HICKORY, N.C. – App State baseball scored four runs in back-to-back innings, and the bullpen excelled late, in a 9-7 victory over Gardner-Webb on Sunday, to clinch a series win at L.P. Frans Stadium.
Leading 8-5 in the fifth inning,
Jordan Fisher entered from the Mountaineers' (6-5) bullpen with two runners in scoring position and only one out. Fisher promptly struck out back-to-back batters to escape the jam and went on to earn his first career victory.
The back end of the App State bullpen was exceptional in the ballgame, retiring the final nine Gardner-Webb (6-7) batters in order.
Reyn Watson and
Bradley Wilson combined to work a three up, three down seventh inning, while
Liam Best retired all six batters he faced, including three on strikeouts, to earn his second save of the year.
App State opened the scoring in the home half of the second.
Juan Correa led off the inning with a single, and
Braxton Church followed by tucking a double just inside the right field foul line to put two in scoring position.
Dillon Moquin then singled to center field to plate Correa and put App State ahead 1-0. Moquin finished with a career-high four hits in the contest.
Riley Luft continued the rally with a sacrifice fly and later in the inning
Tyler Lichtenberger and
Tyler Figuroa each pushed across a run with a double and a single respectively to make it 4-0.
Everette Harris started the ballgame on the mound for App State. After facing the minimum through the first two innings, the right-hander ran into trouble in the top of the third when the Runnin' Bulldogs scored four runs to tie the score.
Harris bounced back thereafter, finishing his outing with four strikeouts in 4.1 innings, while yielding just one unearned run outside of that third inning.
App State returned the favor in the bottom half of the third.
Joseph Zamora led off with a triple to center field, on a ball that got lost in the sunlight, and Correa plated him with an RBI groundout in the following at-bat. The Mountaineers then loaded the bases on a walk to Church, another single from Moquin and a single from Luft.
With two outs in the inning, Lichtenberger bounced a ground ball back to the mound that snuck between the legs of the Gardner-Webb pitcher, bringing across a run and extending the inning. Figueroa made the visitors pay for the error, belting a two-run double to center field to put App State ahead, 8-4. Figueroa finished with three hits and three RBIs.
After giving up two runs in the top of the sixth inning, App State added an insurance run in the bottom half of the frame when Zamora sprinted home from third on a wild pitch after leading off the inning with a walk.
App State is back in action on Tuesday as the Mountaineers welcome No. 13 Wake Forest to Smith Stadium. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The 2025 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
