The Appalachian State baseball team pulled off an impressive upset today, as they shut out the 7th ranked LSU Tigers for a 1-0 victory. Ryan Arrowood got the start and pitched seven strong innings, posting 10 strikeouts and surrendering only 2 hits. Arrowood pitched out of his only serious jam in the 1st inning; after giving up a lead-off walk to Tyler Hanover and a single to Casey Yocom, Ryan induced a double play and then struck out the next five LSU batters to take control of the game early.
Catcher Jeremy Dowdy had 2 of Appalachian's 5 hits but the only scoring was provided by designated hitter Daniel Kassouf, as he hit a first-pitch home run to left field off of LSU pitcher Ryan Eades with two outs in the top of the fourth. It was Daniel's 2nd home run of the young season. The single run proved to be enough after closer Nathan Hyatt picked up his second save of the year, entering for Arrowood in the eighth and throwing two shutout innings. After retiring the Tigers in order with two strikeouts in the eighth, Hyatt gave up a one-out single to Tyler Hanover in the final frame. Pinch-runner Arby Fields was forced out at second base on a fielder's choice for the second out, but a wild pitch by Hyatt put the tying run in scoring position for the Tigers. However, Nathan recovered and struck out Raph Rhymes to end the game and secure the biggest baseball upset in recent memory for the Apps.
This is a very important win for ASU as Coach Pollard continues his impressive work. The Mountaineers are coming off their fifth consecutive winning season after not having a single winning campaign since 1991. A win like this is one that should generate a lot of confidence in the Mountaineers' dugout and could be sign of good this to come in 2012. Entering the series with Appalachian, LSU was averaging a staggering 11 runs per game. They have now scored 4 total runs in the first two games against ASU, which speaks very highly of the talented arms at the Mountaineer's disposal. Shutting out LSU in Baton Rouge is a rare feat, as today marks only the first time a non-conference opponent has done so since 2004 and only the second time overall since 2007. The last opponent to blank the Tigers at home was the #1 ranked Florida Gators last season. The Mountaineers are now 4-2 in their last six games against SEC competition.
Appalachian will face LSU in the rubber match tomorrow, with the first pitch at noon EST. Go Apps!
*Photo from GoASU.com
No comments:
Post a Comment