Southpaw Cameron Ohl will make his first start in the Black and Gold on Tuesday evening at Auburn (photo courtesy of Marc DeRose) Game statistics

Baseball Opens Alabama Trip With Two-Game Set at Auburn
by Appalachian Sports Information

March 10, 2008 - Appalachian State University baseball begins a week-long stint in Alabama with a two-game series at perennial Southeastern Conference-power Auburn. Games are set for Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. EDT) at Auburn’s Samford Stadium.

Appalachian (7-6) is coming off a pair of impressive victories on Sunday in Davidson, N.C. ASU shut out Yale, among the favorites to win the 2008 Ivy League championship, 13-0, and routed Quinnipiac, a perennial Northeast Conference-frontrunner, 11-4. Appalachian has scored in double-figures in three of its last four games.

The Mountaineers were rewarded Monday for their strong start to the ’08 campaign when they came in at No. 38 in the season’s initial RPI rankings compiled by BoydsWorld.com. The Apps have claimed wins over No. 16 NC State (8-3), No. 17 Wake Forest (7-5) and No. 51 Canisius (7-1) to attain their high ranking among 293 Division I teams.

Appalachian is in search of another marquee victory at Auburn, which comes into the mid-week matchups with a 10-4 record and No. 66 RPI ranking. All four of the Tigers’ losses have come at the hands of No. 3 Florida State while all 10 of their wins have come over former or current Southern Conference members — East Tennessee State, Davidson and VMI. AU outscored VMI, 31-13, en route to a four-game sweep over the Keydets this past weekend.

The Mountaineers are looking for their first-ever win over Auburn and to snap a seven-game losing streak to SEC foes. The Apps are 0-4 all-time against AU and haven’t beaten an SEC squad since they claimed a 6-4 triumph over Kentucky in 2001.

Following the two-game stint at Auburn, Appalachian concludes its visit to the Yellowhammer State with single game at Jacksonville State on Friday and a doubleheader versus JSU on Saturday.

APPALACHIAN (7-6) at AUBURN (10-4)
Tuesday • 6 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. EDT)
ASU Jr. LHP Cameron Ohl (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. AU Jr. RHP Luke Greinke (1-1, 5.62 ERA)
Wednesday • 6 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. EDT)
ASU Jr. RHP Aubrey Edens (1-0, 9.28 ERA) vs. AU Fr. LHP Cory Luckie (2-1, 1.35 ERA)

Live stats for both games are available at AuburnTigers.com.