BONNE, N.C. – Graduate student
Bradley Wilson delivered 6.1 strong innings in relief for the Mountaineers, while the offense broke a 4-4 deadlock with a five-run seventh inning en route to a 9-4 victory over James Madison Thursday at Smith Stadium.
Juan Correa began the seventh inning rally with a one-out single to left field,
and Tyler Lichtenberger followed with a single through the right side to put runners at the corners.
Tyler Figueroa then hit a sharp ground ball to second base – which off the bat looked like it might be an inning-ending double play – but the ball was bobbled by the JMU (12-26, 5-11) second baseman allowing the go-ahead run to score.
The floodgates opened from there.
Riley Luft plated Lichtenberger with an RBI single to left, and following a pitching change,
Charlie Evans continued the rally with an RBI single through the right side. After
Joseph Zamora was hit by a pitch to load the bases,
Kameron Miller capped the scoring with a two-run single through the left side, pushing the App State (20-17, 10-6) lead to 9-4.
Wilson, who took over in the third inning after
Liam Best started the ballgame, continued to cruise to the finish line. He pitched around a pair of singles in the eighth inning, but saved his best stuff for his final frame, striking out the side in the ninth inning to seal the victory.
Wilson yielded just two runs on six hits across 6.1 innings to earn his third win of the season. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
Best struck out three in 2.2 innings, making his second start of the season. The right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) and walked just one. App State pitching has walked five batters or fewer in nine consecutive contests, including four games of one walk or fewer during that span.
JMU scored a run each in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings but the Mountaineers never allowed the visitors to put up a crooked number.
Trailing 2-0, App State tied the score with a two-run third inning. Luft opened the inning with a single and Evans reached on an error trying to sacrifice him to second base. After
Braxton Church was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Zamora plated a run with a sac fly, and later in the inning Correa drew a walk with the bases loaded to tie the score.
After JMU went ahead with a run in the fourth, App State responded with two more in the bottom half of the frame. Figueroa and Luft reached to begin the inning on a walk and hit by pitch respectively. After Evans sacrificed them both into scoring position, Church plated one run with a sac fly and Miller scored the other on an RBI single through the left side.
Miller finished with two hits and three RBIs, while Lichtenberger and Luft also enjoyed two-hit efforts.
The Mountaineers will go for a series win on Friday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. The 2025 App State baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A.
