GREENSBORO, N.C. – Trailing 3-1 entering the sixth inning, UNCG rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth and then two more in the seventh as the Spartans defeated Appalachian State, 5-3, to stay perfect in the Southern Conference on Friday night at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Spartans are now 4-0 in the Southern Conference for the first time since 2000.
Jarett Miller came in to pitch the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up his second win of the season. Starter Warren Slack was credited with the no decision after pitching five innings and allowing only three runs, two earned, on six hits.
Appalachian State (8-10, 0-7 SoCon) starter Ryan Arrowood picked up his first loss of the year after giving up four runs on seven hits in six innings of work.
Trevor Edwards led the Spartans (12-5, 4-0 SoCon) at the plate with a 3-4 performance with two RBI and two runs scored. Edwards finished the game just a triple shy of the cycle. Andrew Spleth also added a pair of hits, while Bobby Martin and Thomas Troelstrup each added an RBI.
Trey Holmes had the hot bat for the Mountaineers as he went 3-5 and Tyler Zupcic and Jack Myers each added a pair of hits.
The Spartans were the first to get on the board as Edwards hit a leadoff home run in the second inning over the right field wall to give UNCG an early 1-0 lead.
Appalachian State then began playing small ball to take the lead. Hector Crespo led off with a single in the third inning and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Crespo then took third in a groundout before Zupcic hit a chopper over the third baseman's head to score Crespo and tie the game at one.
The Mountaineers continued that strategy in the fourth inning to take the lead. Myers led off with a single to right field and advanced on a groundout. Myers was able to move to third on a throwing error by UNCG and then scored on a squeeze bunt by Tyler Tewell to make it 2-1.
Back-to-back singles by Zupcic and Holmes put runners on the corners for Appalachian State with one out in the fifth inning. Zupcic was then able to score on a wild pitch to give the visitors a 3-1 advantage.
The Spartans were finally able to generate some offense in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-out rally. Brindle started the rally with a single to center field and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a double by Edwards. After a walk, Troelstrup hit a single right back up the middle to score Edwards and tie the game at three.
UNCG played a little small ball of its own in the bottom of the seventh to retake the lead for good. Joe Hager led off with a walk and then Drew Gehringer reached after an error on his sacrifice bunt attempt.
Cody Walker then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Hager and Gehringer into scoring position. With Martin at the plate, Hager scored on a wild pitch before Martin belted a single to left field to score Gehringer and make it 5-3.
The Spartans and Mountaineers will meet for the second game of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m.
AGATE
UNCG 5, Appalachian State 3
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Appalachian State... 001 110 000 - 3 11 1 (8-10, 0-7)
UNCG................ 010 002 20X - 5 9 3 (12-5, 4-0)
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Pitchers: Appalachian State - Ryan Arrowood; David Port(7); Will Helms(7); Zach Joyce(8) and Jeremy Dowdy. UNCG - Warren Slack; Jonathan Jones(6); Zach Furl(6); Greg Smith(7); Jarett Miller(7) and Trevor Edwards.
Win-Jarett Miller(2-1) Loss-Ryan Arrowood(2-1) T-2:41 A-684
HR UNCG - Trevor Edwards.
Weather: 82 and sunny
Slack faced 1 batter in the 6th.
Arrowood faced 1 batter in the 7th.
- UNCG -
