App State baseball welcomed North Carolina A&T State University to Boone for a special 12-inning exhibition game Friday night. The Mountaineers’ offense shone, doubling up runs against the Aggies, with 18 runs in the 5-hour ballgame.
With it being an exhibition game for players to practice in a competitive environment, App State head coach Kermit Smith made sure the newest additions to the team played to see how they fared. Freshman outfielder Nico Soul, sophomore infielder Ethan Puig, senior infielder Jake Mummau and senior outfielder Tank Yaghoubi were just a few of the new Mountaineers who took the field to start the game.
Soul showcased excellent power and speed, hitting a leadoff triple to begin the bottom of the first and followed it up with a double to right center field in the second inning. Mummau, a transfer from Florida Gulf Coast University, played third base and collected 2 hits. Puig, a former Miami Hurricane, smacked a line drive to center field for an RBI single in the third inning and played third base for the latter portions of the game. Elon University transfer Yaghoubi ripped a base hit in the second inning and scored twice.
Several returning players had an impact on the game as well. Graduate student infielder Joseph Zamora went 4-4 with a stolen base in an exceptional performance.
Redshirt junior infielder Jonathan Xuereb smoked two RBI singles during his time in the lineup. Sophomore utility player Riley Luft had an RBI double and played all 3 positions in the outfield as Smith made defensive changes throughout the game.
App State’s offense fired on all cylinders during the game, scoring 18 runs against the Aggies. Junior first baseman Kameron Miller hit the lone homer of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, a blast to left center field. Miller hit 12 home runs last season, the second-most on the 2025 team.
10 pitchers took the mound for the Mountaineers. Junior left-handed pitcher Tanner Nolan started the game and tossed 2 shutout innings. Junior right-handed pitcher Gage Peterson threw 2 scoreless frames, and the Aggies collected only 2 extra-base hits in 12 innings of play.
North Carolina A&T scored 7 runs across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings; however, App State had built up a huge lead after scoring 16 runs across the first 6 innings, so their advantage kept them ahead. The Aggies scored a run in the tenth and eleventh innings but did not overcome the huge deficit, and the Mountaineers cruised to victory.
Overall, the Mountaineers looked sharp at the plate and solid in the field. The team turned several double plays, including a “strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out” executed by senior right-handed pitcher Carter Stanford and redshirt freshman catcher Brooks Wright in the top of the sixth inning. After Aggies infielder JT Taylor got a base hit, Stanford struck out catcher Tyler Smith on three pitches, and Wright threw out Taylor trying to steal second base immediately after Taylor was retired.
App State will have another opportunity to assess its team when the Mountaineers host East Carolina University on Oct. 26 for their second exhibition game of the fall season.
