Baseball (4-1) takes two games from Butler

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Charles

NOTE: While basketball is still in season, baseball updates will be abbreviated to series entries. Once the SoCon Basketball Tournament concludes, regular baseball entries will return.

Appalachian won the home series over Butler by splitting the doubleheader on Saturday and winning the rubber match on Sunday afternoon. Both games were played in very cool weather, as Saturday was overcast, while Sunday was sunny, but very windy. Pitching was the difference all weekend long for the Mountaineers.

In game one, Jamie Nunn struck out six batter in seven innings, while only giving up two runs on five hits to get his second win of the season. Appalachian scored four runs in the sixth inning which brought on mostly by a three-run home run by first baseman Alex Leach. Jaylin Davis hit his second home run of the season , a solo shot, on a laser to left center field that never elevated over twenty feet in the air when it went out. Taylor Thurber finished the last innings of the game in a non-save situation giving the Mountaineers the 6-2 win.

In game two, Jeffrey Spring struggled for the second time this season. Many of the hits Butler got off of Springs were just finding the holes as nothing was really hit with too much power behind it. Springs was pulled in the fourth inning after giving up nine runs on nine hits. Only five of his runs were earned as Appalachian committed five errors in the game. Noah Holmes was uncharacteristic with three errors and Will Callaway was charged with two. Butler banged out 17 hits in the 12-7 win. Freshman Preston Tiller and Dillon Dobson were given starts in right field and first base respectively.

In game three, Appalachian got a decent start from Sam Agnew-Wieland. Also known as “The Hypen”, Agnew-Wieland had a rough fourth inning, giving up five runs in the frame, but otherwise put up six zeroes on the board through seven innings. Sam struck out seven batters, while only walking one. Alex Leach hit his second home run in as many days, this one a solo shot in the third inning. Brandon Burris added a two run homer in the four run seventh inning for the Mountaineers. The Hypen earned his second victory of the season while Tyler Moore worked a scoreless eight inning and Rob Marcello pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season.

Appalachian is now 4-1 on the season and will face off against High Point (5-2) on Tuesday.

SoCon Baseball	SoCon					Overall
Team	Record	Pct	Home	Away	Neutral	Record	Pct	Home	Away	Neutral
Furman	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	5-1	.833	5-1	0-0	0-0
Appalachian State	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	4-1	.800	3-1	1-0	0-0
Samford	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	6-3	.667	4-1	1-1	1-1
Davidson	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	4-2	.667	4-1	0-1	0-0
Georgia Southern	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	4-2	.667	3-2	1-0	0-0
UNCG	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	4-2	.667	4-2	0-0	0-0
Citadel	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	4-3	.571	3-1	1-2	0-0
Elon	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	4-3	.571	2-2	2-0	0-1
Wofford	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	4-3	.571	4-2	0-1	0-0
College of Charleston	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	3-4	.429	3-1	0-1	0-2
Western Carolina	0-0	.000	0-0	0-0	0-0	3-4	.429	3-1	0-0	0-3

Baseball 13 Canisius 6

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Charles

After the NC State double header was minimized to a single game, and then to cancelling the final two games of the series, Appalachian returned to Boone for their home opener against Canisius. NC State coach Elliot Avant basically said it was too cold and windy to play baseball on Sunday. The temperature in Raleigh on Sunday was right at 34 degrees at 1pm. Last year, Appalachian played in snow against Rider and in flurries against High Point. Several times last year the wind was recorded over 20 mph when games started at Smith Stadium. We didnt realize agriculuture came to a halt when the weather turned uncomfortable in Raleigh.

Appalachian started their game against Canisius with a 45 degree temperature and 6 mph wind, at 3pm. By the time the game ended, three hours later, the temperature had fallen to 38 degrees and the wind was gusting to 15 mph. We call that another day in the High Country, but surely the Wolfpack would have needed some long johns.

Despite the cool weather, Appalachian’s bats were hot early on in the game. After hitting three home runs on Friday against NC State, Appalachian hit three home runs in the second inning on Monday afternoon. Preston Troutman led off the inning with his second home run of the season. Two batters later, Josh Zumbrook homered on a 1-0 count to left field. Three batters later, Dillon Dobson hit his first home run as a Mountaineers over the left field pitch on the first pitch of the at bat. The four run second inning was the highlight of the day, as Appalachian scored in five of their eight at bats, amassing 13 runs on 15 hits. Preston Troutman (.500) led all batters with three hits, while Josh Zumbrook (.250), Brandon Burris (.222), Alex Leach (.250), and Dillon Dobson (.250) collected two hits each. Hector Crespo (.111) was the only Mountaineers to record an at bat without a hit.

Jeffrey Springs started the game on a pitch count, and it took him 75 pitches to get through three innings, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits, striking out 4, but walking two and hitting two others with pitches. Springs did not last long enough for the decision, which went to Sam Agnew-Wieland, who went 4.1 innings in relief. Sam A.W. also walked two batters and hit two others, while giving up 6 hits, and 2 earned runs while striking out three. Ryne Frankoff finished the game without giving up a hit but walked 2 batters just like his predecessors. It was not a pretty day on the mound, and that is going to happen, but it was extremely nice to have the bats to back it up.

C-Notes: Jamie Nunn was named SoCon Pitcher of the week for picking up the win against NC State…. Appalachian hosts Butler in a Saturday doubleheader and third game on Sunday…Weather is not looking good for baseball this weekend.

Baseball 6, #8 NC State 3

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Charles

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.

2013 Appalachian State Baseball Preview

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Charles

Luckily, I was able to in take a few innings of Appalachian’s final scrimmage before their opening series this weekend at NC State. It was hard to keep track of the players, considering the players were not wearing their numbers. It seems the team has not had as much live action as they did last year when the winter was milder in Boone.

The relatively young pitching staff will be depended on heavily this season. Returning are sophomores Jamie Nunn and Jeffery Springs who are expected to be the Friday and Saturday starters. Both Springs and Nunn had great freshman campaigns. Nunn finished 5-2 with a 4.24 ERA in twenty-three appearances, six of them being starts. Nunn spent time in the bullpen in the last half of 2012. Springs was 2-1 in twelve appearances, five starts and held a 4.80 ERA. In a weird twist, last year’s 2012 Sunday starter Rob Marcello has been moved to the closer role, where he will look to fill in production lost from Nathan Hyatt who had 16 saves in 28 appearances. Marcello had trouble getting deep into games last season. Filling in the third starter role will be junior college transfer Sam Agnew-Wieland, who began his career at Georgia State. The right-hander is considered a strikeout pitcher, but will also give up a lot of singles. His 2011 Georgia State statistics can be found here. At Middle Georgia College in 2012, Agnew-Wieland started fourteen games and went 7-3 with a 2.36 ERA with three complete games, while leading the staff in innings pitched (84.0). If Agnew-Wieland does have a weakness, he tends to hit batters quite often. His full 2012 stats can be found here.

In 2012, Appalachian had a memorable season and went to the NCAA regional for the first time in decades. Outside of their starting pitching, the Mountaineers got plenty of run support from their experienced lineup. That lineup lost several seniors to graduation and juniors to the minor leagues. Tyler Tewell was expected to catch this season, but was drafted by the Atlanta Braves after playing right field exclusively last season. Expect Preston Trouman to take over in right field. In center field, Appalachian expected to see the return of Tyler Zupcic who was injured last year in the regional against Oklahoma. Zupcic suffered a setback in rehab late last year and is expected to redshirt. His loss will affect the leadership and run production at the top of the Mountaineer lineup. Taking over in center field for Zupcic will be the freshman Jaylin Davis, who has similar tools as Zupcic. Davis can cover ground in the outfield and will be expected to steal some bases. Brandon Burris will likely be in left field. Burris spent time at several positions in 2012, but was mostly effective in left, and his bat will be counted on as he is one of the toughest outs on the team.

The infield does not see nearly the turnover as the outfield. Alex Leach will start at first base, taking over for the graduated Trey Holmes. Hector Crespo and Will Callaway provide a very solid middle infield on defense and offense. Both have the green light to steal bases and will likely be at the top of the lineup. Third base is a question mark. Noah Holmes has always played great defense at the hot corner, but his bat is shaky. Freshman Dillon Dobson could see time at third base if he can swing the bat. Dobson is maybe the best true athlete on the team. Josh Zumbrook will likely start the season at catcher, but expect to see a rotation behind the plate. Alex Minton was Zumbrook’s high school teammate at West Wilkes, so expect some competition at the position between the former teammates.

Expecting the season Appalachian had last season is a lot to ask for. Even the SoCon writers and coaches feel the Mountaineers will take a step back. The media picked Appalachian to finish fourth while the coaches picked the Mountaineers to finish sixth. Four points separated fourth place Samford, fifth place Georgia Southern and Appalachian in the coaches poll. In the media poll, Appalachian edged out Georgia Southern by one vote and Western Carolina by four votes.

Predicting the season:

Predicting a baseball season is tough, but we will try it for the first time ever. The Mountaineers are scheduled for 56 games, thirty of those in conference. I think the Mountaineers can easily win 15-17 games in conference play. There is a fine line between the top six and the bottom five in the conference.

The 26 non-conference games include NC State, Butler, Cornell and Gonzaga in three game series. Two games series are scheduled with North Carolina A&T, Georgia, ETSU, High Point and UNC-Asheville. Single games will be played against Canisius, Eastern Kentucky, Campbell and North Carolina. I expect the Mountaineers to also win 16-17 games in non-conference action. So, in the end, I think we are looking at a team that can go 32-24 give or take a few games and rainouts. Appalachian will only be as good as their pitching staff this season, which is very young, but also talented. Middle relief will be heavily relied upon early on. Run production will come, and Appalachian will need a find a way to replace the base stealing, and extra base hits that the team excelled in last season.

@GoASU Memorable Games #2

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Charles

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th

Game 2: Baseball 6, Virginia 5

We ranked this game at the #3 spot in our countdown. This was a truly memorable game considering what was at stake. Both Appalachian and Virginia were playing for the right to be beaten twice in a regional championship. The game was played a day late, but brought a great crowd on a Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville. The Mountaineers jumped on the Cavaliers early with six runs in the first two innings. Seth Grant pitched his heart out before giving way to Ryne Frankoff and Nathan Hyatt to close the game.

We improved to 18/29 in the countdown and will most assuredly guess the top game correctly, which we believe is the 1-0 Baseball win over LSU.

@GoASU Memorable Games 9-5

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Charles

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th

Games 9: Women’s Indoor Track wins SoCon Title

We had this moment ranked 8th on our countdown. Our track and field program has been so dominant, it should be news when we they don’t take home the title. The women ran away with the title by over 40 points. Our record moves to 12/22 for the challenge

Game 8: Women’s Basketball Claims share of SoCon Regular Season Title

We totally disagree with this selection, mainly because of what it might take away from this team as the countdown progresses. It was nice to win the conference title, but we get a feeling this team is already tired of that being their accomplishment in conference play. This team wants to go earn the berth the NCAA tournament, not clinch a top seed at the conference tournament. This game was nowhere near our countdown and its a huge miss. We fall to 12/23.

Game 7: Men’s Track and Field wins SoCon Title

We had this meet ranked 14th overall. As we mentioned above, the track and field teams are so good at Appalachian, and our only real threat on the men’s side has been Western Carolina. This was the third win in a row and 18th overall for the men. We get our game back and move to 13/24.

Game 6: Women’s Outdoor Track wins Conference Championship

Seems like the countdown is stuck on repeat, but that’s not a bad thing in this case. This gives us our 14th correct guess on the countdown out of 25 games picked.

Game 5: Baseball 5, Western Carolina 4

This was a game that could have taken home top honors as well. The Mountaineers scored five runs in the top of the ninth to clinch their first SoCon title in 25 years. This game was extra special as a rain delay gave the Mountaineers the information they needed. Charleston had lost to UNCG and all the Mountaineers needed to do was win and they did it in the most dramatic fashion. That moves us to 15/26 on the countdown.

With four games remaining, it will be interesting to see what games were selected to top the previous moments. Football will certainly make another appearance, and it is likely Baseball could make two more appearances. Does Women’s Basketball sneak in and grab another game?

@GoASU Memorable Games 15-10

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles

Catching up with the GoASU memorable games countdown starting on July 4th.

Game 15: Women’s Golf Repeats at Low Country

This was a pretty simple pick. Like the Men’s golf team, this was their only tournament victory of the season so we felt confident about this pick. Most likely the only appearance by the Women’s golf team on the countdown. Yue Xu added on to her stellar career with a third place overall finish. This victory gets us back to. 500 on the countdown at 8/16.

Game 14: Baseball 5, Oklahoma 4, NCAA Regional opener

We obviously had this game ranked on our countdown, but we were way off in ranking it. We had this ranked at #7, considering how long it had been since the baseball team even appeared in the NCAA tournament, much less get a win in the opening game. Ryan Arrowood took a no-hitter deep into the game and the Mountaineers held off the Sooners in the final innings. We will take the win in the countdown to move us to 9/17, but this was still somewhat of a miss. We just thought this game meant so much more.

Game 13: Wrestling 21, Chattanooga 17

With consecutive games, or moments we have misjudged the importance of a game to a particular team. We had this game ranked at #5 in our countdown. This was the match that wrestling had to win to have a chance at winning the title and they took to the road and made it happen. We will still take it and that moves our record to 10/18, with our third straight victory.

Game 12: Relay Squad breaks school record, finished 14th at Nationals

Let’s call this miss a baseball hangover. This was a memorable moment but it occurred in the shadows of the baseball season. It’s a miss for us and we totally whiffed on putting this in our countdown. Our winning streak comes to a halt at three and dropped us to 10/19 for the challenge.

Game 11: Baseball wins series with 11-1 beating of LSU

This one does not make sense to us. This game we felt had potential to be considered at the top spot for the most memorable games. This game or moment coming in at 11th is confusing. We had this game ranked at the #2 spot overall. Either the 1-0 win over LSU in baseball is more memorable than the series clinching win or it does not make the countdown. We are not buying it, but will gladly take the win to move us to 11/20 in the countdown.

Game 10: Wrestling 39, Davidson 10

This one is more confusing than Game 11. This game is the equivalent of beating Western in football to win the conference title. You have to do it, and yes, the result gives you an outright title, but is winning the game memorable? In Wrestling, 39-10 is a beat down. It is very similar to a 60-21 football win. Yeah the match starts without a score, but it was over before it started. Mark us down for a top ten miss and our tenth miss and this likely puts us out of the running (11/21) for winning the challenge.

Baseball: Billy Jones named Head Coach

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Charles

This story hit the social media world last night. GoASU has a full biography and group of quotes from colleagues. Jones seems like a blue collar guy who knows how to identify talent, which in baseball, is a vital asset to have in order to build a program. Jones has helped recruit and teach a number of major league players in his time at Oklahoma State, Arizona State, North Carolina State and Oregon State. It does say a lot about him that he coached at schools from power conferences, rich with baseball tradition.

The link here is obvious with Jones spending three seasons at NC State from 2002-04 while current Appalachian athletic director Charlie Cobb was also employed by the Wolfpack. If there is one sour note to this hire, is that Billy Jones was an assistant on a staff that was just recently replaced at Oklahoma State. It happens all the time in college athletics, but if that is the only red flag on his resume, Appalachian should be in good shape. This may cause some turnover on the current roster as is expected, but it will be interesting to see which players stick around. It will also be interesting to see if Jones keeps Chris Moore or Craig Scheffler on the staff.

Tyler Tewell and Nathan Hyatt drafted by Atlanta Braves

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Charles

The Atlanta Braves selected OF/C Tyler Tewell and P Nathan Hyatt in back to back rounds on Tuesday in the MLB Amatuer draft.

Hyatt was selected in the 13th round, (#419 Overall) while Tewell was selected in the 14th round (#449 Overall).

Hyatt set a single season record for saves with sixteen, and is still only two saves away from the career saves record at Appalachian. Hyatt worked exclusively as a closer in 2012 for the first time in his career. Hyatt has a fastball that has potential in the upper 90’s.

Tewell was drafted as a catcher, but played right field for the majority of the 2012 campaign. Tewell finished the season batting .357 with 6 HR and 45 RBI. As a catcher, Tewell has great speed, which led to him leading the team in doubles, triples, and hits.

Seth Grant Senior Season Starts