Jason Altenhof and the Mountaineers face Yale and Quinnipiac this weekend at Davidson (photo courtesy of Marc DeRose) Game statistics

Baseball to Take on Pair of Northern Foes at Davidson
by Appalachian Sports Information

March 7, 2008 - Appalachian State University baseball continues its season-opening stretch away from home when it travels to Davidson, N.C. this weekend for non-conference games versus Yale and Quinnipiac.

Due to heavy rain across the Carolinas, the weekend schedule has been altered. Appalachian is now slated to take on Yale in single games on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. Following Sunday’s matchup with Yale, Appalachian will square off with Quinnipiac as scheduled, beginning at approximately 2 p.m.

Appalachian (5-5) comes into the weekend fresh off of a 19-14 slugfest win at High Point on Wednesday afternoon. ASU scored 13 runs over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to take a seemingly safe 19-6 lead, but High Point staged a furious rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring eight runs and putting the tying run on deck with just one out before reliever Zach Quate came in to strike out the final two batters and seal a 19-14 Mountaineer victory.

Yale and Quinnipiac arrive in Davidson for the beginning of their respective spring-break swings through the Carolinas and Virginia. Yale opened their season by dropping 2-of-3 games at George Washington last weekend. The Bulldogs are coming off a 16-27 campaign a season ago, including an 8-12 mark in Ivy League play and are led by All-America catcher Ryan Larvanway, who topped the nation with a .467 batting average and .873 slugging percentage in 2007.

Quinnipiac will open its season this weekend versus Davidson and ASU. The Bobcats won the Northeast Conference regular-season championship in 2007 and are picked behind only Monmouth in the NEC’s 2008 preseason poll. They are led by two-time all-conference performer John Delaney, who hit .301 with two home runs, 15 RBI and 16 doubles a season ago.

Following the weekend in Davidson, Appalachian will make a spring-break journey of its own when it travels to Alabama for contests at Auburn (March 11-12) and Jacksonville State (March 14-15). ASU makes its 2008 debut at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium when it hosts Wake Forest on Tuesday, March 18 at 2:30 p.m.