Women’s Basketball 77 Wofford 50

The Mountaineer women will face Wofford in the annual Play4Kay game for cancer research. Wofford is 0-5 on the road this season in conference play despite taking Appalachian to two overtimes earler this season. Wofford has yet to beat an Appalachian team coached by Darcie Vincent despite several close calls over the years. The Mountaineers have won eleven in a row in the series and really needs a win to keep pressure on the teams in front of them in the conference standings.

Chattanooga 14-1 .933 8-0 6-1 0-0 W11 21-3 .875 11-0 9-3 1-0 W11
Davidson 11-2 .846 5-2 6-0 0-0 L1 14-9 .609 6-2 7-6 1-1 L1
Appalachian State 9-4 .692 5-1 4-3 0-0 W1 15-6 .714 7-1 6-5 2-0 W1
Elon 9-5 .643 6-1 3-4 0-0 L2 12-11 .522 9-2 3-9 0-0 L2
Samford 9-6 .600 6-2 3-4 0-0 W1 12-12 .500 8-3 4-9 0-0 W1

Postgame:

This game was never in reach for Wofford. Appalachian jumped out to leads of 8-0, 15-5, and 29-14 before leading by fifteen points at halftime. Appalachian extended that lead throughout the second half en route to a 27 point victory, one where Appalachian actively pursued scoring on their last possession of the game. Anna Freeman hit a layup at the end of the shot clock, with two seconds remaining in the game to make the final score 77-50.

In a game where Appalachian dominated from start to finish, the Mountaineers hit the glass for the highest rebounding margin of the season, yet still seem to give up plenty of offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers led the battle of the boards 51-37, but nearly half of Wofford’s boards were on the offensive glass. This has been a problem for Appalachian all season long, and there does not seem to be a cure in the near future.

Wofford had problems hitting shots all game long. The Terriers only shot 28.3% from the field, 17.6% from behind the arc, and only 50% from the free throw line. In all, Appalachian made thirteen more made field goals than Wofford, shooting just under 50% for the game while also hitting fifteen of their twenty free throws.

Four Mountaineers scored in double figures, led as always by Anna Freeman, who scored 19 points and secured her second straight double-double, and third in her last five games. Anna now has six double-doubles on the season, this one no doubt being one her best with 15 rebounds. Maryah Sydnor finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Raven Gary scored 10 points and added five assists, without recording a turnover. Courtney Freeman finished with 11 points.

Baseball 6, #8 NC State 3

Coming into the game, it was already going to be a tall task for Appalachian to match the memorable season from a year ago. Add to it, Appalachian had to face off against a nationally ranked, in-state opponent who was giving the ball to the best pitcher in the nation. North Carolina State advanced to the NCAA Super regional a year ago and Carlos Rodon went 9-0 with a 1.57 ERA in the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference. Rodon had not lost a game he pitched since his junior year in high school until Friday against Appalachian.

The Mountaineers earned five of their six runs via the long ball, as freshman center fielder Jaylin Davis smacked a three run homer on the first pitch he saw in his college career. Davis finished with two hits in his college debut. If that wasn’t enough, defensive specialist third baseman Noah Holmes hit a solo shot in the second inning. Preston Troutman added another solo shot in the fourth inning. Holmes and Troutman batted in the bottom third of the lineup for basically all of 2012.

Jamie Nunn pitched well enough, perhaps his best start of his career since defeating Duke last season for his first win. Nunn (1-0, 1.50) allowed only three hits to a career high twenty-four batters faced, adding five strikeouts to only two walks. Taylor Thurber relieved Nunn in the seventh going 1.2 innings, holding the lead while only giving up one run on one hit. Tyler Moore got the Mountaineers out of a huge jam in the 8th inning with a big strikeout. Rob Marcello pitched a perfect ninth for his first career save.

This win will give the Mountaineers some much needed confidence for the rest of the weekend, only needing to win one more game this weekend to take the series. Jeffrey Springs, who we believe is the most complete Mountaineer pitcher will get the ball on Saturday, a game that was was moved up three hours to avoid potential winter weather. The Mountaineers should feel right at home if the weather turns cooler, especially after such an uplifting win on opening day.