Monthly Archives: May 2012

100 days!!!

Posted on by
Reply

The 14th Annual GreatAppSt Countdown starts right now!!! :D
Yes, It’s that time again girls n’ boys, WOOOOT!!!

Fall weather, outdoor culinary delights, good spirits, ;-} and gatherings of friends young and old will soon be here.

I know that if you’re here reading this (again)you’re looking forward to football with as much enthusiasm and anticipation as I am.
14 Years and still going strong, I’d like to thank all the fans from many teams and different boards, who have joined in and expressed their enjoyment of the countdown over many years. Again, it has been and is still a great pleasure for me to do the countdown for Y’all.

Now on to the same ol’ yearly intro!!!!

The G.A.S. Countdown is NOT just the often used, automatic backwards clock ticker (when I started this there were no others of any kind that I could find and trust me I looked). This countdown IS a work of passion for the enjoyment of others and myself. The G.A.S. countdown IS the often IMITATED but never duplicated ORIGINAL (like a Coney Island hot dog) build up to a new season of thrills, chills, and spills. Fun for ALL and all are welcomed along for the (like all Italian pizzeria’s claim), Worlds Best Countdown!

THE RULES
1.) This is the G.A.S. Countdown.

2.) Only full 24 hr Calendar days
left before 12:01am of gameday are counted. The day before gameday is counted at Zero, as are only hours are left then.

4.) Barring catastophic events the day will be posted this is my pledge. Please be patient it may be later in the evening before I have a chance to post.

ENJOY!!

ERIC aka G.A.S.

Appalachian State Baseball (39-14, 21-9 SoCon) vs Furman (26-30, 13-17 SoCon), SoCon Tourney

Posted on by
Reply

Appalachian’s first opponent in the conference tournament is the Furman Paladins, the tournament’s host institution. Appalachian handled Furman easily this year, sweeping a three game set in Boone. In those games, Appalachian outscored Furman 34-7 and outhit the Paladins 46-24. The opening game of the series was a 14-2 win for Appalachian on a Friday evening, and will most likely feature the same pitchers. Ryan Arrowood had one of his best starts of the year, going 7 innings, striking out five batters and holding the Paladins to two runs. As a team, Appalachian only commited one error in the series, and that was in the 6-5 walk off win in game two of the series, which was also the first game that was a part of the Saturday doubleheader. Outside of the one run game, Appalachian scored fourteen runs twice in the series.

Probable Starters

ASU Sr. RHP Ryan Arrowood (9-0, 3.93 ERA) vs. FUR Sr. RHP Bobby Lyne (6-5, 4.99 ERA)

Ryan Arrowood became Appalachian’s all time winningest pitcher with a gutty performace over Furman in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. Arrowood (10-0) found trouble in the sixth inning, giving up three runs, but was able to work through seven innings and earn his tenth win of the season, and 27th of his career. Arrowood allowed four earned runs on eight hits and struck out five batters.

The Mountaineers found themselves in a 1-0 hole before picking up a bat. With one out in the bottom of the first, Tyler Zupcic drew a four pitch walk, and advanced to third base after a single by Will Callaway. Daniel Kassouf followed with a sac fly to right field to knot the score at one after the first inning.

Appalachian would take a lead in the fourth inning when Furman starter Bobby Lyne fell victim to his defense. Kassouf reached on error and Tyler Tewell was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. With one out, Trey Holmes doubled to score Kassouf. Preston Troutman walked which lef to a fielder’s choice RBI groundout by Noah Holmes. Hector Crespo walked which gave way to Zupcic, who singled in the final two runs of the inning. All in all, Appalachian scored four runs on two hits in the fourth inning.

Furman would make the game tight in the sixth inning, scoring three runs on three hits, but Appalachian would respond. Kassouf and Tyler Tewell both recorded sac flys to push Appalachian’s lead back to 7-4. An Appalachian error led to a Furman run in the seventh, but the Paladins could not  get the offense going as Ryne Frankoff and Nathan Hyatt would finish the game on the mound for the Mountaineers. Hyatt collected his fifteenth save on the season, extending the school record.

Eight Mountaineers would record ten hits on the evening, with Will Callaway and Trey Holmes recording two hits each. Tyler Zupcic and Daniel Kassouf recorded two RBI each. Hector Crespo and Preston Troutman walked twice. Appalachian will face Samford who was a 7-0 winner over Western Carolina tomorrow at 8pm.

Baseball: Regular Season Review

Posted on by
Reply

For a team that was predicted to finish in the middle of the Southern Conference at the beginning of the season, the results can be viewed from an outsider as one of an overachieving team. For baseball purists, any team that can win a title in the country’s eighth ranked conference by RPI, is a sign of a good team, not an overachieving one.

The Appalachian baseball gained their notoriety very early in the season. Appalachian started their season at the Elon Tournament, which was needed after St. Peter’s backed out of a series that was to be played in Forest City, NC. Appalachian fell to a somewhat unknown George Mason team in a 2-1 pitching duel. Mason finished their regular season at 33-22 and fourth place in the CAA. Appalachian then swept a doubleheader over Akron the following day. The first true road series came at nationally ranked Louisiana State. Heading into that series, winning one game was considered an accomplishment. The Mountaineers had other plans, winning the series with brilliant pitching performances from Ryan Arrowood and Rob Marcello. After leaving Baton Rouge, Appalachian was 4-2 and suddenly was being noticed by every major baseball outlet.

The Mountaineers followed the wins in Baton Rouge with ten straight victories, including two wins over Duke and series sweep of Davidson to start conferrence play. Next up, the 14-2 Mountaineers visited another nationally ranked program in South Carolina. Appalachian started the first inning with two home runs and four runs. Eventually, errors led to the Mountaineers misfortune and they fell 6-4. It was a quality loss, but one they felt like they gave away. Appalachian followed the loss to the Gamecocks with a home sweep of The Citadel before hitting the road for their first road conference series.

It was the Elon series where some trends for this team started to take place. Appalachian was 17-3 at this point in the season. In the three losses, Appalachian had commited 6 errors. At Elon, Appalachian faced a weather delay in the Friday game, committed three errors and lost 10-8. Appalachian won on Saturday, but lost on Sunday. At that point, their record was 18-5, and the Mountaineers had committed 10 errors in their five losses. Appalachian then won six of their next seven games, the only loss coming at home to College of Charleston. Once again, two errors were commited in that loss. However, the series victory over Charleston was another huge addition to the Mountaineers season resume.

Standing at 24-6, Appalachian was ranked for the first time by several baseball publications before heading to Gardner Webb for non-conference action. To this point of the season, Appalachian had a very clean record, without any bad losses. They were doing what they were supposed to, beating everyone that they should have beaten. However, the error bug once again bit Appalachian, as they committed a season high five errors in a 6-3 loss. Appalachian followed the midweek loss with a series loss to Georgia Southern on the road, including another game where four errors were committed. The error trend started to rear its ugly head. Pitching had been great, but the defense was suprisingly unreliable. It was a mental thing. Appalachian could go a couple games without an error, but when the first one occurred, it usually opened the flood gates.

After the 1-3 week, Appalachian fell out of the rankings. It was the first occurrence on the season of being ranked, and laying the proverbial egg the following week. Appalachian then rang off seven more victories in a row, which included a home sweep of Furman and a road sweep of Wofford. Appalachian was ranked again and then fell on the road at East Tennessee State. It was Appalachian’s second “bad loss” of the season and the scenario of being ranked and falling short of expectations had happened again.

Appalachian went into the home series against UNC-Greensboro really needing a sweep with two road series looming on the horizon. The Mountaineers opened the series with two one-run wins, but fell in the finale. It was another series where errors came into play, but in a different matter. Appalachian commited four in the first two games, but won in each case. In the third game, it was a single situational error that led to the loss. At that point, the Mountaineers had given a game back to Charleston, and could not afford any mistakes heading into their final two series.

Appalachian went to Samford needing wins and they got them with a series win. The error trend was starting to reverse itself once again. Four errors were commited in the wins, and none were commited in the loss. However, Appalachian’s magic number was lowered to two in order to clinch a share of the conference title. Surprisingly, the Mountaineers were ranked going into the final weekend, something not many were expecting. It seems the ranking may gotten in the players heads once again. Weather was also an issue for the final series at Western Carolina. Appalachian was shut out in six innings in the first game which was suspended until the following day due to weather. Appalachian came out swinging the final three innings, but it was not enough to pull off the win. The second was game also delayed due to weather. During the second game, Appalachian learned that Charleston had lost to Greensboro and only needed a win to clinch the title. Appalachian scored five runs in their final at bat and clinched the conference title in dramatic fashion. The Mountianeers lost the finale, another game where an error played a huge part of the final score.

Most likely, Appalachian will not be ranked heading into the conference tournament, which might be a good thing. At no point in the season did the Mountaineers play well with that distinction. Weather had broken up Appalachian’s rhythm most of the season. A total of four weekend series were affected by weather and four midweek games were cancelled due to downpours. The weather in Greenville for the conference tournament is expected to be warm and rain does not appear to be in play as of yet. Earning the top seed, Appalachian will have the most friendly start times for most games if they can remain in the winners bracket. Appalachian does have an advantage of playing in bigger venues this season, with their series at LSU, and midweek games at South Carolina and Duke, which was played in the Durham Bulls Park. Barring a total meltdown, Appalachian is most likely in the NCAA tournament without an automatic bid, but this week will determine where Appalachian is sent and what seed they are given in a regional. There is a huge difference between being a two seed and a three seed. A two seed usually means a short distance to travel, and being the home team in your first regional game, where the three seed can be sent packing on a long trip.

#24 Appalachian State Baseball (38-14, 21-9 SoCon) @ Western Carolina (32-22, 16-14 SoCon)

Posted on by
Reply

Three months ago, when Appalachian was picked 5th and 6th respectively by the SoCon coaches and media, it had to feel like a slap in the face to a team that was returning eight of nine positions players and four of five starting pitchers. The Mountaineers did lead the conference with five preseason all-conference selections, with Daniel Kassouf, Tyler Zupcic, Ryan Arrowood and David Port living up to their billing. However, a warm winter, and tons of hard work have put the Mountaineers in the position to capture their first league crown since 1987. On top of it all, the Mountaineers control their own destiny. In years past, the last series of the regular season was all about tournament seeding positioning, and in some years, working just to get into the tournament. The Mountaineers might be catching fire at the right time. Earlier in the season, winning on the road was a concern in conference play. The Mountaineers struggled at Elon and Georgia Southern, only able to to win one game in each of those series. In the last month, Appalachian has swept Wofford and won a series at third place Samford, two teams that are loaded with veteran pitching. That brings us to this weekend, with Appalachian needing two victories against a team that resembles Elon and Georgia Southern more than Wofford and Samford.

Western Carolina leads the league in batting average (.312) and total hits (569). Compared to the Mountaineers, Western is averaging one-third of a hit more than the Mountaineers per game. Appalachian is hitting .311 on the season and leads the SoCon in several other meaningful offensive statistics, including slugging percentage, on-base percentage, doubles, triples and steals. As noted, Western can hit the ball as well, as they are in the top half of the league with 36 home runs hit and may have one of the better top to bottom lineups in the league. Eleven different Catamounts have hit the long ball, with two players having hit seven on the season. Six Catamounts are hitting over .300. However, Appalachian’s pitching staff leads the league, only giving up 16 home runs on the season and sports the best fielding percentage in the conference.

Personally, I think this series comes down to which team plays the best situational baseball. Which team can get that clutch hit and who can get runners into scoring position more often. I also think that the late innings will be huge for both teams. Both teams have above average starting pitching and good closers. The Appalachian bullpen has been a little shaky in the last couple weeks, and Western has a bullpen that can give up its fair share of hits as well. Two of the most worked Catamount relievers, Adam Curtis and John Nadale, are giving up batting averages of .290 and .316, respectively.

Game 1

ASU Sr. RHP Ryan Arrowood (9-0, 3.66 ERA) vs. WCU So. RHP Jordan Smith (4-4, 3.19 ERA)

After multiple weather delays on Thursday evening, Appalachian headed to Friday afternoon with a five run deficit and down to its final nine outs. The game resumed with Appalachian batting in the seventh inning with a runner on first base. Trey Holmes and Preston Troutman recorded back to back singles to give Appalachian its first run of the game. Noah Holmes grounded out at the bottom of the order, but moved his brother and Troutman into scoring position with two outs. The top of the lineup, Hector Crespo and Tyler Zupcic both walked to cut Western Carolina’s lead to 5-2. Will Callaway singled up the middle in the next at bat to score two runs. Daniel Kassouf followed Callaway’s single with one of his own to tie the score at 5 at the stretch.

Appalachian scored another run to take its only lead of the game at 6-5 in the top of the eighth inning on another RBI hit by Preston Troutman. However, Western Carolina would put together a rally of their own, touching up Mountaineers Tyler Moore and Jamie Nunn for three runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Mountaineers could not muster a hit in the ninth inning. Momentarily, the Mountaineers have their backs to the wall, with only two games remaining to play and their magic number still stuck at two.

The rally by the Mountaineers got Ryan Arrowood off the hook for the loss, but at the same time, gave freshman Jamie Nunn his first career loss. Appalachian left seven runners on base for the game, with Tyler Tewell responsible for four of the stranded runners. Will Callaway and Preston Troutman were the only Mountaineers with multiple hits as they both recorded two hits and two RBI each. Jeremy Dowdy did not make the trip in order to rest his back for the conference tournament. Josh Zumbrook is the second catcher for the weekend in case Tyler Tewell is injured.

Game 2

ASU Sr. RHP Seth Grant (6-2, 2.82 ERA) vs. WCU Jr. LHP Morgan McKinney (6-3, 3.79 ERA)

For eight innings, Appalachian baseball could not come up with the clutch hit, leaving nine men on base while heading to the ninth inning without a run to their name. Much like the game from Thursday Night, the game was delayed from the onset by lightning. It was long enough to cool down the Mountaineer bats, which had scored six runs in the final three innings of Thursday’s game which resumed at 4pm on Friday.

Something happened in the ninth inning. Western Carolina picked up a huge insurance run in the bottom of the eight, which made Appalachian’s comeback bid that much more difficult. Western Carolina starter Morgan McKinney came out for the ninth, to attempt the complete game, at which time he had thrown 125 pitches. Trey Holmes led off the ninth inning with a single after startiing the count down 0-2 and fouling off three other pitches. Preston Troutman flied out the next at bat, which set the stage for freshman pinch hitter Alex Leach, who was stepping in for only his 19th at bat of the season. Leach fell behind early in the count before lacing an opposite field single to left on another two strike count. A fielding error allowed Holmes and Leach to move up to 2nd and 3rd base, respectively.

At the top of the lineup, Hector Crespo hit a slow chopper to the pitcher that he could not handle, and was able to reach base on error, loading the bases. Tyler Zupcic followed with a slow chopper up the first base line that was also tough for the pitcher to control and he beat the throw, scoring Trey Holmes. The lead had been cut to 4-1 with Appalachian’s most dangerous hitters waiting. Will Callaway singled through the right side of the infield, on another two strike count, scoring Leach. Western now led 4-2. A wild pitch followed that scored Crespo from third, and a throwing error back to the plate scored Zupcic, tying the game. Daniel Kassouf struck out, but another wild pitch by Western scored Callaway from third, giving Appalachian a 5-4 lead. It appeared Appalachian would tack on a few more runs with Tyler Tewell and Brandon Burris recording back to back singles, but Trey Holmes struck out for the final out of the inning.

Nathan Hyatt entered in the ninth and issued a pair of walks but shut down Western with a game ending strike out to secure Appalachian their first conference title since 1987. Earlier in the day, Greensboro came back from a 7-2 deficit to defeat Charleston 10-8. Throughout the evening, a roller coaster of emotions from a fan’s perspective had come to a thrilling end. A small celebration ensued at the mound after the final out was recorded. Outside of four innings, Appalachian had been dominated by the Western pitching staff in the first two games of the series. The regular season finale has no meaning outside of Appalachian securing the outright title with a win. Appalachian will play Furman on Wednesday at 5pm regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s games.

Eight Mountianeers connected on twelve hits, lef by Tyler Zupcic who was 3/5 with an RBI, and an outfield assist in the first inning that kept a run off the board. Brandon Burris and Trey Holmes added two hits each. Seth Grant worked seven innings, striking out five and only allowing one earned run. For Grant, it was his fifth stright start without a decision. Western closer Preston Hatcher was tagged with his first loss of the season, while Hyatt picked up a school record with his fourteenth save of the season.

Game 3

ASU Jr. LHP Rob Marcello (6-3, 4.28 ERA) vs. WCU Fr. RHP Jeremy Null (4-4, 4.88 ERA)

Appalachian had an opportunity to win the conference title outright with a Saturday win over Western Carolina. The top seed for the conference tournament was already in place, but winning the conference outright would have been icing on the cake. Appalachian started the scoring in the fourth inning when Will Callaway was hit by a pitch on a full count to put the leadoff batter on base. Daniel Kassouf stepped up and launched a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to give him his 17th home run of the season, breaking an Appalachian record that had stood since 1982, and was tied in 1986. Western Carolina would respond in the bottom half of the inning with a run, as the Mountaineers led 2-1 after four complete innings.

Western Carolina would score five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Rob Marcello was pulled after allowing two doubles and a HBP to start the inning. An error by Hector Crespo also contributed to the Catamount runs. Jordan Jessup finished the inning without an earned run considering inheriting one runner and two runners scoring on Crespo’s error. Appalachian would respond in the top of the sixth inning with four runs on only three hits. Noah Holmes knocked in two runs and scored in the inning.

The score would remain tied at six until the bottom half of the seventh inning. Jamie Nunn was able to record two quick outs with a strikeout and groundout before allowing a single and hitting a batter. A conference on the mound ensued that resulted on Nunn remaining in the game. His next pitch was sent over the wall by pinch hitter Dykota Speiss to give Western a 9-6 lead. Appalachian scored one run in the top of the ninth, but it was not enough as they fell 9-7 to end the regular season.

 

#24 Appalachian State Baseball (37-12, 20-7 SoCon) vs Gardner-Webb (28-25, 10-11 Big South)

Posted on by
Reply

First time in school history.

It has been a common theme for Appalachian State baseball this season. There have been so many instances, it is hard to cover them all. However, Appalachian added another school first to its resume this weekend. Appalachian comes into the final week of the regular season ranked 24th by Baseball America, which only ranks twenty five teams compared to other news outlets who rank thirty teams. The honor comes on the heels of winning its fourth series in a row, and second in a row on the road in conference play. Last weekend’s opponent, Samford, had a chance to win the conference going into the series, but Appalachian squashed those hopes with a 9-7 win on Sunday.

Gardner-Webb will be a different opponent for Appalachian on Tuesday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs are only 6-10 on the road this season, with wins over Wofford, North Carolina, Liberty, Charleston Southern, UAB and Prebyterian. The Bulldogs are 0-2 this season when playing a road game following a road win. Gardner-Webb will also be without the services of starting pitcher Andrew Barnett, who got the start against Appalachian earlier this season. Barnett did not get the win, but kept Appalachian guessing and struck out eight batter in 6.1 innings. Barnett was the starter for Gardner-Webb on Friday evening’s loss to Presbyterian. It’s a possibility that we see Matt Fraudin (1-5, 3.84) who has ten starts on the season. It also possible we see Brock Wilson (4-2, 3.37) who has started six games this year. Fraudin started on Saturday but only threw 44 pitches before being lifted. Wilson has only surrendered one home run in 34.2 innings of work and opponents bat .211 against him.

ASU Fr. LHP Jeffrey Springs (1-0, 4.82 ERA) vs. GWU Jr. RHP Brock Wilson (4-2, 3.37 ERA)

In somewhat of a surprising move, Chris Pollard handed the ball to freshman southpaw Jeffrey Springs against Gardner-Webb. It was Springs’ ninth apperance of the season and his first start since facing South Carolina on the road – 61 days ago. It was announced before the game that Springs would only throw about 50 pitches and his rust was apparent early on. Springs hit two batters, walked two and allowed a run and three hits in his three innings of work. Following Springs, seven other Mountaineer pitchers were needed to finish the game, including solid performances from Jordan Jessup (2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 4 K), Jamie Nunn (0.2 IP, 2 K) and Nathan Hyatt ( 1 IP, K, S), who tied a school record with his 13th save of the season.

Only five Mountaineers recorded hits on the evening with Tyler Zupcic leading the charge with three hits. Zupcic scored twice and raised his season average to .344. Brandon Burris started in right field as Tyler Tewell was behind the plate giving Jeremy Dowdy a much needed rest. Burris drove in two runs on one hit, and made a fantastic diving catch in right center field to keep a run off the board for Gardner Webb. Daniel Kassouf added a sacrifice fly and Preston Troutman also drove in a run and was walked once.

Appalachian has the chance to reach the forty win mark this weekend, (Thurs-Sat) with a series against Western Carolina. Appalachian’s magic number is two to win the conference title. Any combination of two Mountaineer wins of Charleston losses secures the championship and the first overall seed in the conference tournament. The difference between the first and second seed is massive. First seed would potentially play at 5pm on the first day of the tournament compared to 10am for the second seed, depending on where Furman finishes. Furman is the host institution and game times may be adjusted to allow the Paladins to play the 5pm game as long as it stays in the winners bracket.

Southern Conference Tournament Bracket

Appalachian State Baseball (36-12, 20-7 SoCon) @ Samford (33-19, 19-11)

Posted on by
Reply

Last weekend, the series against Greensboro was a big deal for Appalachian, and this weekend, the baseball games mean even more. The race is super tight for the SoCon regular season crown, and both Samford and Appalachian can make major strides to achieving their goals this weekend. Appalachian is in a good spot, controlling its own destiny, needing to win four of its last six conference games to secure the title. Samford really needs a sweep as they sit a game behind second place Charleston. Appalachian has to play its final six conference games on the road, and Samford is 7-5 at home this season against conference opponents. Those game include series wins over Citadel and Furman, taking three games from Western Carolina, and being swept by Elon. Samford had won seven in a row and eleven of twelve games before falling in the series finale at Georgia Southern last weekend.

This series will be a battle of offenses versus pitching. Both Samford and Appalachian have superior pitching staffs and high team batting averages. Appalachian hits .317 as a team compared to the .303 that Samford hits. Samford’s pitching staff edges out Appalachian with a 3.68 team ERA compared the the Mountaineers’ 3.72. This could be a very interesting series considering these powerful numbers for both teams. Most likely we will see a series very similar to the one at Georgia Southern. I doubt either team sweeps, but I can see one pitching duel, a one run game, and one blowout.

Probable Starters

Game 1

ASU Sr. RHP Ryan Arrowood (9-0, 3.77) vs. SU Sr. RHP Charles Basford (8-2, 3.87)

Two great performances by both starting pitchers resulted in neither one earning a decision. This game was up to the bullpens when Samford starter Charles Basford left in the eighth inning with runners on first and second base and one out. Samford reliever Joseph Burns balked the runners to scoring position before he threw his first pitch. Burns was able to force a groundout before a confusing intentional walk to the slumping Jeremy Dowdy with two outs. The second pitch to Trey Holmes hit him, which brought in the tying run heading into the bottom half of the inning.

Not to be outdone, Appalachian’s bullpen allowed a run on two hits with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to give the lead back to Samford heading into the final inning. Samford needed three outs to win the game. After Arthur Strauss was able to retire pinch hitter Brandon Burris, he issued a walk to Appalachian’s leading base stealer Hector Crespo. Strauss sandwiched a walk to Tyler Zupcic between Crespo stealing second and third base. Will Callaway endured a nine pitch at-bat and reached base on a fielders choice RBI that scored Crespo. With runners on first and second, Daniel Kassouf popped up in the infield. With the score now knotted at four runs apiece and still two outs, Samford’s bullpen had given up a lead in consecutive innings. Tyler Tewell would face Samford’s third pitcher of the inning, and he wasted no time. Tewell singled on the first pitch, scoring Zupcic and putting Callaway on third. Lex Rutledge would then balk, allowing Callway to score, and moving Tewell to second base. Jeremy Dowdy would then single on a 0-2 count to plate the fourth run of the inning for Appalachian on only two hits.

The bottom of the ninth inning was uneventful as Nathan Hyatt retired the side on seven pitches for his twelfth save of the season. Appalachian scored five runs in their final two at bats for the come from behind win. Rhyne Frankoff (1-1) was credited the win by striking out one batter in the eighth inning. Tyler Tewell collected two hits and two RBI, including his sixth home run of the season on a solo shot in the sixth inning. Hector Crespo and Tyler Zupcic also collected two hits. For Ryan Arrowood (9-0, 3.66), it was his fourth no decision of the season and he threw 100 pitches or more in his third consecutive start. Arrowood has also lowered his ERA in six straight starts. Arrowood only managed two strikeouts for the game, his lowest total of the season.

Game 2

ASU Sr. RHP Seth Grant (6-2, 3.08) vs. SU Sr. RHP Josh Martin (9-1, 3.42)

Since Samford’s bullpen gave Appalachian the win in the first game of the doubleheader, it was only fair for the Mountaineers to return the favor. Seth Grant pitched seven innings, only giving up four hits, but managed to find himself with his fourth consecutive no decision. Appalachian needed five pitchers in the eighth inning to retire Samford. The Bulldogs recorded five of their nine hits in the eighth and also took advantage of a two out walk to score four runs, which provided the final margin, giving Samford a 4-2 win.

Appalachian could only manage five hits and two runs against Samford starter Josh Martin, who went the distance to earn the complete game. Martin threw 120 pitches, striking out six Mountaineers and only walking one. Appalachian scored their two runs on Martin in the first inning when Crespo and Zupcic led off the game with singles. Callaway was able to reach base after a throwing error which scored Crespo and allowed Zupcic to advance to third base. Daniel Kassouf grounded into a double play, but Zupcic scored on the play. Four of the five Mountaineer hits came from its top three batters in the lineup. Appalachian scored two runs or less for only the fifth time all season and fell to 1-4 in those games.

Game 3

ASU Jr. LHP Rob Marcello (6-3, 4.04) vs. SU Sr. RHP Kyle Putkonen (2-5, 5.85)

In the all important rubber match, Appalachian took advantage of nine free passes and twelve hits  to hold off Samford for a 9-7 win. The Mountaineers were able to chase Samford starter Kyle Putkonen after only three innings, where he allowed five hits and three runs. For the third straight game, an Appalachian starting pitcher did not garner a decision, the first instance all season. Rob Marcello was able to get through 4.2 innings, but allowed nine hits and issued four walks.

Jeremy Dowdy might have broken his slump as he hit a two-run home run in the second inning. Dowdy exited in the fifth inning in what appears to be a move to rest him, considering catching a doubleheader the previous day. Hector Crespo, Will Callaway, Daniel Kassouf and Tyler Tewell all collected two hits each. Callaway, Kassouf and Tewell all recorded their 15th double of the season. Jamie Nunn (5-0) picked up the win in relief despite allowing two runs. Tyler Moore recorded his first save of the season, the only save not recorded by Nathan Hyatt this season.

With the series win, Appalachian eliminated Samford from conference title contention. Elon still has an outside chance if they were to sweep Citadel next weekend, Appalachian were to be swept by Western Carolina, and Charleston were to be swept by Greensboro. The likelihood of that happening is very slim, but its a possibility. Most importantly, Appalachian moved its magic number to two. The Mountaineers need a combination of wins or Charleston losses to clinch its first conference title since in twenty five years. Furman remains in eighth place, and would be Appalachian’s first round opponent if the conference tournament were to start today. Furman holds a one game lead over Greensboro for the final tournament spot and can clinch that spot with two wins over Davidson, as it holds the tiebreaker over Greensboro.

#28 Appalachian State Baseball (34-11, 18-6 SoCon) vs. UNC-Greensboro (22-23, 7-17 SoCon)

Posted on by
Reply

Appalachian hosts a critical series this weekend in a situation where a sweep is a almost a must if they want to win the regular season SoCon title. The Mountaineers have been flawless at home this season, with a sparkling 21-1 record. On the other hand, The Spartans are 2-10 on the road in conference play. Hopefully, the home stand can help Will Callaway get out of his slump. Callaway was batting over .400 earlier this season and has seen his average drop to .359. Pitchers Ryan Arrowood and Seth Grant will hit the mound for the last home start in their careers. Arrowood has several ASU records on the horizon, including all time wins and strikeouts. Daniel Kassouf will look to break the Appalachian all time home run record this weekend as well. Kassouf is one round tripper away from tying the school record. On the other hand, The Spartans are 2-10 on the road in conference play. Greensboro’s Trevor Edwards is the key to their offense. Edwards had 13 home runs a 31 RBI. UNCG has five batters with at least 46 or more hits, but there is a significant drop off after that. UNCG starting pitchers are below, but neither have pitched a majority of games in any weekend spot. It is likely you will see them all, but predicting who will pitch on any given day is a crapshoot at best.

Probable Starters

Game 1

ASU Sr. RHP Ryan Arrowood (8-0, 3.84) vs UNCG Fr. RHP Max Povse (2-3, 5.17)

For the first time in two weeks, Ryan Arrowood (9-0) had to work on one less day of rest, and had to respond after a long performance against Wofford last weekend where he threw 122 pitches. Arrowood left the game against the Spartans with a five run lead, where he hit the century mark in pitches for the second consecutive start. Arrowood struck out eight batters while walking three batters.

However, Greensboro was able to climb back into the contest on Mountaineer errors. Errors in the eighth and ninth innings scored four runs, with only one run being earned. Fielding has been a concern all season, and the Mountaineers are not the same team when they are putting up two or more errors in a game. However, Nathan Hyatt was able to calm down and eventually record his 11th save of the season by striking out the side in the ninth. A total of three errors were committed by Appalachian on the evening, giving up a total of four unearned runs.

Five Mountaineers recorded eight hits, with multi-hit efforts coming from Hector Crespo, Tyler Zupcic and Trey Holmes. For the first time in a long time, the heart of the Mountaineer order, Will Callaway, Daniel Kassouf and Tyler Tewell went hitless on the night, but did record three RBI and two walks.

Game 2

ASU Sr. RHP Seth Grant (6-2, 3.34) vs. UNCG So. LHP Dylan Hathcock (3-4, 3.72 ERA)

In most likely his last home start, Seth Grant did not disappoint. The senior went six innings and kept Greensboro off the scoreboard. Grant’s performance was not pretty as he allowed nine Greensboro hits on 110 pitches. However, it was the Appalachian bullpen that once again provided another underwhelming performance. A bad week for Jamie Nunn got worse when he gave up a two run home run in the eighth inning that allowed Greensboro to cut the Mountaineers lead to one run. Nathan Hyatt entered in the ninth and gave up the tying run with a four pitch walk. Tyler Moore struck out his only batter to give way to the Mountaineer bats in the bottom of the ninth.

Appalachian could not have asked for a better situation in the bottom of the ninth. Greensboro changed pitchers to a former starter who had been relegated to the bullpen late in the season. Daniel Kassouf was the first batter. Kassouf flinched on a knee high pitch that was called a ball. The next pitch was right where Kassouf wanted it. He hammered it over the left center field fence for the 5-4 walkoff win, which also gave Kassouf his 16th home run of the season, which tied the Appalachian all time single season record.

After suffering an eight pitch loss on Tuesday, Tyler Moore got the five pitch win on Saturday to up his record to 3-1 on the season. The teams combined for 27 hits, but only nine runs for the game. Both teams combined for leaving twenty-three runners on base. Every Mountaineer that picked up the bat recorded a hit with Tyler Zupcic leading the charge with three hits. Preston Troutman and Tyler Tewell also picked up two hits each.

Game 3

ASU Jr. LHP Rob Marcello (6-3, 3.66) vs UNCG Fr. RHP Lee Gilliam (2-2, 2.88 ERA)

Appalachian jumped out to a 7-1 lead through four innings and appeared it would cruise the rest of the day on its way to a sweep of Greensboro. In the fifth inning, the screws came loose and it fell apart the Appalachian pitching staff. Greensboro scored seven runs in the fifth and six innings and took a 8-7 lead with Appalachian down to its final twelve outs.

The Mountaineers were able to tie it in the seventh, but Greensboro once again answered. With two outs, a lazy ball was hit into right field. Tyler Tewell was not able to get a good jump on the ball, and it landed in front of him and then bounced over his head to give the Spartans the lead. The next batter drove in another run for Greensboro, which provided the final score of 10-8 in favor of the Spartans. Appalachian was able to get runners on in the eighth and ninth innings, but had double plays in both frames kill any chance for a rally. It was a disappointing loss, that will leave a bad taste in the players mouth while they head to exams this week, and will not play again until a doubleheader on Saturday at Samford.

SoCon Standings

Appalachian     18-6

Charleston        19-8

Samford          18-9

Elon              17-10

WCU             13-11

GSU               12-12

Citadel          11-13

Furman         9-15

At this point in the season, Appalachian controls its own destiny for a regular season conference championship, but also could finish as low as fourth place. Play this weekend will go a long way in determining the seeding for the conference tournament. Currently, Appalachian would face Furman in the first round, but that is not a certainty either. Only the top four teams are guaranteed spots in the tournament at this time.

#28 Appalachian State Baseball (32-10, 16-5 SoCon) @ East Tennessee State (22-27, 6-12 A-Sun)

Posted on by
Reply

Appalachian steps out of conference for the final time this season on the road when they face long time rival East Tennessee State. A game between the two schools was cancelled earlier this year due to inclement weather. Appalachian is coming off of its first road sweep of the season over Wofford. The Mountaineers vaulted back into the rankings this week due to the sweep and a midweek win over High Point. East Tennessee State looks to rebound from being demolished in the desert last weekend by then 11th ranked Arizona. The Bucs were outscored 51-17 by the Wildcats.

Probable Starters

ASU Fr. RHP Jamie Nunn (4-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. ETSU So. RHP Jake Long (2-6, 4.46 ERA)

Jamie Nunn had his worst start of his career, but did not get carded with the loss. Instead, it was the regular relievers who gave up Appalachian’s second “bad loss” of the season. After Hector Crespo’s third home run of the season to lead off the seventh inning, the Appalachian pitching staff fell onto some bad luck in the bottom of the inning. Ryne Frankoff retired one batter in the ETSU sixth inning, but came back and walked the first batter on four pitches in the sixth. Regular setup man Tyler Moore came in and through eight pitches, but four of them went for base hits. After the damage was done, Appalachian trailed 6-3 with only two at bats remaining. The Mountaineers traded runs with the Bucs in the 8th inning, but lost for the first time in eight games.

Despite the loss, there were several good performances turned out by Appalachian. Chad Farmer and Jordan Jessup maintained a one run deficit for four innings. They scattered three hits and recorded four strikeouts. First baseman Trey Holmes was 4-4 with an RBI, raising his average to .254 on the season. Preston Troutman (.277) was 3-4 with an RBI. Tyler Tewell (.391) was 2-4 and Brandon Burris was 2-5.