April 3, 2012. After a one-week absence, Appalachian State University baseball has re-entered college baseball’s national rankings at No. 30 in this week’s National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll.
Two weeks ago, Appalachian garnered only the second national ranking in program history when it came in at No. 29 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll. At the time, the ranking was believed to be a first at ASU but it was later confirmed that the Mountaineers were also ranked No. 29 in the final Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll of the 1984 regular season.
After falling out of college baseball’s major polls last Monday, the Mountaineers rebounded with a 4-0 week to earn their first-ever inclusion in the 15-year history of the NCBWA’s national rankings. Appalachian hit .389 as a team and averaged 12.5 runs per game in a mid-week win over North Carolina A&T and a three-game weekend sweep over Oakland.
With last week’s impressive 4-0 showing, Appalachian moved to 22-5 on the season and became only the third club in ASU’s 109-year baseball history to win 22 of its first 27 games. The Mountaineers are 15-0 at home this season with four games still remaining on their current eight-game homestand.
The eight-game homestand continues on Tuesday when Appalachian hosts longtime local rival East Tennessee State. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at ASU’s Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Appalachian all-America wrestler Austin Trotman will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game.