BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State scored multiple runs in five straight innings as Old Dominion baseball fell 18-8 in seven innings in Sunday's rubber match at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
"Rough day today," said head coach Chris Finwood. "We walked 11 and gave up 18 hits and were never really in it. We have to pitch a lot better than that to compete in this league. It was one of the worst pitched games I can remember an ODU team having in my time here. I don't like to use the word embarrassing, however I think it's appropriate for this performance today."
The Mountaineers (19-18, 9-8 Sun Belt) got started with four runs in the bottom of the second. Hayden Cross drew a leadoff walk and scored on a Golston Gillespie double to left center. Another walk and an ODU error allowed App State to take a 2-0 lead. After a sacrifice bunt moved runners into scoring position, an Andrew Terrell single to second brought in another run and an Xavier Moronta double down the right-field line made it 4-0.
Kyle Edwards got the Monarchs (26-13, 10-8) on the board with a leadoff home run in the third, but the hosts answered with three more runs in the bottom of the frame. Cross led off with a solo shot to center field and Hunter Wilder and Terrell added RBI singles for the 7-1 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Jake Ticer scored from second on a Tyler Wheeler double down the left-field line. However, another ODU error, a single, and four straight walks gave App State two more runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Monarchs closed the gap 9-5 with three runs in the top of the fifth. Luke Waters tripled to right and crossed the plate on a Kenny Levari ground out to first. Thomas Wheeler drew a walk and Hunter Fitz-Gerald connected on a 1-0 pitch for a two-run blast to center. Unfortunately, App State pulled away again with another four runs on three doubles and a pair of walks.
App State went up 17-5 with a four-run bottom of the sixth. Jonathan Xuereb scored on a wild pitch before CJ Boyd singled back up the middle to drive in a pair. Cross then poked a ball through the right side of the Monarch defense, allowing Boyd to score from second. A three-run homer by Fitz-Gerald in the top of the seventh kept the game going, but App State scored again in its next turn at the plate to claim the series.
Jacob Gomez (1-1) received the loss after allowing four runs, three of them earned, on four hits and two walks. He recorded one strikeout in two innings. At the plate, Fitz-Gerald homered twice and drove in five runs in a 2-for-4 outing. Waters tripled and scored twice as he also went 2-for-4. Tyler Wheeler (1-for-3) doubled in a run and Edwards (1-for-3) had a big fly. Levari (1-for-4) drove in the team's other run and also scored a run.
ODU plays again this Tuesday when the Monarchs head to Richmond, Virginia for the first game in a home-and-home series versus VCU. First pitch from The Diamond is scheduled for 6 p.m.