Box Score

BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 4-2 Friday at Beaver Field.

An RBI double by Hayden Cross broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth, and an RBI triple by Phillip Cole added an insurance run for the Mountaineers. App State (20-29, 11-9 SBC) clinched the three-game series with the win, which marked its first series win over USA since 2016.

NEXT UP
South Alabama (28-20, 14-9 SBC) will return to action Saturday when it faces Appalachian State in the series finale at 11 a.m. (CT) in Boone, N.C.

GAME FACTS
- Santi Montiel led off the game with a double to right field, and moved to third on a single through the left side of the infield by Michael Sandle. Ethan Wilson then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, which allowed Montiel to score the first run of the game for a 1-0 Jaguar lead.
- Hunter Stokes singled up the middle with one out in the top of the second inning, and advanced to third on a double down the left field line by Caleb Balgaard. Cam Tissue followed with a sacrifice bunt back to the mound on a squeeze play that scored Stokes and doubled the Jaguar lead at 2-0.
- App State cut the USA lead in half at 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly to right field by Robbie Young that scored Luke Drumheller, who led off the inning with a double.
- The Mountaineers tied the score 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI groundout to second base by Alex Leshock that scored Tyler Leek, who reached on a one-out single and moved to third on a single by Phillip Cole and fielding error by Ethan Wilson in left field on the play.
- South Alabama loaded the bases with one out in the top of the sixth on a single by Reid Powers, Kaleb DeLaTorre reached on an error on a grounder to second and Stokes singled to right field. Powers was caught stealing on a failed suicide squeeze with Balgaard at the plate for the second out of the frame. App State left-hander Eli Ellington then struck out Balgaard for the final out of the inning and escape the jam. 
- Cole led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left-center field, and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Leshock. A walk by Bailey Welch put runners at the corners with one out. But Jaguar left-hander Tyler Lehrmann induced a pop up to second off the bat of Drumheller for the second out of the frame, and escaped the jam with a grounder to shortstop by Kendall McGowan in which Montiel flipped to second for the final out of the inning.
- App State took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth on a one-out RBI double to right field by Hayden Cross. Cole delivered a two-out RBI triple to right field later in the inning to score the game's final run.

NOTES
- Sandle extended his on-base streak to 17 games with a single in the first inning. 
- DeLaTorre's on-base streak was snapped at 12 games.
- USA right-hander Matt Boswell allowed two runs, one of which was earned, on six hits with three strikeouts without issuing a walk in 3 2/3 innings pitched.
- Lehrmann (3-3) allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in four relief innings in the loss. 
- Stokes went 2-for-4 with a run scored to lead the Jags at the plate, while Tissue had USA's lone RBI. 
Ellington (3-0) tossed 3 2/3 scoreless relief innings for App State, and did not allow a hit while striking out five without issuing a walk. 
- The series win marked App State's first over South Alabama since 2016, when the Mountaineers took two of three games from the Jags in Boone. 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club - the baseball-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit JaguarAthleticFund.com.