<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1Mf4dt_0tIvkV9Y00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1Mf4dt_0tIvkV9Y00" width="804" height="421" >As happened last season, Appalachian State dropped an opening round Sun Belt Conference tournament game to Troy by a single run and now plays to win or head home. In that same do-or-die category is rival Coastal Carolina, which will meet the Mountaineers for the fourth time this season.App State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over Troy on the power of back-to-back CJ Boyd home runs – which made Boyd the program's all-time leader – but the offense struggled to push runs across afterwards, despite multiple scoring opportunities. Troy produced a single inning of scoring which built an insurmountable advantage, ending in a 6-5 Mountaineer loss.Coastal wilted under Southern Mississippi's pitching prowess and came out on the short end of a three-hit, 5-0 defeat with all Golden Eagle scoring coming in the eighth inning. It was the first shutout loss for the Chanticleers this season and ended their five-game winning streak. LAST TIMEWhen Coastal Carolina arrived at App State in late March the Chanticleers were 17-4 and ranked as high as 13th in national polls, but it was the Mountaineers who took two of the three games in an explosive series. The teams combined for 59 runs and nine homers over three games with exceptional drama. A Friday night cancellation made it a two-day, three-game heavyweight bout.App State won the first two games in comeback fashion, posting 13 runs post-sixth inning of those wins. Grey LaSpaluto threw four critical innings of one-run ball to close out the game one win, while Mountaineer bats piled up 16 runs on 13 hits aided by eight walks and three HBP.Mountaineer starter Jackson Steensma smothered Coastal hitting in game two, holding the Chants to two runs through six innings, but a seventh inning six-run outburst vaulted Coastal to an 8-5 advantage. App State responded with four runs on just two hits in consecutive innings at the end and reliever Collin Welch recorded eight consecutive outs to preserve the series winner.Game three featured fireworks throughout with the teams heading into extra innings tied at 11-11. Coastal outlasted the Mountaineers and posted six runs in the 12th for a 17-11 victory, but App State was the clear weekend winner. Coastal rode several key hitters during the series, where DH Derek Bender (7-14, 8 RBI), leadoff hitter Sam Antonacci (.385, 3 BB), and second baseman Blake Barthol (.357, 6 R) led the way for a Coastal hitting lineup which did most of its damage in the Sunday shootout. App State had limited the Chanticleers to .262 over the opening two games, well below their season average to that point.Heavy swinging Zack Beach recorded just three hits that weekend but a pair of them were homers.The top of App State's order was typically productive at .328 and with 18 runs scored from CJ Boyd, Austin St. Laurent, Banks Tolley, and Drew Holderbach, which included Tolley driving in seven, but it was late-order hitting which largely separated the teams. Joseph Zamora came in averaging .241 but his 8-14 and 7 RBI Coastal weekend launched him into what's been .347 hitting since. Adam Quintero also scored five runs in the weries and posted .500 at the plate.GAME PREVIEW Back to the wall has been an App State specialty this season and the Mountaineers are now facing the ultimate must-win challenge. Coastal Carolina is in the same boat as any opportunity of continuing further into postseason play is on the line for both programs.App State will roll Steensma out in this critical situation and there's no arm the Mountaineers would prefer to ride under these circumstances. When he faced Coastal in March, Steensma held Chanticleer hitters to a pair of runs and .227 at the plate over six innings and 95 pitches.If Coastal sticks with day-three pitching habits, righthander Cameron Flukey would take the hill against the Mountaineers. He started the finale of the previous App State series, giving up three runs on five hits after 13 batters. Flukey hasn't pitched beyond five innings in any game this season but Coastal has used its bullpen sparingly through the opening two tournament games.Whatever it takes today, it's that simple. For App State that means rediscovering the timely hitting that's defined offensive success this season. The Mountaineers had ample opportunity in game one but left 11 runners on base and converted just once in 10 at bats with runners in scoring position. App State also needs to apply more leadoff pressure after putting the first batter on base only once against Troy.Steensma can carry a lot of the load today, but complementary production is what led App State's late-season surge and is what will define today's outcome. </div></body>

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SBC TOURNAMENT: COASTAL CAROLINA vs. APP STATE PREVIEW

As happened last season, Appalachian State dropped an opening round Sun Belt Conference tournament game to Troy by a single run and now plays to win or head home. In that same do-or-die category is rival Coastal Carolina, which will meet the Mountaineers for the fourth time this season. App...

SBC TOURNAMENT: COASTAL CAROLINA vs. APP STATE PREVIEW

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