CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb plated five runs in the sixth inning to cruise to an 8-1 victory over Appalachian State in front of a crowd of 1,641 at BB&T Ballpark in uptown Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday evening.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs improved to 25-18 on the year, while the Mountaineers now sit at 11-29 overall.
 
Chandler Redmond led off the top of the sixth with a solo home run just over the wall in the right field gap, his 12th home run of 2018.
 
Chris Clary followed with a double to left field and later with two outs, Justin Kunz reached on a four-pitch walk and Mason Fox was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
 
Mickey Dugan then stepped up to the plate, sending the first pitch he saw to left field to drive in Clary and Kunz.
 
That was followed by a bases-clearing triple by Corey Howard to deep left field to set the score at 8-1.
 
GWU led off the top of the fourth inning with its first base hit of the evening, a double to left field by Fox.  With two outs in the frame, Eric Jones connected with a base knock to left field to score Fox, producing the first run of the night.
 
The Diamond 'Dogs increased their lead in the top of the fifth inning to 3-0 as Fox ripped the first pitch by App State reliever Cameron Kepley to deep left field to drive a pair of runs across home plate.
 
The Mountaineers got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the fifth on a solo home run to left field by CJ Brown.
 
The Diamond 'Dogs totaled seven base hits on the evening, with Fox (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs) leading the offensive output.
 
App State was held to just three base hits throughout the night.
 
Landon Mitchell (3-4) earned the win for Gardner-Webb, who allowed one run on a pair of base hits with three strikeouts in two innings of work from the bullpen.  Jordan Hampton shined in the first start of his collegiate career, giving up just on base hit with no walks while fanning four batters in three innings.  Noah Davis, Isaac Campbell, Tyler Johnson, and Fox each worked one scoreless frame.
 
Brandon Boone (2-4) took the loss for the Mountaineers, allowing three runs on two hits with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings.  Kepley allowed a pair of runs on three hits in 0.2 innings of work, while Kaleb Bowman surrendered three runs on two his with one strikeout in one inning on the mound, and Andrew Papp and Jason Cornatzer combined to work the final three innings, allowing no runs.
 
Gardner-Webb returns to Big South Conference action this weekend at UNC Asheville.   The first pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 6:00 pm, with live coverage on the Big South Network (www.bigsouthsports.com).