ASU outslugs

High Point
From staff reports

HIGH POINT — Appalachian State baseball scored 11 runs over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and withstood a furious High Point rally in the bottom of the ninth to collect 19-14 win on Wednesday afternoon at Willard Stadium.

The contest was knotted at 6-6 after five innings, but Appalachian State (5-5) exploded for two runs in the sixth inning, six in the seventh and five in the eighth to take a 19-6 lead. The long ball was the key to the outburst, as shortstop Jason Altenhof belted a two-run home run in sixth inning and center fielder Rand Smith and right fielder Jason Rook added two-run blasts in the eighth.

High Point (3-7), however, scored eight times in the bottom of the ninth to cut the deficit to 19-14. High Point put the tying run on deck with only one out in the ninth before Zach Quate ended the four-hour, 10-minute affair with back-to-back strikeouts.

Second baseman Wes Hobson started the Mountaineers’ homer brigade with a two-run shot in the third inning that capped the Apps’ third-straight two-run inning to start the game and gave them a 6-1 lead. Appalachian’s four home runs on the afternoon more than doubled its season total, as it had belted just three coming in.

High Point (3-7) erased Appalachian State’s five-run advantage with a single run in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth. However, right-hander Adam Mills quelled the High Point rally with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief. Mills, who has surrendered no runs on just five hits in 8 2/3 innings of work this season, earned the win to move to 2-0 on the year.

Smith led Appalachian’s 17-hit attack by going 4-for-5 with the homer, a double, four RBI and four runs scored on the afternoon. Rook also drove in four runs with a 3-for-6 effort and first baseman David Towarnicky also collected three hits to go along with two RBI and three runs scored.

The Mountaineers were helped by eight walks, a hit batter and four errors committed by the Panthers. High Point starter Zach Scott (0-2) allowed seven runs in 5 2/3 innings to suffer the loss.

Appalachian returns to action this weekend with three games at Wilson Field, the home turf of Southern Conference-rival Davidson. Appalachian State opens the weekend with a doubleheader against Yale beginning on Saturday at 2 p.m. and closes the trip to Davidson with a 1 p.m. showdown versus Quinnipiac on Sunday.