Mountaineers Top Panthers In 10 Innings
DECATUR, Ga. — Kendall McGowan's RBI single in the top of the 10th inning Saturday brought home Riley Smith, who had delivered a leadoff double, and helped lift Appalachian State to a 4-3 victory that evened the Mountaineers' three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia State.

Luke Watts, who took the mound with one out and two runners on in the eighth inning, pitched the final 2.2 innings and recorded the win. He capped a perfect 10th with a strikeout, giving App State its first extra-inning victory since a 2015 win in 10 innings at South Alabama.

CJ Brown's RBI line drive for a fielder's choice off the shortstop's glove scored Joel McDaniel with a go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning, and the Panthers answered back with a game-tying single in the bottom of the ninth. After an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, Watts induced a double-play groundout with the infield drawn in.

First baseman Conner Leonard fielded a one-hopper and threw home to Smith, who fired the ball back to Leonard at first.

Smith, who picked a runner off first base and erased a steal attempt with two away in the first and second innings, began the 10th with a hard-hit ball that bounced over the third baseman's glove as he turned to his left. A wild pitch moved Smith to third before he scored on McGowan's single up the middle past a drawn-in infield.

Watts and Kaleb Bowman pitched in relief of starter Andrew Vaccacio, who allowed one run on three hits and struck out five batters in five innings. He had allowed only one hit – a second-inning homer that followed McDaniel's solo homer in the top half of the same inning — before giving up back-to-back hits with two away in the fifth.

App State (17-32, 8-18) had moved ahead 2-1 on Brown's two-out RBI single earlier in the fifth to score Drew Beck, who opened the inning with a double, and Vaccacio finished his outing with a lead after inducing a groundout to second baseman Bailey Welch with two runners on.

The Panthers (24-26, 8-17) pulled even with a seventh-inning homer off Bowman, who retired six of the seven batters he faced in his first two innings of work. After an intentional walk put two Georgia State players on base with one out in the eighth, Watts entered the game and struck out cleanup hitter Will Kilgore. A walk to Ryan Glass loaded the bases before McDaniel, the shortstop, fielded a ball moving to his right and threw to Beck at third for the forceout.

Offensively, Alex Leshock went 2-for-4 and stole two bases in his second multi-hit game of the series, and Brown extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

App State, which trails Georgia State by a half-game in the Sun Belt standings, will attempt to win the series when the teams meet again Sunday at 1 p.m.

No. 19 Coastal Carolina Defeats Little Rock, 6-4
CONWAY - On Coastal Carolina's Senior Day, CCU senior Kevin Woodall accounted for four of his team's six runs to lead the 19th-ranked Chanticleers to a 6-4 victory over Little Rock Saturday afternoon at Springs Brooks Stadium.

Woodall was 2-for-2 (double and home run) with two walks, three RBI and three runs scored. He hit a two-run home run in the first; walked and scored in the third; doubled and scored in the fifth; and drew a bases loaded walk to force in a run in the sixth.

With the win, CCU improves to 35-14 overall (20-6 in the Sun Belt), clinches the series win and needs just one more conference win to clinch the top seed as the Sun Belt regular-season champion. Little Rock, which entered the weekend as the West Division leader, drops to 26-22, 14-11.

Prior to the game, the athletics department honored its seven baseball seniors, all of whom have earned their degrees. The list included managers Kyle McCann and Mickey Beach along with Zack Hopeck, Lee Sponseller, Matt Beaird, Woodall and Seth Lancaster.

Hopeck (5-4) earned the win and he allowed five hits, three walks and two runs with six strikeouts over five innings. For the second time this week, Jay Causey picked up the save, earning his third of the season. He got a key double play to end the eighth and induced another in the ninth as he pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk before striking out the final batter of the game.

Little Rock strung together three singles in the first inning to grab an early 1-0 lead. Marcus Ragan hit he first pitch of the game through the left side of the infield for a single. Chase Coker followed with a single. After a ground out, Kale Emshoff singled to left-center field to plate Ragan. Zack Hopeck responded with a pair of strikeouts to end the first and limit the damage.

However, Coastal erased its deficit in the bottom of the first. Cory Wood, who was 2-for-3 with two walks) singled and scored two batters later on a home run by Woodall, his 17th of the season.

In the second, Wood also figured in the Chants scoring. After Michael Koenig singled, Wood delivered an RBI double to put CCU up 3-1.

Woodall and Sponseller teamed up to put the Chants up 4-1 in the third. Woodall drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on Sponseller's RBI single through the right side of the infield.

Woodall scored his third run of the game as he hit a leadoff double in the fifth and came home on an RBI single by Kieton Rivers (2-for-4) for a 5-1 advantage.

The Trojans got a run back in the sixth as James Gann started the frame with a home run.

Coastal answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth to regain a four-run lead, 6-2. Michael Koenig walked, as did Cory Wood and Seth Lancaster. Then, for the third time this season, Woodall was walked with bases loaded, giving the senior his third RBI of the game.

Little Rock bounced back with another solo home run in the seventh as Ryan Benevidez hit a two-out, round-tripper to right field to make the score 6-3.

For the third inning in a row -- and second time in as many at bats, Gann hit a solo home run, this time with one out, to make it a two-run game. With a runner on first, Causey entered and got a double play to end the inning.

Little Rock made it interesting in the ninth, putting runners on first and second to start the inning. However, Causey got his second double play, but the Trojan moved their leadoff runner to third on the play. With the tying run at the plate, Causey struck out the final batter to secure the win.

Coastal Carolina and Little Rock will wrap the Sun Belt series on Sunday with first pitch set for Noon. The game will mark CCU's final home game of the season.

Thomas’ Strong Start Propels Troy to Series Win
MONROE, Louisiana – Freshman Levi Thomas fanned seven batters in seven innings to kick start Troy to a 7-2 victory as the Trojans took the Sun Belt series at ULM Saturday afternoon.

Thomas (2-0) made just his third league start for Troy (34-17, 16-10) and made the most of the opportunity; allowing just two hits, a walk and an unearned run around his career-high seven strikeouts. CJ Carter earned his sixth save of the season with 1.2 innings to close out the game.

The freshman was the recipient of plenty of help from his offense, as five different Trojans recorded multiple hits in the game. Joey Denison once again led the attack at the dish, finishing 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored.

Close behind Denison was another standout performance by a freshman in Rigsby Mosley. Mosley tied a career-high three hits for the seventh time this year and drove in three runs to cross the 40-RBI mark.

Brody Binder also recorded three hits; while Matt Sanders and Brandon Lockridge round out the group with two hits apiece.

The Warhawks (22-27, 10-16) were held off the board until the bottom of the seventh – they scratched across unearned runs in the seventh and the eighth. Chase Beal (3-7) was chased off the mound after allowing five runs on five hits in just two innings of work.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"Levi Thomas was great today. His stuff was really electric; I hate he gave up the one run. Overall, I'm really proud of how he threw. We've got a really good ball club and I look forward to seeing how this club can finish. I expect us to play our best baseball from here on."

Noteworthy
• Through three games so far this week, Joey Denison is 9-for-12 (.750) with seven RBIs and has raised his batting average to .397.

• The Trojans have stolen nine bases through the first two games of the series – Drew Frederic and Brandon Lockridge have each stolen two.

• With a run scored in the first inning, Matt Sanders is now tied for fourth on Troy's single-season list with 72 runs and is second on the career list with 172 – 12 shy of Adam Bryant's record.

On Deck
The Trojans are going for their second road series sweep of the season with senior Daren Osby (5-1, 4.82) getting the start in the 1 p.m. finale Sunday.

Eagles Bounce Back by Doubling-Up Arkansas State 10-5 on Saturday
JONESBORO, ARK. - Georgia Southern Baseball bounced back from an extra innings loss to Arkansas State with a 10-5 win over the Red Wolves on Saturday evening. The Eagles tallied 10 hits and punished three Red Wolves errors to take the win in the second game of the series. Georgia Southern and Arkansas State will return to the diamond on Sunday at Noon (CT) / 1 p.m. (ET) to decide the series.

SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st - Jason Swan opened the game with a leadoff double to the gap in left on the game's fourth pitch. He advanced on Mitchell Golden's fly ball to right and scored on Austin Thompson's single up the middle to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Top 2nd - Mason McWhorter opened the second with a leadoff home run to cap a seven pitch battle. The Eagles would tack on two more with a Christian Avant single and stolen base, followed by a Steven Curry triple and a Nolan Tressler RBI ground out to push the lead to 4-0.
Top 3rd - A Thompson single and a fielding error opened the door for a four run third inning. McWhorter drove in two with a double that split the gap in right. A Matt Anderson sacrifice fly scored the inning's third run. Curry posted his second extra base hit in as many innings, ripping an RBI down the third base line to make it an 8-0 Eagle lead.
Bottom 3rd - Arkansas State got a pair of runs back in the home half of the third with a double down the right field line to plate two and cap a three hit frame, cutting the Georgia Southern lead to 8-2.
Top 6th - A one out walk and a pair of errors by the shortstop on what should have been a routine double play put runners on the corners for the Eagles. With two outs in the inning, Anderson broke for second to steal, but got caught in a rundown, allowing Avant to score as Anderson eluded the tag to get back to first base safely.
Bottom 7th - The Red Wolves got a pair of two out hits to put two runners in scoring position. A single to center plated both runs to make it a 9-4 Eagle lead.
Bottom 8th - Arkansas State took advantage of a leadoff hit batter to plate a single run on a sacrifice fly. The home side, however, ran itself out of the inning when Anderson cut down a runner attempting to steal second, keeping the damage to just a run heading to the ninth.
Top 9th - The dreaded leadoff walk came around to bite Arkansas State in the ninth inning when Swan reached to open the final frame with the free pass. Golden moved him up with a double and Thompson moved him in with an RBI ground out to short.

NOTES
- Mason McWhorter's big day featured his ninth home run of the season as the junior knocked in three runs and scored two of his own to pace the visitors.
- Christian Avant was 1-for-3 with a walk and a HBP to score three runs in the game. He also recorded a career-best three stolen bases in the game including a swipe of home.
- Steven Curry led a cadre of four Eagles to record multiple hits in the game. Curry was 2-for-3 with a double and a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Jason Swan was 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot in the lineup, tagging a double while Austin Thompson was 2-for-5, both singles, with two RBIs and a run scored.
- With the win, the Eagles improve to 15-10 in the Sun Belt, good for fourth place in the East Division, a half-game behind Troy for third place. The Eagles would enter the Sun Belt Tournament as the No. 5 seed, one game ahead of the No. 6 seed Little Rock.
- Cole Whitney will start Sunday's series finale on the hill for the Eagles.

JAGS CLINCH UTA SERIES WITH GAME TWO WIN
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored four unanswered runs to defeat UT Arlington 6-2 Saturday at Stanky Field.

USA (28-20, 16-9 SBC) clinched the three-game series with the win, which marked the sixth straight loss for UTA (21-29, 11-15 SBC).

South Alabama will return to action Sunday when it hosts UTA at 1 p.m. in the series finale at Stanky Field as part of Senior Day. Six Jaguar seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony as part of the day's festivities.

GAME FACTS
- UTA took a one-run lead in the top of the third inning. Zac Cook reached on a fielding error by Will Luft with one out on a grounder to shortstop, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored the game's first run when Will Olson reached on a two-out fielding error by Luft on a grounder to shortstop.
- Dylan Hardy led off the bottom of the third with a single to left field, and advanced to second with one out when he tagged up from first on a flyout to right-center field by Brendan Donovan. Carter Perkins followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to plate Hardy and tie the game at 1-1. Wells Davis then singled to right-center field to put runners at the corners with one out. Hunter Brittain followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Perkins for a 2-1 Jaguar lead.
- UTA answered to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth when Noah Vaughan led off the inning with a solo home run to right field.
- Hardy led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk, stole second and moved to third on a single by Donovan to put runners at the corners with no outs. Perkins followed with an RBI single to right field to plate hardy for a 3-2 Jaguar lead. Davis then delivered an RBI single to right-center field to score Donovan and double the Jag lead at 4-2. Hunter Stokes followed with a single through the right side of the infield to load the bases with one out. Michael Sandle then delivered an RBI infield single to third base to score Perkins and extend the USA lead to 5-2.
- Paul Russo lifted a 2-1 pitch from UTA right-hander Logan Austin over the right field wall with one out in the bottom of the seventh for a solo home run, which accounted for the game's final run.

NOTES
- Swaggerty extended his on-base streak in Sun Belt Conference games to 23 games when he reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
- Jaguar left-hander Jared Proctor (4-0) allowed one earned run on two hits, and tied his career high with five strikeouts against three walks in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win.
- UTA left-hander Brad Vassar (2-6) allowed five runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks in four innings pitched in the loss.
- Jaguar left-hander Zach Melton tossed 2 2/3 scoreless relief innings and struck out three while issuing one walk, and right-hander Zach Greene allowed one hit and struck out three in one scoreless relief inning.
- Seven Jaguar starters hit safely in the game, led by Perkins who finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Hardy went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one stolen base, and Sandle added two hits and one RBI.
- Vaughan homered, drove in one run and scored once to lead the Mavericks at the plate.

Long ball lifts TXST past Louisiana
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team evened up a Sun Belt Conference series with a 6-5 triumph over Louisiana Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Ballpark.

The Bobcats (24-25-1, 12-14 SBC) were able to knock off the Ragin' Cajuns (29-22, 15-11 SBC) in the middle game of the weekend for the fifth year in a row.

Luke Sherley opened the scoring in the first inning on a unique play that involved two Louisiana errors. The senior singled on a ball that caromed off the pitcher and advanced to third on a throwing error that reached the visiting bullpen. He then was called safe at home after knocking the ball out of the catcher's glove.

Junior Jacob Almendarez singled in the bottom of the third and later gave the Bobcats a 2-0 lead on an RBI single from Sherley. The visitors threw up a four-spot in the fifth inning and added a fifth tally in the sixth to pull ahead 5-2, but two two-run homers from Sherley and classmate Derek Scheible in the seventh inning would power the maroon and gold into a 6-5 advantage.

Junior Anthony Pagano (2-0) was lights out on the mound in 4.1 innings of relief duty to earn the victory. He conceded one run on just two hits, while posting two strikeouts and no walks. Junior starter Connor Reich took a no-decision after allowing four runs on 10 hits across 4.2 frames.

Sherley went 3-for-3 at the dish and tied his season highs in both RBIs (3) and runs scored (2). Junior Ryan Newman tied his season best with three hits, and true freshman Dalton Shuffield finished with a pair of hits for the second-consecutive day.

UL starter Hogan Harris collected a no-decision after allowing two runs on six hits in 6.0 innings. He struck out three but issued a quartet of free passes. Nick Lee (1-6) was saddled with the loss after only being able to find two outs. He gave up the home runs to Sherley and Scheible and left after conceding four runs on four hits.

Gavin Bourgeois went 3-for-4 to lead the Ragin' Cajuns, while Kennon Fontenot and Zach LaFleur both finished 2-for-3. LaFleur scored twice, and Tyler Stover collected two RBIs.

Texas State will attempt to claim its second series ever from Louisiana and the first since 2004 in the finale at 1 p.m. May 13. The contest will double as Senior Day, and the six graduating Bobcats will be honored prior to first pitch.