BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb was able to put baserunners on second and third base with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Runnin' Bulldogs were unable to capitalize, falling to Appalachian State by a 4-2 score on Saturday afternoon.

Gardner-Webb (2-5) opened the bottom half of the ninth with a single to left field by Danny Sullivan, followed by a double by Mickey Dugan that put two runners in scoring position.

Appalachian State (3-3) would shut down the comeback effort by the Diamond 'Dogs as Paul Trick would ground out in the following at bat, and closer Reed Howell would strike out Chandler Redmond and Matt Simmons to seal the game. 

The Mountaineers would open up the scoring in the top of the second inning on an RBI triple by Drake Zupcic.

Gardner-Webb would answer in the bottom of the fourth as Sullivan would send the first pitch he saw over the centerfield fence to tie the game at 1-1.  The home run was the second by Sullivan in as many days.

Appalachian State would plate two runs in the top of the fifth inning, as Brian Bauk would score on a wild pitch, followed by a RBI single by Jason Curtis.

The Mountaineers would tack on an additional run in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Robert Langdon with two outs, giving App State a 4-1 advantage.

The Runnin' Bulldogs would respond in the bottom half of the frame, as Redmond would hit a home run to dead center field on the first pitch he saw of his at-bat with two outs.  It was the third home run of the season for Redmond and the thirteenth of the season for GWU.

Colin Schmid earned the win for Appalachian State, tossing 7.1 innings with seven strikeouts while allowing two runs.   Howell earned the save, tossing the last inning with two strikeouts.

Zach Mosay took the loss for the Diamond 'Dogs, hurling 6.1 innings with four strikeouts, while allowing three earned runs.  Aaron Stewart faced one batter in the seventh inning, drawing a groundout.  Tyler Johnson pitched the final 2.1 innings for GWU, fanning four batters while allowing only one base hit. 

The Moutaineers had 10 base hits on the afternoon, led by Calev Grubbs (2-for-5) and Zupcic (2-for-4, 3B, RBI).

Gardner-Webb collected nine base hits, paced by Sullivan, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI.  Mason Fox (2-for-4) and Dugan (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) also had multiple base hits for GWU.

The two teams will conclude the series Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm at John Henry Moss Stadium.