App State baseball defeated the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs 8-7 Tuesday night using a two-run RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.
Senior pitcher Trey Tujetsch got the start for the Mountaineers in the midweek contest, his eighth of the season.
The Black and Gold kickstarted the scoring early, with senior outfielder CJ Boyd hitting a double in App State’s first at-bat of the game. That was followed by a home run for redshirt junior third baseman Austin St. Laurent to make it a 2-0 ball game after the first.
The Bulldogs utilized an RBI single in the top of the third to cut the deficit to one, but the Mountaineers responded quickly with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning from senior outfielder Banks Tolley to regain a two-run advantage.
One inning later, senior outfielder Hunter Wilder scored on a flyout for App State’s fourth run of the game, and a wild pitch allowed junior infielder Joseph Zamora to reach home plate to extend the lead to 5-1 after four.
After three scoreless innings, Asheville used a two-run top of the eighth inning to get within two, but redshirt freshman catcher Graham Smiley’s solo homer put the Mountaineers up 6-3 with an inning to play.
The advantage did not last as the Bulldogs scored four runs on four hits in the top of the ninth to go up by one.
Boyd opened the bottom of the ninth with a single to center field, then stole second to get into scoring position. A St. Laurent walk and a wild pitch put Mountaineer runners on second and third with no outs. After an intentional walk on Tolley, junior catcher Braxton Church entered the batter’s box and hit a single to bring home two runs and seal the victory.
“Tried to get a pitch I could hit well,” Church said after the game. “Just did the job for my boys.”
Tujetsch ended the night with two strikeouts and one run given up in three innings pitched.
The Mountaineers will take the field again this weekend when they welcome Troy to Boone for a three-game series. Start times are set for Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m., with all three games available to stream on ESPN+.
