Appalachian State (27-11) split the midweek doubleheader with UNC Greensboro (25-13) on Wednesday. The Mountaineers dropped game one 2-5, but bounced back in game two and beat the Spartans 2-1.

The most notable stat line of the night is that of Kenzie Longanecker recording her 300th strikeout of her career. She ranks fourth all-time in App State history for strikeouts and tied for second for wins in a single season with 14.

Sidney Russell hit her first home run of the season in game two of the doubleheader. Alison Durrence and Mary Pierce Barnes also contributed home runs to the night in game one.

Game one:
Longanecker suffered the loss in the circle bringing her record to 14-3 with a 2.08 ERA, good for third in the Sun Belt. Despite the loss, she managed five strikeouts bringing her career total to 300 and single-season to 86 strikeouts.

The Mountaineers jumped on the board first in game one with a solo shot to left center field from Durrence in the second inning. However, the Spartans responded with a two-run home run of their own to start off the fourth inning and take the lead.

After great defense and pitching from both teams, the Spartans would add to their lead in the seventh inning with five hits and two more runs.

The bottom half of the inning was the last chance the Mountaineers had in game one. Leading off the inning, Barnes took the first pitch beyond the left field wall to give life to the black and gold dugout. Ally Walters managed a single to follow but the Apps were unable to keep the momentum going.

Game two:
Sydney Holland picked up the win in the circle for game two, bringing her record to 10-5. Holland managed to lower her ERA in the process now holding a 2.00 ERA, good for second in the Sun Belt.
Both sides held the other scoreless until the fourth inning when a walk by Keri White and single by Caylie Kifer put runners on. A sac fly by Durrence would bring home White for the first run of the game.

Again, the Spartans responded with two hits and a run in the top of the fifth inning. Leading off the bottom half of the inning, Russell hit a solo shot to left field for what would be the game-winning run.

Solid defense prevented the Spartans from getting anything else going and maintained the win.

"I liked how we came out with a different mentality in the second game today," head coach Shelly Hoerner said. "The first game was just not us, but I'm proud of how we refocused and came out a different team. Sydney threw a great game and we made some great plays behind her. UNCG is s very good team and playing them before Louisiana is good preparation."

The Mountaineers are back in action this weekend as they take on the top team in the Sun Belt and No. 10 team in the nation in Louisiana. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Appalachian State’s Kaleb Bowman kept UNC Asheville from breaking the game open, and his timely relief appearance set the stage for a game-changing outburst from the Mountaineers’ offense.

App State posted an 8-2 road win against the Bulldogs on Wednesday night thanks to seven two-out runs in the third inning. The Mountaineers (13-18) faced a manageable 2-0 deficit entering the third because Bowman, who took the mound with one out and two runners in scoring position following a two-run sequence for UNC Asheville, immediately recorded a strikeout and induced a lineout to diving center fielder Alex Leshock.

Bowman’s 2.2 innings of scoreless relief allowed him to improve to 4-0 this season, go to 6-0 in his two-year App State career and lower his ERA to 1.59. His ERA ranks No. 4 nationally among pitchers with at least 15 appearances this season.

Bowman relieved freshman starter Austin Primm, who pitched a scoreless first inning and gave up the two runs (one earned) in the second inning. Jason Cornatzer allowed one hit in three scoreless innings against the Bulldogs (11-20) after taking the mound in the fifth, and the Mountaineers got a scoreless inning apiece from Jack Hartman (two strikeouts) and Andrew Papp.

Robbie Young opened the seven-run third inning with a single, but UNC Asheville starter Danny Wilson retired the next two batters. Luke Drumheller’s 12th double of the season and second double in the first three innings Wednesday brought home Young with App State’s first run.

A walk on a 3-2 pitch to Kendall McGowan prompted a pitching change, and Dalton Williams’ walk on a 3-2 pitch loaded the bases for Joel McDaniel, who delivered a two-run single to left for a 3-2 lead. Hayden Cross’ infield single loaded the bases again, triggering another pitching change, and Bailey Welch lined a two-run single to center.

Welch stole second and moved to third as Cross raced home on passed ball. Young’s second single of the inning pushed the Mountaineers ahead 7-2.

Bowman and Cornatzer held UNC Asheville without a run before App State capped the scoring in the top of the seventh inning, when McGowan hit a one-out triple and went home on Williams’ sacrifice fly to center.

Williams (2-for-3), Young (2-for-3), Cross (2-for-4), McDaniel (2-for-4) and Drumheller (2-for-5) accounted for 10 of the team’s 13 hits. McGowan reached base three times thanks to two walks, scored a team-leading two runs and made a sliding catch in left field.

The Mountaineers return to action Friday with the start of a three-game home series against Sun Belt opponent ULM.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Lacrosse Team used seven goals from Rachel Elmore to secure the thrilling 16-15 victory over the Catawba College Indians on Wednesday afternoon.

It was a back-and-forth battle as Catawba struck first just 1:34 into the game with a goal from Colleen Green, then two straight goals for both sides before LR created separation in the first half with four-straight goals. Elmore and Cathleen Gaffney contributed two each in that scoring run for Lenoir-Rhyne.

Following behind Elmore's scoring output was Gaffney who contributed three goals and four assists while Gia Colombo and Kaley Harris added two goals each. Alyssa Sack was another distributor for the Bears as she scored once but added three assists.

Lenoir-Rhyne played both of their goalies in this one as Cristi Rowland played in the first half, giving up seven goals and collecting five saves while Teanna Sieben gave up eight goals with six saves and picking up the win.

Catawba outscored the Bears 8-6 in the second half, and leading the road team in scoring was Nicole Hunt with four, then a pair of scorers with three: Erin Green and Imani Grays.

Gaffney ranks second in the conference in assists with 29 and today marks Elmore's season-high in goals scored as well as the fifth consecutive game with multiple scores.

Lenoir-Rhyne is a perfect 9-0 when scoring 15 or more and LR also improved their home record to 4-2 on the year

The win has secured the number two spot in the South Atlantic Conference standings as of Wednesday night with a one game lead on the Wingate Bulldogs.

Lenoir-Rhyne is 9-5 overall, 5-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears stay home to host the Mars Hill Lions on Sunday, April 14 at 3 p.m. in South Atlantic Conference action.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team continued to ride the hot bats on their way to a 6-2 victory over the Barton Bulldogs on Wednesday night. This was the second meeting of the season for the Bulldogs and Bears.

The starter on the mound for the Bears was Nolan Flachofsky, who worked four complete innings and gave up no runs while scattering four hits in the process. Kevin LaRosa worked three innings in relief while giving up a single run on three hits. Kain Kiser came in to work the final _ for the game.

Lenoir-Rhyne was led at the plate for the recently named NCBWA Region Player of the Week Clayton Jeffries, who finished 2-for-5, and Austin Reed, who tallied a 3-for-5 day with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Barton was led at the plate by Jacob Marcos, 2-for-5 and one RBI and seven other Bulldog batters recorded one base hit.

The Bulldog pitching staff threw one arm per inning, and it was the starter Connor Patterson who took the loss to fall to 1-3 on the season, giving up three runs on three hits in the start. Four of their pitchers held the Bears scoreless and three gave up either two or three in their appearances.

The Bears own a midweek record of 8-4 and improved their road mark to 14-8 on the year.

LR's win streak of five games is the most this season and they have avenged their previous 9-4 loss to the Bulldogs earlier this year.

Jeffries extended his hit streak to eight games while Ranel is right behind him with seven-straight games with a base knock.

The Bears are 21-21 on the season. L-R will head home to prepare for their senior day weekend with the Wingate Bulldogs coming to town. First pitch is set for Friday night at 6 p.m.