It was a long afternoon of baseball in Boone for App State, as they hosted 2 exhibition games against East Carolina University Sunday. The Mountaineers and Pirates split the contests, with App State winning the 6-inning game 8-1 and the Pirates prevailing in the 7-inning game 10-6.
Freshman outfielder Nico Soul was the star of the show in game 1 of the doubleheader. Soul crushed 2 no-doubt home runs in his first two at-bats: a blast to left field to lead off the bottom of the first inning, followed by a 2-run shot in the bottom of the second.
App State scored all 8 of their runs in the first four innings. Senior infielder Jake Mummau smoked a two RBI double to right center field in the first, senior outfielder Tank Yaghoubi crushed a 2-run homer down the right field line in the third and sophomore utility player Riley Luft rushed home from second base on a passed ball in the fourth.
The Mountaineers’ offense was complemented by stellar pitching in the first game. Five pitchers took the mound for the Black and Gold in the game, and they held the Pirates to just 1 hit.
Junior left-handed pitcher Tanner Nolan threw two scoreless innings and struck out two batters to start the game. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Conner Barozzino tossed a 1-2-3 inning, and graduate student right-handed pitcher Ethan Wilson struck out 2 in his inning of work. Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Nick DiRito gave up a walk but pitched a shutout frame. Senior left-handed pitcher Reyn Watson allowed a run and issued 3 walks but closed out the game with a couple of ground ball outs to secure the win.
Roughly 20 minutes after game one concluded, game 2 of the doubleheader got underway. Junior right-handed pitcher Gage Peterson took the mound for App State and tossed a scoreless first inning. Graduate student infielder and pitcher Steven Smith hit a single to begin the bottom of the first, coming around to score later in the inning to give the Mountaineers an early lead. Smith went 4-4 in the game and pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
East Carolina grabbed the lead in the third on some sloppy defense by the Mountaineers, who committed 2 errors and gave up 2 runs as a result. The Mountaineers took back the lead in the bottom of the third, courtesy of a 2-run single by senior outfielder Charlie Evans.
The Pirates loaded the bases in the fourth and capitalized on the opportunity, scoring 2 on a single to right field and another run on a fielder’s choice. App State responded with Smith roping a double down the left field line that plated 2 runs and tied the game at 5-5.
East Carolina regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly and grew their advantage to 5 with an offensive outburst in the seventh, scoring 4 runs on 4 hits. The Mountaineers got a run back in the bottom of the seventh but could not overcome the deficit, and the Pirates clinched the 2-game split.
App State outscored East Carolina 14-11 and out-homered the Pirates 3-0 across the 2 games and 13 total innings of play. East Carolina is a baseball powerhouse, making the NCAA tournament in each of the last seven full seasons, and advancing to three Super Regionals in that time span.
App State has no more scheduled exhibition games in the fall. The Mountaineers have not released their 2026 schedule, though their season traditionally starts mid-February.
