Category: College

By Matt Present. CARBONDALE, Ill. — App State got out to a 5-0 lead on the road but was unable to hold on down the stretch, as the Mountaineers dropped the series opener to Southern Illinois 7-5 on Friday.

Bradley Wilson delivered a quality start for the Mountaineers, allowing three runs over six innings, while striking out five. He didn’t allow a run in five of his six innings of work. Wilson retired 12 in a row at one point in his outing, and despite allowing a three-run home run in the fifth inning, bounced back to work a three up, three down sixth to complete his night.

App State (7-2) jumped in front in the third inning on a solo home run from Austin St. Laurent, his third of the season.

The Mountaineers followed with a four-run fifth, sending 11 men to the plate in the frame. CJ Boyd extended his hitting streak to seven in a row with a leadoff single through the left side, and St. Laurent followed with a single to center to put runners at the corners. After a walk to Braxton Church, Drew Holderbach laced a two-run double, giving the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead.

One batter later, Adam Quintero ripped an RBI single to plate Church and Holderbach and make it 5-0. Quintero joined St. Laurent with two hits in the ballgame.

After cutting into the lead with the three-run homer in the bottom half of the frame, the Salukis added a pair of runs in the seventh and in the eighth to tie and take the lead.

App State was limited to just two hits after the four-run fifth inning.

The Mountaineers and Salukis will play the middle game of the weekend series on Saturday, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. ET.

By Zach Smith. BOONE, N.C. — With over 7,000 fans in attendance, App State looked to make history when they faced Arkansas State on March 1. The Mountaineers secured their program-record 26th win over the Red Wolves, 80-57.

Tre’Von Spillers recorded his tenth double-double of the season, netting 15 points and matching that total with 15 rebounds. Seniors Donovan Gregory and CJ Huntley scored 15 and 12, respectively, in their final game at the Holmes Center. Gregory added on a game-best four assists.

Arkansas State was led by a 14-point performance from Taryn Todd, while Izaiyah Nelson grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

For the second game in a row, the Mountaineers imposed their will early. App State opened the game with 11 of the contest’s first 13 points, quickly jumping out to a nine-point lead. Arkansas State brought the game back to within three points later in the first half, but App State responded with a 10-0 run. The Mountaineers went into the locker room with a 14-point advantage at the half.

With just 20 minutes separating App State from program immortality, energy in the Holmes Center was at fever pitch. Although the Red Wolves tried to mount a comeback, the Mountaineers put any hopes the visitors had to bed. With a comfortable 23-point lead, App State called a timeout with just under a minute on the clock. Gregory and Huntley each walked off the court and head coach Dustin Kerns gave the nod to fellow senior Bryant Greene. With each of the 7,074 fans on their feet, Greene walked onto the floor for the final time as a Mountaineer. 

App State’s victory marked their program-record 26th win of the 2023-24 season. The Mountaineers also secured sole possession of a regular season title for the first time in nearly 50 years, while capping an unblemished record on home court. Kerns spoke on the significance of his team’s historic victory, postgame.

“Just an awesome night for App State University and our athletic program, and certainly our basketball program,” Kerns said. “Setting the program mark for wins with 26, [most in] program history, is a big deal. First Sun Belt regular season championship, first regular season championship since 1978, that’s a long time.”

Fresh off his team’s 26th win, Kerns was asked to compare this season to other significant campaigns in App State’s history.

“I don’t want to discount those other great teams,” Kerns said. “They’ve been here, you know, there’s different conferences or different schedules. Certainly by the numbers, we’ve had the most wins in program history. So I think we’ve joined the conversation, but there’ve been some really good teams that have come through here and we’re excited to be celebrating with all of them.”

“This has been very surreal”

Bryant Greene played in his final regular season game as a Mountaineer in App State’s victory over Arkansas State. Greene compared the atmosphere in the Holmes Center this season to his freshman year.

“This has been very surreal,” Greene said. “I think for all of us, especially for me and Don [Gregory] getting here freshman year, coming to games and seeing like 400 people in the gym and now, getting to senior night in our fifth year and there’s 6,000 people and we’re playing for a regular season title. It’s just very surreal and a very amazing experience.”

App State also set a program record in attendance over the course of the 2023-24 season. Fans at the Holmes Center never saw a loss at home. Gregory explained what it means to the players to have that support from the fans.

“I think it’s just a direct correlation, how good we played at home,” Gregory said. “Just having those fans, having that support, it just makes you want to go out there and play even harder. I think everybody coming to the games is a big part of the reason why we went undefeated at home.”

CJ Huntley echoed that appreciation for the fanbase.

“This just feels crazy, really,” Huntley said. “Just all the students and fans and everything like that, just their support for us. It just means the world to me, so I appreciate it.”

App State shot at a 49 percent clip to secure their historic win, besting Arkansas State’s 35 percent mark. The Mountaineers out-rebounded the Red Wolves, 48-38, and improved on their nation-best blocks per game with seven swatted shots. App State never trailed Arkansas State.

The Red Wolves are locked in the No. 4 seed for the upcoming Sun Belt tournament, securing the last double-bye. Arkansas State’s quarterfinals matchup is set for March 9 at 2 p.m. Central Time, with the opponent to be announced following the March 7 second round games. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.

App State clinched the Sun Belt regular season title with their win over the Red Wolves. The Mountaineers return to action March 9 at 11:30 a.m. Central Time, with their opponent to be determined. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

By Zach Smith. BOONE, N.C. — Looking to clinch the top seed in a conference tournament for the first time in nearly half a century, App State faced Old Dominion at the Holmes Center Feb. 28. The Mountaineers picked up their 25th win of the 2023-24 season, defeating the Monarchs, 89-64.

App State was firing on all cylinders, securing a dominating victory. Four Mountaineers scored in the double figures, led by an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double courtesy of Tre’Von Spillers. Christopher Mantis netted 12 points while Donovan Gregory and Terence Harcum posted 11 each to round out the home side’s top scorers.

Old Dominion saw 15-point performances from Tyrone Williams and Chaunce Jenkins. Williams was the top rebounder for the Monarchs, grabbing five boards.

The game began with a scoring drought of nearly three minutes from both sides. Gregory’s opening layup then opened the floodgates for the Mountaineers, who went on to score 24 of the contest’s first 28 points. With a comfortable 20-point margin, App State remained focused through the rest of the first half. The Mountaineers extended their lead at the end of the period, treating the 4,785 home fans to a 25-point halftime lead.

ODU looked to rally in the second half. The Monarchs drew the game to within 15 points, but App State immediately put thoughts of a miraculous comeback to bed via their ensuing 11-0 run. The Mountaineers dominated ODU, defeating the visitors by 25.

App State head coach Dustin Kerns shared his thoughts on the Mountaineers’ convincing win over Old Dominion.

“I thought we came out with some fire in our eyes,” Kerns said. “I thought we came out and imposed our will early, I thought it was very balanced, I thought we set the tone defensively. We had nine assists before we had a turnover and I thought we played a really good game.”

In recent games, App State has found themselves trailing in the second half, but have prevailed due to their depth. Kerns spoke on his team’s ability to jump in front early against Old Dominion.

“It felt good tonight to be up 25 at the half, which we’ve done before in non-conference,” Kerns said. “I was proud of our guys for coming out with some attitude from the start. It really felt like our guys came out and they knew they had a job to do.”

“they couldn’t keep me off the glass”

Tre’Von Spillers led the Mountaineers’ dominant effort on the glass in their statement victory, grabbing a season-high 16 rebounds. Spillers talked about his impressive performance.

“We saw that at some points they had small guards,” Spillers said. “I just felt like that’s a better opportunity for me to go and grab rebounds. Even when they had their bigs in, I still feel like they couldn’t keep me off the glass. Just going in there with the energy that I play with, it helped us a lot tonight.”

App State’s victory over Old Dominion secured the top seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament for the Mountaineers. The Black and Gold also clinched at least a share of the conference regular season title. Kerns spoke on what it means for the program to be at the top of the league.

“I think it’s a bigger deal than maybe a lot of people realize, us finishing first in the regular season with at least a share,” Kerns said. “We control our own destiny with that. When you talk about Sun Belt basketball and you talk about App State basketball being on top, that’s a big deal.”

As a team, App State shot at an impressive 51 percent clip, compared to ODU’s 38 percent mark. The Mountaineers out-rebounded the Monarchs, 47-27, and held the visitors without a single second-chance point. Once App State gained the lead, they never lost it, earning a wire-to-wire victory over Old Dominion.

“you talk about App State basketball being on top, that’s a big deal”

With the loss, ODU is secured in the bottom spot of the Sun Belt standings. The Monarchs travel to Georgia Southern March 1 for their regular-season finale. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m., and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.

App State clinched at least a share of the Sun Belt regular season title with their win over the Monarchs. The Mountaineers look to break the program record for wins in a season March 1, as they take on fourth-place Arkansas State on Senior Night. Tipoff for the potentially historic night at the Holmes Center is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It took almost three minutes before either host App State or visiting Old Dominion found the bottom of a net at the Holmes Convocation Center on Feb. 28, but once the Mountaineers’ Donovan Gregory rolled in a layup, App State didn’t know how to stop.

And, they played defense, too. When Tre’Von Spillers electrified the crowd with a dunk and Christopher Mantis elevated the pandemonium with a “three” just 16 seconds later, App State led 24-4 and led coast-to-coast in this 89-64 AppNation thriller.

Almost 5,000 people (4,785) witnessed what can only be called a “statement” game by the Mountaineers. If anyone doubted their supremacy at the top of the Sun Belt Conference in 2024, they should be thinking again after this performance. Now in his fifth year of building the App State men’s hoops program, Dustin Kerns brought together a balanced team featuring three big men in Spillers, Justin Abson, and C J Huntley, and surrounded them with perimeter shooters who can also drive fearlessly down the lane in Terence Harcum, Myles Tate, Donovan Gregory, Xavion Brown, Jordan Marsh and Christopher Mantis.

With the win, App State tied the program record of 25 wins in a season. The earlier team was in 2006-07, when the Mountaineers went 25-8. Houston Fancher was the App State head coach then and the team was competing in the Southern Conference.

App State also secured the No. 1 seed for the Sun Belt Conference tournament that begins next week in Pensacola, Fla. It marks the first time for a one seed in a conference tournament since 1978-79. During that campaign competing in the SoCon, the Mountaineer lineup featured centers Mel Hubbard (6-8) and Charles Payton (6-5), as well as guard Darryl Robinson and forward Renaldo Lawrence.

The home win in the Holmes Center was the 14th straight, tying the facility’s record for wins in a season with one more game to play on Friday, Mar. 1.

Among the most impressive stats for Wednesday’s home game against Old Dominion was “zero,” reflecting the number of second chance points scored by the Monarchs. Afterward, Spillers told reporters that it is being first to the ball on a missed shot. In other words, rebounding.

“You have to hit first,” said Spillers. “That’s the biggest thing in rebounding is to hit first on defensive rebounds so they don’t get a second chance.”

Overall, the Mountaineers outrebounded the Monarchs by 20 (47-27), including Spillers recording his ninth double-double of the season — and he did it by the first half when he took 11 points and 12 rebounds into the locker room at intermission.

Helping the Mountaineers gain scoring separation vs. the Monarch were three made 3-pointers by Christopher Mantis within roughly three minutes around the midpoint of the first half. His third “three” at the 9:51 mark of the opening half gave App State a 22-point lead at 32-10. With Gregory, Spillers and Tate leading the way for the rest of the half, the Mountaineers closed to a 25-point lead at the half, 51-26. The 51 first half points was the most the Mountaineers have scored against a Division I opponent during the current campaign.

Now with a 6-game winning streak (14 consecutive wins at the Holmes Center), App State will look to turn back the 4th-place Arkansas State Red Wolves on Fri., March 1, 6:30 p.m. It is also Senior Night, when the Mountaineers will celebrate the careers of Donovan Gregory, Bryant Greene and C J Huntley.

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By Matt Present. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — App State used a pair of big innings offensively, climbing out of an early hole in the third and taking the lead in the seventh, on their way to a 9-6 win over ETSU on Feb. 27 at Thomas Stadium.

Trailing 4-1 after two innings of play, App State (7-1) came back to tie the score in the third. CJ Boyd led off with a single off the second base bag, and Austin St. Laurent was hit by a pitch to begin the inning. Banks Tolley then ripped a double to the left-center field gap to score Boyd. One batter later, Braxton Church lined a gapper in a similar spot to plate a pair and tie the score at 4-4.

After the Bucs regained the lead with a two-run sixth, App State was quick to answer in the top of the seventh. After Joseph Zamora was hit by a pitch to begin the frame, the lineup turned over for Boyd, who clobbered his fourth home run of the season to straight away left field to tie the score.

St. Laurent then followed with a single up the middle to continue the rally, and Tolley belted his second double of the ballgame one batter later to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the contest. Tolley came into score later in the inning on a wild pitch to give the Mountaineers an 8-6 lead.

Grey LaSpaluto (win, 1-0) picked up the win in relief, striking out four batters in 2.1 innings of work while allowing just one hit and no walks.

Tyler Tuthill also allowed just an unearned run in his second outing of the season, striking out two, while Zach Lewis (save, 1) earned the team’s first save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning of work.

Tolley finished the day 3-for-5 at the plate, adding a home run in the ninth inning, his third of the season, to provide App State an insurance run. The Mountaineers have now hit 16 home runs though eight games on the season.

App State makes the trek to Carbondale, Ill. For a three-game weekend series against Southern Illinois. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET, with the middle game on Saturday slated for 3 p.m. The series finale against the Salukis is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.

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By Bret Stelow. BOONE, N.C. — Ranked No. 24 in the country, App State Wrestling closed the regular season with a 45-3 home win against Gardner-Webb on Senior Day in Varsity Gym.
 
The Mountaineers (10-4, 7-1 SoCon) won 62 of 70 individual matches in their seven SoCon victories during the regular season, including nine of 10 on Sunday against the Runnin’ Bulldogs (7-9, 3-5). Will Miller (165 pounds), Luke Uliano (174), Chad Bellis (125) and Kaden Keiser (in the 149 finale) all recorded pins for App State, which earned at least one bonus point in all nine victories.
 
Tommy Askey opened the dual with a tech fall at 157, while wins by major decision came from Carson Floyd (197), Triston Norris (season debut at heavyweight), Ethan Oakley (133) and Ike Byers (141).
 
Gardner-Webb’s Jha’Quan Anderson, a two-time NCAA qualifier ranked 28th at 184 pounds, won a 7-3 decision against freshman Tomas Brooker.
 
The Mountaineers improved to 66-6 in SoCon duals over the past 10 years. Miller needed just 99 seconds to record his pin, and Keiser ended the dual just 43 seconds after he took the mat for his first start at 149 pounds. He opened the regular season with a start at 141.
 
Before the dual, App State recognized four wrestlers on Senior Day: Byers, Cody Bond, Jacob Sartorio and Heath Gonyer.
 
The 2023-24 season is presented by Hungry Howie’s and Penn Station. App State is back in action on Saturday, March 9 as the host school for the 2024 SoCon Championship tournament at the Holmes Center.
 
App State 45, Gardner-Webb 3
157: #19 Tommy Askey (APP) def. Tyler Brignola (GW) 21-5 tech fall (5:16)
165: #22 Will Miller (APP) def. Andrew Wilson (GW), fall (1:39)
174: Luke Uliano (APP) def. Samuel Mora (GW), fall (4:33)
184: #28 Jha’Quan Anderson (GW) def. Tomas Brooker (APP), 7-3 dec.
197: Carson Floyd (APP) def. Josh McCutchen (GW), 9-1 maj. dec.
HWT: Triston Norris (APP) def. Edison Flores (GW), 11-1 maj. dec.
125: Chad Bellis (APP) def. Matthew Rowland (GW), fall (6:04)
133: #27 Ethan Oakley (APP) def. Aedyn Concepcion (GW), 14-2 maj. dec.
141: Ike Byers (APP) def. Tyler Lamon (GW), 14-3 maj. dec.
149: Kaden Keiser (APP) def. Sam Harris (GW), fall (0:43)

By Jacob Plecker. RALEIGH, N.C. – It was a great day at the plate for the App State Mountaineers, tallying 20 total hits and 10 runs, which led to a doubleheader split in the Wolfpack Classic finale on Sunday. The Mountaineers defeated Cleveland State 8-1 to begin the day before falling to the host NC State 6-2 in the finale.

App State (7-5) played a complete game on both offense and defense in the day’s first game against Cleveland State (3-5) as the Mountaineers jumped in front in the third inning and never looked back. A three-spot in the third inning courtesy of an RBI single by Peyton Darnell and a two-RBI triple by Killian Roberts gave App State a lead it never looked back from in game 1.

Roberts recorded her best game of her young Mountaineer career against Cleveland State, scorching three hits and driving in a season-high four runs. She accounted for half of App State’s runs in the first game. Darnell continued her strong showing at the Wolfpack Classic with three hits and two more RBIs. She’s driven in 14 runs through the first 12 games in her Mountaineer career.

Overall, 10 Mountaineers recorded at least one hit against the Vikings, including Ambry Lucas’ first hit of the season. Three different players tallied multi-hit games.

It was another strong outing for left-handed pitcher Kaylie Northrop as she quieted the Viking bats all game, tallying five scoreless innings and striking out six. Jenna Samuel came in for her second appearance in the Black and Gold and closed things out to secure App State’s third win of the weekend.

In game 2, it was Darnell who started the Mountaineers in front with an RBI single to give App State a lead against ACC opponent NC State (12-3). The Mountaineers led at the end of the first three innings, but a four-run sixth for the Wolfpack offense pushed them ahead to the win.

Sejal Neas provided the Mountaineers with another great start as she pitched 5.1 strong innings before being lifted in the sixth inning. She struck out two in her outing and kept the Wolfpack to just four hits with runners on base.

For the weekend, the Mountaineer staff was excellent as they allowed just eight runs across the four games.

How it Happened: Game 1: App State 8, Cleveland State 1

The Mountaineers saw a runner reach base in every inning as they tallied 15 hits in the game. On the defensive side, Kaylie Northrop continued her brilliant stretch in the circle as she extended her scoreless inning streak to 20, picking up her fourth win of the year.

App State immediately got its day started courtesy of a lead-off single from Kayt Houston, marking her fifth hit of the weekend. Nothing came after that for App State in the first, but a clean inning from Northrop in the bottom of the inning kept the Vikings at bay and held the game scoreless after an inning.

The second inning saw the Vikings see their first baserunner of the game reach, but two straight punchouts from Northrop stranded the runner at second as she recorded her first two strikeouts of her outing.

Northrop’s clean inning brought life into the App State dugout as they immediately took the lead in the third inning thanks to four hits and three runs. First, it was Abby Cunningham who singled through the left side to tally her first hit of the game. Then Grace Barrett reached via a bunt single, and Darnell promptly scored Cunningham on the first pitch she saw in her at-bat. It was Darnell’s fourth straight game with an RBI.

A fielder’s choice advanced both runners into scoring position, allowing Killian Roberts a chance to drive in a pair of runs. She did just that, smoking a ball into right-center field that scored Barrett and Darnell, giving App State a three-run lead.

The defense stepped up with a lead in the bottom of the third, keeping the Vikings off the board. The Mountaineers fed off their defense again, scoring four more runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding lead.

Hits from Taylor Chumbley and Addie Wray got things started in the fourth and both were advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Cunningham. Chumbley scored from third on a fielder’s choice to plate App State’s fourth run and then two more hits from Barrett and Darnell doubled the Mountaineers’ run total as both players tallied RBI hits.

Capping off the inning, Roberts scorched another RBI single into right and scored the seventh run, making it back-to-back multi-run innings for App State.

Northrop finished her stellar outing with three more strikeouts over the next two innings, keeping the Vikings off the board and extending her scoreless inning to streak to 20 before Samuel relieved her. Northrop tallied 16 strikeouts across two games on Saturday and Sunday.

The Mountaineers scored again in the sixth courtesy of Roberts’ fourth RBI of the game. Sunday marked her second multi-RBI game of her Mountaineer career.

The Vikings recorded their lone run in the sixth inning, but Samuel tallied a clean seventh inning to finish off the Vikings in game 1.

Game 1 Notes

Home runs
App: N/A
CSU: N/A

WP – Kaylie Northrop (4-0): 5 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Dakota Staffan (0-1): 3 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts

Game 2: NC State 6, App State 2

App State led for five of the seven innings in game 2 against NC State, but a four-run sixth inning from the Wolfpack propelled them ahead to the win.

The Mountaineers started strong in the game, taking an early lead courtesy of Darnell’s fifth straight game with an RBI. She recorded a hit in every game this weekend and raised her season batting average to .500.

Sejal Neas took the ball first for head coach Shelly Hoerner and worked around a lead-off single to keep the Wolfpack off the board. A slick double-play turned by Grace Barrett cut off the runner at second and a strong throw from Roberts nabbed the runner at first.

Neas pitched well with runners on base in game 2 as she allowed just four hits with runners on base in the game. Her ability to work around traffic paid off in a big way in the second inning as she stranded two runners in scoring position with her first two punchouts of the game.

Neither team scored through the next 1.5 innings as both pitchers continued to work solid games. The Wolfpack tied the game in the fifth inning, however, scoring on a fielder’s choice for their first run of the game.

App State immediately answered in the fifth inning and took the lead right back with another two-out RBI from Kayt Houston. Addie Wray slapped a single that stayed fair down the left-field line and was advanced to third base after two straight productive outs. After a pitching change, Houston put a ball in play to shortstop and legged out an infield hit to score Wray and give the Mountaineers a 2-1 lead after 4.5.

NC State tied the game back up at two in their half of the fifth inning with a solo homer off the bat of Hasler. The Wolfpack kept App State off the board in the sixth and scored four more runs to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. App State fought hard in the game and showed its resilience after a long weekend full of delays and time changes, but the gas ran out as the Mountaineers fell 6-2 in the weekend finale.

Overall, it was a solid weekend for the squad as they finished 3-1 and moved their record to 7-5. The pitching staff allowed just eight runs all weekend.

Game 2 Notes

Home runs
App: N/A
NCSU: Hasler (6)

WP – Aisha Weixlmann (5-1): 2.1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Sejal Neas (2-3): 5.1 IP, 7 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts

Up Next

In a quick turnaround, the Mountaineers hit the field again on Tuesday, traveling to Johnson City, Tenn. to face the ETSU Buccaneers in a doubleheader at Betty Basler Field. First pitch from game 1 is set for 4 p.m.

By Joey Jones. ELON, N.C. — App State tennis standout Savannah Dada-Mascoll powered the Mountaineers to wins in both her singles and doubles matches on the road Sunday, but App State fell 4-3 to Elon.

App State (3-4) claimed the doubles point early after Dada-Mascoll teamed up with Naledi Manyube to win 6-3 on court one, and Maggie Pate and Taya Powell clinched the team point on court two with a dramatic 7-6 (11-9) finish in a tiebreaker.

With Powell unavailable for singles action, App State’s lineup fell just short of being able to come through for the team victory over Elon (6-4).

Dada-Mascoll earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Elon’s top player Sibel Tanik on court one, giving the Mountaineers’ ace her fourth straight singles win in the last four team matches.

Pate captured App State’s other point with her 6-2, 6-1 singles win on court two. She has now won her singles match in five of the last six outings.

Up Next
After playing the last four matches on the road, the Mountaineers return home for back-to-back home matches on Friday against Duquesne and Saturday against Western Carolina. Stay tuned for updates on the location of those matches.

The 2023-24 tennis season is presented by Hound Ears Club.

Results vs Elon

Doubles

• Savannah Dada-Mascoll/Naledi Manyube (APP) def. Lizette Reding/Sibel Tanik (ELON) 6-3
• Maggie Pate/Taya Powell (APP) def. Madison Cordisco/Mariana Reding (ELON) 7-6 (11-9)
• Simone Bergeron/Ella Suk (ELON) def. Brooke Demerath/Brooke Gruber (APP) 6-3

Singles

• Savannah Dada-Mascoll (APP) def. Sibel Tanik (ELON) 6-4, 6-4
• Maggie Pate (APP) def. Lizette Reding (ELON) 6-2, 6-1
• Mariana Redding (ELON) def. Naledi Manyube (APP) 6-3, 6-0
• Ella Suk (ELON) def. Brooke Gruber (APP) 6-4, 6-3
• Helen Sarikulaya (ELON) def. Riley Collins (APP) 6-1, 6-3
• Simone Bergeron (ELON) def. Peri Tippins (APP) 6-0, 6-1

By David Rogers. HICKORY, N.C. — Senior righthander Dante Chirico gave up three runs on six hits in five innings of work on Feb. 25 at L.P. Frans Stadium but still picked up the win with a lot of help from the middle of the App State batting order. The Mountaineers completed their weekend sweep of the Siena Saints, 10-6, to improve their early season record to 6-1.

Chirico was credited with his first win of the season after the first three Mountaineer batters in the bottom of the fifth inning each launched solo home runs off of Siena starting pitcher Connor Byrne. Batting third in the order, centerfielder Banks Tolley was the first to hit a dinger, clearig the centerfield wall on a 2-0 pitch. Designated hitter Braxton Church followed with a shot over the right field fence and first baseman Drew Holderbach put an exclamation point on the Mountaineers’ “meat of the batting order” with an HR that cleared the left centerfield fence.

The three moonshots were enough to chase Byrne before Evan Saulys was brought in by Siena head coach Alex Jurczynski to quiet the App State bats. While the freshman hurler wriggled out of the rest of the fifth inning without allowing any further damage, he didn’t fare so well in the bottom of the 6th as he was credited with allowing three runs on two hits before giving way on the mound to junior transfer (from UConn) Ramsey Collins.

The Mountaineers’ mid-innings power surge was not the only hot offensive production. Leftfielder CJ Boyd got only one hit in six at-bats on the day but it was a big one: a solo blast to leadoff the bottom half of the first inning. Holderbach followed Boyd in the first with a double down the left field line that scored teammate Austin St. Laurent.

The Mountaineers used only three pitchers in relief the rest of the way and they combined to give up three runs on four hits in the final four innings to mostly quiet the Saints’bats.

Meanwhile, App State padded its margin of victory with two more insurance runs in the 8th inning, manufactured when catcher Tommy Walker laced a sacrifice fly to center, scoring pinch runner (for Church) Grey LaSpaluto. Then, second baseman Joseph Zamora rapped an RBI single to right, scoring Holderbach from second.

Top Mountaineer Performers

• 3B Austin St. Laurent: 3-5, 2 runs scored
• DH Braxton Church: 2-3, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, HR, 2 BB
• 1B Drew Holderbach: 2-3, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, HR, 2B, 2 BB
• CF Banks Tolley: 1-5, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, HR
• LF C J Boyd: 1-6, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, HR