App State baseball opened the 2026 season with authority, sweeping Canisius University in a 3-game series in Hickory over the weekend. App State gave Duke University quite the scare Tuesday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before the Blue Devils rallied back to hand the Mountaineers their first loss.
Canisius struck first against the Mountaineers in both programs’ first game of the season Friday. The Golden Griffins loaded the bases against junior left-handed pitcher Tanner Nolan in the top of the third inning, and scored when Nolan hit a batter, forcing in a run. Nolan struck out the next Golden Griffin to end the threat.
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Nick DiRito took over for Nolan on the mound after the third inning, and he pitched 3 straight scoreless innings in his App State debut.
Senior infielder Jake Mummau was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from redshirt freshman catcher Brooks Wright, tying the game.
App State took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a 2-RBI single from junior designated hitter Kameron Miller, which got the Mountaineers dugout cheering.
The Golden Griffins got a run back in the top of the seventh inning, but DiRito picked up 2 quick outs to end the rally. App State added 2 runs in the bottom of the eighth with RBI singles from sophomore infielder Ethan Puig and junior outfielder Drew DuPont, and the Mountaineers held on to win, 5-2.
The Mountaineers and Golden Griffins played a doubleheader on Saturday due to inclement weather on Sunday. App State cruised to a 13-3, seven-inning victory in game one of the doubleheader.
Canisius scored a run in the top of the third inning, then App State responded with a 5-run outburst in the bottom half of the inning. Freshman outfielder Nico Soul ripped an RBI double to left center field. Miller singled back up the middle to score Soul and take the lead.
Sophomore utility player Riley Luft drew a bases-loaded walk that drove graduate student infielder Joseph Zamora in, and graduate student infielder Steven Smith smacked a 2-RBI double to cap off the inning.
Both teams traded runs in the fifth inning, and the Golden Griffins scored 1 more in the top of the sixth. App State answered with another 5-run explosion, with Miller in the center of it once again. The Preseason All-Sun Belt selection came up to bat with the bases loaded and promptly cleared them with a scorching double to right center field. DuPont drove home Miller with an RBI triple, and scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 11-3.
Freshman catcher Colton Denton scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh, and with the bases loaded, Miller was plunked by a pitch, triggering the run rule and ending the game at a 13-3 final score.
Game three of the doubleheader began with both teams scoring a run in the first inning. The Golden Griffins took a 3-1 lead with a 2-RBI single in the top of the second, but App State cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
Canisius scored twice in the third inning to make it a 5-2 game and put the Mountaineers on the ropes. However, the Golden Griffins blew their lead in the home half of the inning. They gave up 2 bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch, allowing App State to tie the game at 5.
The Black and Gold took the lead on a long home run over the left field wall from Luft in the bottom of the fifth inning. Smith scored on a fielding error by the Golden Griffins in the sixth inning, and DuPont hit an RBI single that scored Zamora in the bottom of the eighth for good measure.
App State won 8-5, securing the series sweep and earning head coach Kermit Smith his 200th career win at App State.
The Mountaineers traveled to Durham to face Duke Tuesday afternoon, and made their presence known with a 428-foot leadoff blast from Soul on the second pitch of the game.
App State grew their lead to 3-0 with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and bases-loaded walk.
The Mountaineers maintained their 3-run lead until the bottom of the third inning, when the Blue Devils plated 4 runs on shaky pitching by the Black and Gold. Duke added to their lead with a 2-RBI single in the fourth inning.
Zamora scored on an error by the Blue Devils’ first baseman in the top of the fifth inning to make it a 2-run deficit. However, Duke got that run right back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single.
Duke scored 3 more runs in the eighth inning, and while Miller scored in the top of the ninth on a fielder’s choice, the Blue Devils won 10-5.
The Mountaineers host North Carolina A&T State University in Boone Friday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+, then face the Aggies again in Hickory Saturday at 1 p.m., which will be broadcast on appstatesports.com. App State battles Southern Illinois University in Hickory Sunday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the weekend, with the game being streamed on ESPN+.
