App State baseball bashed their way to a series win against the University of Louisiana-Monroe last weekend in Boone, racking up 34 runs across 3 games. The Mountaineers bookended a loss on Saturday with 2 convincing victories Friday and Sunday to continue their climb up the conference standings.
The Warhawks struck first Friday with 2 runs in the top of the third inning. Junior designated hitter Kameron Miller drove in the Mountaineers’ first run in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly, but ULM answered with a 2-run home run in the top of the fourth.
The Warhawks’ lead evaporated in the bottom of the fourth when App State rallied for 3 runs. Senior infielder Jake Mummau ripped an RBI double then scored on a wild pitch, and sophomore utility player Riley Luft hit a bloop single that allowed senior outfielder Charlie Evans to score the tying run.
Miller unloaded on a 3-1 fastball and sent a 432-foot moonshot into the woods behind left field, giving App State a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on his first home run of the season.
ULM tied it with their second homer of the night in the top of the sixth inning courtesy of designated hitter Marcus Aranda, but the Mountaineers answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth. Luft slashed an RBI single up the middle to reclaim the lead, and sophomore infielder Ethan Puig looped a base hit to center making it 7-5.
App State tacked on 2 runs in the seventh inning and 4 more in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Max Tramontana closed the door on the Warhawks in the ninth, securing the 13-5 victory.
The Warhawks started Saturday with an RBI groundout in the top of the first inning, but App State countered with a 5-run explosion in the bottom of the first. Redshirt junior first baseman Jalen Seward cracked a 2-run single down the left field line. Miller made it 3-1 when he scored on a wild pitch, and Mummau belted his first home run of the year, a 2-run shot, over the right field wall for a 5-1 lead.
ULM plated a pair in the top of the third inning, but the Black and Gold responded with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning with situational hitting and good baserunning. By the end of the fourth inning, the Mountaineers held a 8-3 advantage.
The Warhawks scored on a throwing error by junior right-handed pitcher Gage Peterson in the top of the fifth inning. The wheels came off for the Mountaineers in the sixth, as ULM scored a half dozen runs in the inning on 4 hits, the last of which was a 2-run home run by Aranda.
ULM added 4 runs across the seventh and eighth innings, making it 11 unanswered runs for the Warhawks. App State finally responded in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single, but the Mountaineers couldn’t climb out of the hole and lost 14-9.
The series finale Sunday started as the first 2 games of the series did, with ULM grabbing the early lead on an RBI double in the top of the first. Luft scored on a wild pitch in the home half of the inning, and Miller gave App State the lead when he scored on a sacrifice fly by redshirt junior infielder Jonathan Xuereb.
The Mountaineers delivered 4 runs in the third inning and forced ULM to not only pull their starting pitcher from the game, but use 2 relief pitchers to stop the bleeding.
Junior left-handed pitcher Tanner Nolan quieted the Warhawks’ bats and recorded a quality start, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings of work before handing the reins to the bullpen.
ULM’s offense woke up in the seventh inning, driving across 2 runs making it 6-4.
App State ran away with the series finale with a 6-run bottom of the seventh. Despite recording only 3 hits in the inning, the Mountaineers sent 12 batters to the plate and turned the ULM bullpen gate into a revolving door, as the Warhawks called upon 5 different relievers.
ULM pitchers issued 3 walks and hit 3 batters in the inning. The big swing in the seventh came from Evans, who punched an RBI triple into the right field corner. Evans hit 3 triples across the weekend and extended his hitting streak to 18 consecutive games.
Not to be outdone by his bat, Evans made a spectacular diving catch in center field for the final out of the top of the eighth inning. Evans is statistically one of the best defenders in the country, recording 12.15 defensive runs saved as of April 13 according to d1baseball.com.
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Jordan Fisher sat down the Warhawks in order in the ninth, and App State clinched the series with a 12-4 win.
The Mountaineers improved to 7-8 in Sun Belt play, good for ninth in the standings based on tiebreakers with 5 conference series remaining.
