ETSU invades Smith
By Steve Behr

Appalachian State’s baseball team dug itself in a deep hole when it came to the Southern Conference standings. With a handful of SoCon games left, the Mountaineers are doing all they can to dig themselves out.

Appalachian State made it six out of seven SoCon victories this past weekend with a three-game sweep of Samford, including a doubleheader victory on Sunday. Appalachian State has won five straight games, eight of its last nine and 10 of its last 12. Included in that streak is a 9-7 win over Tennessee, a 24-4 win over Furman and victories of 10 or more runs over North Carolina A&T, Davidson and UNC Asheville.

The Mountaineers play two games at home — Tuesday night against East Tennessee State and Wednesday against Gardner-Webb — before playing at College of Charleston this weekend.

The next games gives Appalachian State a chance to use some pitchers who have not been getting a lot of playing time, mostly because Appalachian State’s weekend starters have been pitching well, according to coach Chris Pollard. Matt Andress, Josh Dowdy and Aubrey Edens all threw well against Samford, Pollard said.

“It’s a good opportunity since they haven’t gotten much work pitching-wise,” Pollard said. “Our weekend starters have been throwing so well that it makes for short games. We’ve been able to go to our starters and they’ve been able to pass the ball to (Chris) Patterson and then (Zach) Quate, so we’ll work on getting ready for the Charleston series.”

Ryan Arrowood, a freshman, will start against East Tennessee State, which beat the Mountaineers 5-3 back on March 18. That game was part of a six-game losing streak and part of a stretch that saw the Mountaineers lose 11 out of 12 games.

But the Mountaineers have turned that around. It started by knocking off Georgia Southern 3-1 on March 22. A 19-6 win over North Carolina A&T was followed by a spit of a doubleheader with Davidson and then three straight non-conference victories.

Pollard said playing 12 of its final 20 games at home will help the Mountaineers climb up the SoCon standings. The Mountaineers are in seventh place right now, but could climb into third place with more victories and some luck.

“I feel like we’re playing well,” Pollard said. “Obviously having as many home games as we do down the stretch is good. It’s nice to finish with a lot of home games in Boone.”

“It will help keep us fresh over the stretch drive,” he added.

Hitting, particularly in the top three slots in the batting order, has played a big role in the Mountaineers recent hot streak. Leadoff hitter Rand Smith has a 22-game hitting streak, and both Wes Hobson and Isaac Harrow have been hitting the ball well.

“The first three guys have been swinging the bat well,” Pollard said. “Wes swung the ball well this past weekend, but didn’t have much to show for it and Harrow has stayed hot.”