Mountaineer baseball took the series win 2-1 over the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs this weekend. The series was the first to be played in Boone this season, but the final game had to be moved to Hickory due to weather.
Friday, the Mountaineers took a 12-7 win on the backs of redshirt junior outfielder John Kramer who had 3-4 with 3 RBIs as well as 1 walk and sophomore first baseman Kameron Miller who went 2-3 with a homer, 4 RBIs and a walk.
Neither team could muster any offense in the first or second innings but in the bottom of the third, senior infielder Joseph Zamora and Kramer each drove a run home, taking the lead 2-0.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs responded in the top of the fourth, scoring 3 runs in the inning to take the lead.
The Mountaineers tied it in the bottom of the inning, with freshman infielder Tyler Lichtenberger driving home a run on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3.
App State broke the game open in the fifth, scoring 6 runs, including a 2-home run blast from Miller.
The Mountaineers added 2 more runs in the sixth inning courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Miller and an error on a pickoff attempt.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs made a run, scoring 2 runs in the seventh and eighth, but the Mountaineers extended their lead with a run on a Miller single in the eighth to consolidate their lead, taking the win after shutting down Gardner-Webb in the ninth.
“It was awesome to be back on the field,” Miller said. “Just being able to see ball flight in Boone and really focusing on what we needed to do and the approach and we stuck to it.”
Saturday, App State was shelled in a high scoring affair and were unable to keep up, losing the game 16-14 despite strong performances from Miller and Church.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs took a lead in the first on a 2-home run by Dale Francis Jr.
The Mountaineers responded quickly to take the lead back, with runs being driven in by Kramer getting hit by a pitch, Miller walking and senior catcher Braxton Church hitting a sacrifice fly.
Gardner-Webb tied it up in the second on a single, but the Mountaineers responded in the third and fourth, scoring 4 unanswered, highlighted by a double by redshirt freshman outfielder Dillon Moquin.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs took back the lead 9-7 after Francis hit a 2-run bomb in the fifth and a grand slam in the sixth with an RBI single by infielder Ryan Kennell in between.
The Mountaineers cut the lead to 1 with a RBI hit by pitch for freshman utility player Riley Luft.
Gardner-Webb extended the lead by 6 runs in the seventh, highlighted by another grand slam from Francis.
App State responded by matching them with 6 of their own in the bottom of the inning, with most of the runs coming from walks and hits by pitches, but were punctuated by a 2-RBI single from Lichtenberger to make the score 15-14.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs extended their lead to 2 when Francis was intentionally walked with the bases loaded to not give him an opportunity to extend the lead even more.
The Mountaineers were unable to close the lead and the series was even going into game three at LP Frans Stadium in Hickory.
App State took the victory in game three after junior pitcher Reyn Watson, graduate student pitcher Bradley Wilson and redshirt junior pitcher Liam Best didn’t allow a run in the last 3 innings.
Moquin had a standout performance on the day, going 4-4 with an RBI and a walk.
“I was just seeing the ball really well today,” Moquin said. “Ended up putting good swings on the ball and you know, good things happen when you put the ball in play.”
App State jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, where Moquin, Luft, Lichtenberg and sophomore infielder Tyler Figueroa each drove in a run.
Gardner-Webb evened it up in the bottom of the third, but the Mountaineers drove in another 4 runs in the bottom of the inning taking an 8-4 lead.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs pulled the lead back to within 1, but a wild pitch allowed the Mountaineers to score another run to pad their lead.
Neither team could muster anything on offense the rest of the game and App State took the win and the series.
This is the Mountaineers’ second series win in a row and improves their record to 6-5.
