Boone, N.C. – Trent Turner drove in a run and Elijah Smith plated two in a three-run top of the sixth inning on Wednesday evening, but home-standing Appalachian State hit a three-run home run as part of a four-run home half of the same frame as the Mountaineers reclaimed the lead. WCU pushed across a run in the ninth and had the game-tying marker aboard but were unable to find the equalizer as the Catamounts were edged 7-6 in the back end of the midweek nonconference home-and-home at Jim & Bettie Smith Stadium.
 
The Mountaineers (17-15) loaded the bases with an error and consecutive walks in the eighth inning looking to cushion a two-run lead. However, Turner slammed the door with a diving stab up the middle to initiate a double play as he dotted the bag at second before firing a strike to Hayden Friese at first base to keep the margin within reach.
 
In the ninth inning, Cole Jones dropped a single into right field before an athletic play by Mountaineer second baseman Joseph Zamora retired Trey Spees at first but moved Jones into scoring position. A pair of wild pitches allowed Jones to come around to score, trimming the deficit to just one. Brayden Corn then singled to put the tying run aboard and the go-ahead marker to the plate. However, ASU closer Jordan Fisher (5) got a strikeout and a pop-up to end the game.
 
After pounding out eight extra-base hits among the 12 hits collected in the first meeting in Cullowhee back on April 1, the Catamounts were limited to just six singles in Wednesday's rescheduled meeting in Boone. The Apps got a Kameron Miller home run and a run-scoring triple by Juan Correa for two among the 13 hits recorded in the rematch.
 
All eight of WCU's singles were spread between eight different players on Wednesday with five players reaching base twice by adding a walk. Elijah Smith (1-for-4) drove in two runs to cap a three-run sixth with Turner (1-for-3) drawing a walk and singling for WCU's first hit of the day in the fourth inning, adding an RBI. Wyatt Stanley (1-for-3) reached base twice and plated a run on a fourth-inning single to put the Catamounts on the board.
 
Corn (1-for-4), Friese (1-for-5), Cole Jones (1-for-4), Trey Spees (1-for-4) and Jack Spyke (1-for-3), who scored twice, also collected base hits for the Catamounts.
 
Appalachian State had five players collect multi-hit games with Juan Correa (3-for-4) bringing home two with a pair of singles to accompany a triple, with Kameron Miller (2-for-4) blasting a three-run homer in a two-hit effort. Zamora (2-for-4), Braxton Church (2-for-5m RBI), and Tyler Lichtenberger (2-for-4, RBI) also had multiple hits for the home team.
 
The Mountaineers took the early 2-0 lead with a run-scoring ground out and RBI single by Correa in the first inning. App tacked on a third run in the third inning as Church reached on a two-out single as the first of three consecutive hits with Lichtenberger scoring the run on a single to center for the 3-0 lead.
 
Meanwhile, the potent Catamount offense only managed one base runner through the first three innings coming on a second-inning Stanley walk. In the fourth inning, Spyke sparked a two-out rally with a walk and scored after consecutive singles by Turner and Stanley to cut the deficit to 3-1.
 
WCU's best inning came in the top of the sixth as Friese reached on a one-out single to center before Spyke put runners at the corners by punching a single through the right side. Turner then just missed hitting a three-run homer on a drive to the fence in right where the right-fielder got leather on the ball before smashing into the fence, jarring the ball loose. Ruled an error, Friese scored on the play. Two batters later, Smith drove a two-run single to left to propel the Catamounts to their first lead, 4-3.
 
The rally was short-lived, though, as a single and one-out infield error led to a two-out, three-run home run by Miller on a full-count pitch as the Mountaineers retook the lead, 6-4. Correa scored Church with a triple to right-center as the Apps led 7-4 through six complete.
 
The Catamounts had an excellent opportunity in the seventh inning by loading the bases with nobody out. However, an infield double-play helped stall the rally though a run scored to make it 7-5 at the stretch. WCU bounced into another double-play to erase a lead-off walk by Turner in the eighth, though the Waynesville, N.C., product thwarted Appalachian's bases-loaded opportunity to set up the rally attempt in the ninth.
 
Reliever Davis Budd (0-1) suffered the loss with just a third of an inning of work, surrendering three unearned runs on two hits. The Catamounts used seven pitchers with Carter Burnette striking out one in three innings in his first collegiate start. Ryan White matched a season-high with three strikeouts with Owen Austin tossing an inning and a third of hitless, scoreless relief.
 
App State's Reyn Watson (1-0) – the fifth of eight Mountaineer pitchers used – scored the victory after just a third of an inning of work, the beneficiary of Miller's three-run homer. Jordan Fisher collected his fifth save, allowing a run on two hits with a strikeout and a pair of wild pitches.
 
Western Carolina (16-16, 2-4 SoCon) remains on the road and returns to Southern Conference play this weekend as the Catamounts face mountain-rival East Tennessee State (22-9, 3-3 SoCon) for a three-game set at Thomas Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn. The series opens at 5 p.m. on Friday and continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Each game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com.
 
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