Sunday, April 30, 2006

BOONE, N.C. (April 30, 2006) - The ETSU baseball squad squandered a three-run lead, and Appalachian State scored an unearned run in the eighth inning, finishing off the rally and posting a 5-4 non-conference victory over the visiting Buccaneers Sunday afternoon at Red Lackey Field.

After retiring the first two batters in the eighth inning, center fielder Chris Baker reached on a fielding error, and following a wild pitch, scored the game winner on second baseman Wes Borden's single to center field.

The Bucs (22-21) took a 3-0 lead in the second inning, stringing together a series of two-out hits, walks and stolen bases to manufacture some offense.  Senior shortstop Chuck Hargis (Powell, Tenn.) started the rally with a double to right center, followed by junior Michael Courtney's (Knoxville, Tenn.) RBI single through the right side.  Three consecutive walks followed, with Courtney scoring on a perfectly executed double steal with runners at the corners.  Senior outfielder Shane Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) drove in freshman third baseman Ben Allen (Kingsport, Tenn.) on a bases loaded infield single, capping the scoring in the inning.

The Mountaineers (18-23-1) tied the game with three runs of their own in the third.  Right fielder Rand Smith drew a leadoff walk followed by third baseman Nick DeRose's single.  Shortstop Joey Robinson brought Smith home with a single through the left side, and after consecutive strikeouts, left fielder David Rubinstein singled up the middle, scoring DeRose.  First baseman Bryan Ford also singled up the middle, bringing in Robinson with the equalizing run.

After Appalachian State scored in the fifth for a 4-3 lead, senior first baseman Blake Church (Roswell, Ga.) led off the sixth frame with a towering home run to straight-away center field, his team leading 10^th homer of the season.

Garrett Sherrill (4-5) picked up his fourth win of the season, throwing three innings of one-hit ball to finish the game.  Junior Caleb Glafenhein (Knoxville, Tenn.) fell to 0-2, giving up the unearned run in the eighth.

The Bucs are back in action Tuesday, May 2 in Asheville, N.C., taking on UNC-Asheville in non-conference play.  First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.