A rocky start:

Elon takes early

lead in game one victory
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

ELON — The first sign that Appalachian State was not destined to beat Elon Wednesday night was when the Mountaineers loaded the bases in the first inning, with no outs, and did not score a run.

The second, third, fourth and fifth signs were the four home runs Elon hit in the first three innings. Elon cruised to a 7-3 Southern Conference victory over the Mountaineers in a game that saw the Phoenix take a 7-0 lead on the strength of four home runs off starter Zach Quate.

The Mountaineers (24-23, 8-11 SoCon) is battling to finish at least in sixth place in the SoCon, which would give them an automatic bid into the SoCon Tournament. The other four teams must play a play-in game to fill out the eight-team bracket.

Elon (33-14, 16-6) is trying to stay in second place, behind College of Charleston, in the conference.

The Mountaineers did not help themselves Wednesday either offensively or on the mound, despite collecting 14 hits and not committing any errors. Appalachian State left the bases loaded three times, once with no outs.

“We had 15 hits, but we were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position,” Mountaineers coach Chris Pollard said. “We left the bases loaded three times and really, that’s what it all boiled down to. It was a matter of not getting a single hit in a key situation. We did a good job early in the innings of setting the table, but we never got that hit.”

Quate, who has had success during other midweek starts, struggled against the Phoenix, which was hitting .301 as a team heading into the game. Quate allowed a solo home run by Elon starter Cory Harrilchak and a two-run shot by Dallas Tarlton, who added another two-run shot in the third, which gave Elon a 7-0 lead.

“To our credit, we did a good job when they jumped out early,” Pollard said. “We didn’t panic. We just kept playing. Our bullpen deserves a lot of credit. After it’s 7-0 with one out in the third inning, that game could have gotten away from us. To go out and put up those zeros and give ourselves a chance and get back in the ballgame, we didn’t do it. But that’s baseball.”

Appalachian State had a golden opportunity to creep back into the game in the eighth inning. The Mountaineers had the bases loaded with two outs, but Elon relief pitcher Jesse Lewter struck out David Rubinstein to preserve Elon’s 7-2 lead.

The Mountaineers opened the game by loading the bases on three straight singles by Jason Altenhof, Wes Hobson and David Rubinstein.

However, three straight Mountaineers failed to drive in any runs and the Mountaineers went scoreless.

Harrilchak was not dominant on the mound, but managed to keep Appalachian State from putting together any big innings. The Mountaineers not only loaded the bases in the first inning, but also left them full in the fourth.

Appalachian State finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning with a solo home run by Adam Beasley. Altenhof tripled two batters later and scored on a fielder’s choice by Hobson.

The Mountaineers out-hit Elon 15-8.

“It always feels good to hit a home run,” Beasley said. “It always feels better to win. We had twice as many hits as they did. We didn’t get the timely hitting we needed.”

Beasley, who went 3-for-4, missed hitting for the cycle by a triple. His single in the eighth knocked Harrilchak out of the box.

The Mountaineers added a run in the ninth inning on a solo home run by Isaac Harrow.

The teams played a doubleheader Thursday, but results were not available at press time. Appalachian State is 1-13 against Elon since the Phoenix joined the Southern Conference.

Notes:
• The Mountaineers are 91 in the latest RPI rankings by BoydsWorld.com. Appalachian State has won nine games against teams in the top 100, including N.C. State (9), Auburn (61), Wake Forest (64), Georgia Southern (78), Canisius (88) and The Citadel (94).

The Southern Conference has an RPI of eight out of 31 conferences.

• Hobson extended his hitting streak to nine games. Should he get a hit in the first game of Appalachian State’s game with Elon Thursday, he will be the fifth time a Mountaineer cranked out a double-digit hitting streak. Rubinstein hit for 14 games, while Harrow had a 13-game streak. Altenhof had two 12-game streaks.

• Going into Wednesday, Appalachian State’s bullpen had allowed 15 runs in 32 2/3 innings. Six of those runs were allowed in 3 1/3 innings in Appalachian’s 12-4 loss to Tennessee.