Box Score

Boone, N.C. - Appalachian State used a pair of two-run innings that included two home runs to rally past Western Carolina, 4-2, on Wednesday afternoon in the backend of a midweek nonconference home-and-home, capping the regular season meetings at Beaver Field / Jim & Bettie Smith Stadium.

The Mountaineers scored four-unanswered runs to complete the comeback victory, claiming their fourth-straight win over Western Carolina while also halting an eight-game seasonal slide. WCU was relegated to its 14th-straight loss, matching the program-long winless drought endured earlier this season.

WCU received a pair of two-hit, RBI performances from senior Spencer Holcomb and junior Tristan Baker, who was taking his first collegiate at bats on the day. Holcomb singled twice, putting the Catamounts on the board with a run-scoring single through the right side in the fourth inning. Baker, a weekend starting pitcher, likewise reached twice on singles, adding a perfectly executed hit-and-run that drove Holcomb home in the sixth inning for the 2-0 Catamount advantage.

Freshman Justice Bigbie extended his hitting streak to 13-straight games with a triple to right field, scoring on Holcomb's RBI base knock, while sophomore Andrew Robinson doubled and Justin Sparks singled to account for WCU's seven base hits. Freshman Will Prater reached twice on a pair of walks.

WCU used a pair of one-run innings in the fourth and sixth to grab the early 2-0 lead, but missed a golden opportunity in the fifth. The Catamounts loaded the bases on a Baker single, a walk to Prater, and Matthew Koehler was hit by a pitch. However, a fly-out to shallow right and a strikeout ended the threat, stranding three.

All told, WCU stranded seven runners in the two-run road loss.

Catamount freshman starter Caleb Bishop tossed a career-long 6.1 innings on Wednesday, holding the Mountaineers without a base hit through the first 5.2 innings. However, a two-out walk was preceded by a Bailey Welch home run to left that represented Appalachian's first hit and tied the game at two. Bishop struck out two while working around three walks and a hit batter.

Reliever Jake Moebius (0-1) suffered the loss for WCU, surrendering the two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning including a lead-off solo homer by Beau Myers and was tagged with the run scored on the RBI double by Conner Leonard. Moebius tossed one inning out of the bullpen with freshman Zach Franklin allowing one hit over two-thirds of a frame in relief.

Leonard finished 2-for-3 with a walk to lead the Mountaineers offensively.

Appalachian State used five pitchers on Wednesday, combining to strike out 13 batters on the day. ASU starter Cameron Kepley was lifted after 4.1 innings of work, exiting after allowing just one run on four hits with eight strikeouts against a walk. Reliever Andrew Papp settled the game in the middle innings, helping strand the bases loaded for WCU in the fifth inning

Reliever Kaleb Bowman (2-0) struck out two of the three batters he faced in the eighth inning before handing the ball to closer Luke Watts who scored his fourth save of the season, working around a base hit in tossing the top of the ninth inning. Bowman was credited with the win as the pitcher of record when the Mountaineers scored twice in the eighth inning.

Western Carolina (3-32) returns home for the first of back-to-back Southern Conference three-game series weekends beginning this Friday against the Mercer Bears. The series gets underway Friday with a 5:00 pm first pitch at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium, with game two set for Saturday at 2 pm and the finale at 1 pm on Sunday.