon responded to their shutout loss on Saturday with a 11-2 win over the Mountaineers. Rob Marcello (3-1, 3.09) had a rough day on the mound giving up nine hits in only 5.1 innings. Tyler Moore gave up a grand slam in the sixth inning.

The Mountaineers only recorded seven hits on the day with Daniel Kassouf (.427) and Jeremy Dowdy (.305) collecting two hits each. Hector Crespo stole two bases in the losing effort. In a very interesting side note, four batters were hit by pitches, with each side alternating the bean balls. Elon starter David Whitehead hit Trey Holmes and Will Callaway.

Updated SoCon Standings

Charleston           10-2

Appalachian         7-2

Samford                7-2

Elon                      8-4

Western Carolina   4-2

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: 2011-12 Season Review

Darcie Vincent added another record breaking season for the Mountaineers in her fourth season. Vincent broke the record she set the previous season in program wins with 27 wins this season. For the second season in a row, she won at least a share of the conference regular season championship. However, there is one goal that has eluded Vincent and the Mountaineers: the SoCon Tournament Championship and NCAA berth that comes with it. Samford has ended the Mountaineers tournament in each of the last three seasons, twice in the championship game.

It is tough for your entire season to come down to three flawless days of basketball. Before the SoCon tournament, Appalachian was 23-5, with three losses in conference, and two out of conference, to Virginia and Georgia. There was not one game the Mountaineers lost that they “should have” won or vice versa. Losing in conference is something that is almost unavoidable when you play a team twice a year, however, Davidson did have the Mountaineers number this year. The unfortunate part, is handling Samford twice in the regular season and not being able to complete the season sweep in the tournament.

The post season tournaments in women’s basketball gives teams that much more practice time and game time to prepare for the nest season. Two seasons ago, Appalachian was invited to play in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational. Even though the 16 team field lacked a lot of big names, it did include high profile schools from power conferences like Washington, Louisville, and Memphis. Those four extra games were important for Appalachian to grow as a team. Appalachian won their first three games by double digits and came back from a double digit deficit to defeat Memphis in the championship game. Last year, Appalachian advanced to the WNIT, but was ousted in the first round by South Carolina. This season, the Mountaineers won two games in WNIT, both games on the road where they were considered underdogs. UNC-Wilmington is in the Colonial Athletic Association and was ranked 7th in the conference RPI. NC State and the Atlantic Coast Conference are ranked 6th in the RPI. Appalachian and Southern Conference are ranked 14th. It is fairly easy to see the improvement that has been made in the past three seasons. The difference in ACC, SEC, and CAA teams are the size difference. Appalachian may have addressed that this year in recruiting.

Even though Appalachian lost four seniors, we must look ahead to the future class of Mountaineers. Three of them are 5’10” or taller and fit the mold that Vincent prefers. They all like defense and like rebounding the basketball. LaShawna Gatewood (Twinsburg, OH) is listed at 5’11” and can play either the two-guard or wing. Her high school won state championships her junior and senior seasons. She averaged 4.5 rebounds a game from the guard position. Bria Huffman (Clover, SC) is another 5’10” G/F who is also a great defender, averaging 3.4 steals per game her senior season. However, Huffman is best known as a scorer. Huffman averaged double digit scoring her final three years in high school, capped with a 17.8 point per game average in her senior season. Khadejah Wilkerson (Greensboro, NC) is a 6’1″ forward who is a dominant presence in the post. Her Greensboro Day team was a state runner up and Wilkerson was named an all state honoree. Wilkerson averaged a double-double her sophomore year. Farrahn Wood (Lewisville, NC) is a 5’8″ guard who is a pure shooter. She holds the Forsyth Country Day record for three pointers in a game with nine. Possibly could be considered a Katie Mallow clone with better defense. Wood averaged 9.8 points per game her senior year to go along with 4.8 rebounds.

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: Virginia Postgame (WNIT)

The result might not have been what they were hoping for, but the Mountaineer women have to feel pretty good about the season they had. Despite failing to win the Southern Conference tournament and earning a bid to the NCAA tournament, Appalachian (27-7) made the most of their season in the end. Appalachian only lost seven games all season long, but two of those games were to the Virginia Cavaliers, the first game and the last. The second game was a much more respectable score, but in the end, Appalachian could not stop the hot shooting of the Cavaliers who prevailed 74-58. Virginia shot 57% for the game and forced 28 Mountaineer turnovers, which they converted into 35 points. Those three statistics pretty much sum up the game. Every Mountaineer who played turned the ball over at least once.

One bright spot of the WNIT for Appalachian was the play of freshman Katie Mallow. She started each game in the WNIT, and score double figures in each game, averaging 14.3 points per game. Anna Freeman averaged 17.6 points per game in the WNIT, highlighted by a 26 point performance against NC State. The development of a second and third consistent scorer, coupled with Maryah Sydnor, on this team will only open up the game more for Anna Freeman next season.

WNIT Third Round: Appalachian State Women’s Basketball @ Virginia

Appalachian hopes to erase the memories of the first game they played this season, against these same Virginia Cavaliers in the WNIT’s Sweet 16 on Thursday Night in Charlottesville. Virginia defeated Richmond on Monday night 68-55 and were led by senior Ariana Moorer, who tallied 16 points, 8 assists and five steals. The game marked the 25th time this season that Virginia held an opponent to fewer than 60 points. Appalachhian is among those twenty-five, as they lost to Virginia 80-48.

In the first game, just by looking at a boxscore, one can tell that Appalachian has changed a lot since that game, and did not particularly play well. Anna Freeman fouled out and only played 19 minutes. Raven Gary, who has started some games in the latter part of the season for the Mountaineers, only played two minutes. Marayh Sydnor and Katie Mallow combined for 6/18 shooting in 52 combined minutes. I expect the freshman to play a much larger role in this game, now that they have some experience, compared to their first game as collegians.

I surely dont expect another thirty point loss. Appalachian has experience in games of this magnitude. After the emtional win on Saturday, the Mountaineers have had some time to celebrate and refocus on the task at hand. Besides playing each other earlier in the season, the only other common opponent was NC State. Both teams won their respective games in Raleigh with Virginia beating the Wolfpack by eight points, and the Mountaineers winning by four points.

#29 Appalachian State Baseball (17-3, 6-0) @ High Point (13-9)

If you noticed something funny looking in the title of this post, you are not alone. For the first time in program history, Appalachian State Baseball is nationally ranked by The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the country’s oldest baseball poll. Appalachian is ranked on the strength of a underrated pitching staff and one of the best offenses in the country.

Probable Starters:

ASU Fr. RHP Jamie Nunn (1-0, 2.19) vs HPU Jr. RHP Ryan Retz (2-2, 4.68)

Game was postponed due to rain and lightning. A make up date has not been scheduled.

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: NC State Postgame (WNIT)

Appalachian State won its second ever WNIT game and first ever game over North Carolina State with a 66-62 win in the second round of the WNIT. North Carolina State jumped out to a seven point lead on the strength of Kody Burke, who had 17 of the Wolfpack’s first 23 points. However the story of the game was what Appalachian was able to do to NC State in the second half. The defensive pressure increased and NC State was careless with the basketball, and the Mountianeers started winning more of those “50-50” balls. The Mountaineers shot 58% from the field in the second half. NC State, who scored eight points from the free throw line in the first half was limited to only six attempts from the charity stripe in the second half, making only three of them.

Despite trailing by six at halftime, the way the Mountaineers forced their game in the second half was very telling. It was obvious the Mountianeers were going to win the game after the first media timeout in the second half. Even though the Mountaineers still trailed by four points, you could tell that NC State was being outhustled by the Mountaineers.  It wasn’t anything you could see in a box score, but the energy the Mountaineers brought to the court was definitely higher in the second half.

Anna Freeman had another one of her outstanding performaces, scoring 26 points, most of them coming in the second half. Anna also added seven rebounds and six steals. Katie Mallow scored 14 points in her second career start in as many games. Maryah Sydnor added 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Next up for the Mountaineers is the winner of Richmond and Virginia, who play on Monday Night. That game will most likely be played on the road, sometime between Wednesday and Friday.

WNIT Second Round: Appalachian State Women’s Basketball @ North Carolina State

Appalachian and NC State have a couple of common opponents. The most recognizable common foe is most likely Appalachian’s last opponent, UNC-Wilmington. NC State defeated the Seahawks by nineteen points at home back in November, while the Mountaineers just defeated UNCW by six on the road. Appalachian and NC State also faced Virginia, who the Mountaineers lost to by 32 points in their first game of the season while NC State fell by 8 points at home to the Cavaliers. North Carolina State also defeated Longwood by 29 points at home while the Mountaineers defeated the Lancers by 10 points. Although NC State has a lower RPI than Appalachian at 88, they play in a much tougher conference with opponents such as Maryland, Duke, Georgia Tech and Miami (FL).