May 7, 2011

Box Score

Boone, N.C. - Appalachian State used a five-run sixth inning to break open a tied game en route to a 10-5 victory over Western Carolina in the Southern Conference series opener Friday evening at Beaver Field / Smith Stadium.

Game two of the three-game conference series is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. The game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard online at www.CatamountSports.com with an air time of 12:45 pm.

WCU (17-25-1, 7-15 SoCon) overcame a four-run bottom of the first inning for ASU by plating four runs in the top of the second inning to tie the game through two innings. Consecutive walks followed by back-to-back base hits including an RBI double by Tyler White pushed across one run, trimming the deficit to three. Cameron Dullnig singled off the Mountaineer starting pitcher to drive in a run with freshman Macon Smith and Ross Heffley both driving in runs on RBI singles to knot the game at four.

Smith finished 2-for-3 with an RBI while classmate Aaron Attaway recorded a game-high three hits on a 3-for-4 showing while a third freshman, Cody Jones, finished 2-for-3 for the Catamounts.

The fifth inning proved to be the decisive one as the Mountaineers erupted for five runs including a three-run home run by Hector Crespo. Daniel Kassouf drew a one-out walk with Zack Briggs singling to center to put two aboard. Preston Troutman then grounded a 0-1 pitch to the left side where WCU third baseman Austin Schultz laid out to his left to snag the ground ball. However, his toss to second was ruled to have pulled Heffley off the bag on the force play at second, loading the bases for ASU.

The next batter, Will Callaway, then struck out which would have ended the inning if not for the error. Instead, Appalachian State got a two-RBI single from Jeremy Dowdy followed by Crespo's three-run homer to score five unearned runs to pull out to a 9-4 lead.

ASU (27-19, 11-11 SoCon) added a solo run in the seventh to take a game-high, six-run lead at 10-4 before Catamount senior Stephen Notaro belted his third home run of the season with a one-out blast in the top of the ninth inning to provide the final tally.

After a shaky start for Catamount starter Matt Benedict (2-4), the senior settled down to hold the Mountaineers without a base hit through the next four and a third innings before the single by Briggs in the sixth. A native of St. Petersburg, Fla., Benedict fanned seven through six innings, allowing nine runs - only four of which were earned - on eight hits with a pair of walks. Kyle Stewart and TJ Page tossed the final two frames for WCU, both tallying a strikeout.

For the Mountaineers, starter Ryan Arrowood (7-1) scattered 11 base hits and four runs over seven innings, walking five and striking out four to pick up the victory. David Port tossed the final two innings, surrendering the one run on Notaro's homer.

Crespo, whose lone hit was the three-run homer, and Troutman both drove in three runs for ASU.

WCU struggled in finding the key base hit with runners on base, stranding 11 in the loss including twice leaving the bases loaded in suffering its fifth-straight loss, the longest winless drought of the season.