Long Ball Not Enough to Hold Off Mountaineers

Saturday, May 21

Boone, N.C.

12 p.m.

Troy University

31-23, 15-15

Appalachian State

19-32, 10-20

TROY

App State

Long Ball Not Enough to Hold Off Mountaineers

5/21/2022 7:12:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

BOONE, N.C. – After a three-hour, 36-minute rain delay, Troy's three solo home runs weren't enough as Appalachian State used a three-run seventh inning to come back and beat the Trojans 6-3 Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale.

Kyle Mock and Trey Leonard's long balls were the only offensive production for Troy (31-23, 15-15), as Leonard went deep twice. Four Trojans had two hits each, but seven men were left on base.

Making his first start on the mound in a Troy uniform, Cameron Gray went four solid innings, only allowing two runs on two hits.

Keaton Fuller, Brandon Schrepf, and Kyle Gamble all made an appearance out of the bullpen, with Schrepf (1-1) picking up the loss when Appalachian State (19-32, 10-20) tagged him for three runs on three hits, all in the bottom of the seventh.

Thanks to Mock hitting an opposite-field home run over the left-field fence, Troy plated a run in the first inning for the third straight game. It was his eighth home run of the season, giving him a tie for the team lead.

With two outs and two runners on, the weather delay went into effect, and both teams left the field for the storms to pass.

Gray came back on to pitch after the delay and was able to get the third out with runners on first and second.

The game's pace picked up as each defense was able to turn a couple of double plays to put zeros on the scoreboard through the fourth.

Leonard changed that in the top of the fifth as his eighth home run of the year gave Troy a two-run advantage.

Appalachian State responded in the bottom half of the frame to tie the ball game at 2-2 with two sacrifice flies to center field. The damage could have been a lot worse as they had the bases loaded with nobody out, but Keaton Fuller got out of the inning without anything else taking place.

Leonard gave the Trojans the lead once again with his second home run of the afternoon in the top of the seventh when he connected for a 396-foot shot over the Trojan bullpen in right field.

However, the lead didn't last long. The Mountaineers battled back to tie the game and eventually took the lead. Schrepf followed Fuller and ran into trouble, allowing two doubles accounting for three runs and a 5-3 lead for Appalachian state.

A home run for the host added some insurance to the lead as Troy had the tying run at the plate with one out in the top of the ninth, but a Jesse Hall double play allowed the Mountaineers to salvage a win in the three-game series.

Up Next: Troy will travel to Montgomery next week to participate in the Sun Belt Conference tournament beginning Wednesday, May 25.