Matt Andress blanked Furman on Friday night to earn SoCon Pitcher of the Week accolades (photo courtesy of Marc DeRose)

Mountaineer Baseball Notebook: Andress Named SoCon Pitcher of the Week
by Appalachian Sports Information

May 12, 2008 - BOONE, N.C. — Three days after tossing Appalachian State University’s first nine-inning, complete-game shutout in five years, sophomore pitcher Matt Andress has been named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.

Andress went the distance in Appalachian’s 5-0 win over Furman on Friday evening. The right-hander scattered six hits, struck out six and walked none en route to snapping FU’s 13-game SoCon winning streak. He needed just 102 pitches to record ASU’s first nine-inning, complete-game shutout since Taylor Craig blanked Wofford, 6-0, on May 16, 2003.

With the victory, Andress moved to 8-3 on the season, good for a tie for sixth on the Mountaineers’ all-time single-season wins list. The Charlotte, N.C. native has been integral to the Apps winning five-straight series for the first time since 1986, as he has posted a sterling 4-0 record and 2.03 earned run average over his last four starts.

Andress is Appalachian’s first SoCon weekly award winner of the season.

TOWARNICKY, FRANCO COLLECT ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT ACCOLADES: Sophomore first baseman David Towarnicky and senior designated hitter/catcher Andrew Franco were both rewarded for their accomplishments on the diamond and in the classroom last Thursday when they were named College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selections. Towarnicky collected second-team honors while Franco earned third-team plaudits.

Towarnicky sports a perfect 4.0 grade point average in accounting. On the field, he is hitting .287 with four home runs and 33 RBI and has committed just four errors in 376 defensive chances at first base this season.

Franco, who received a bachelor’s degree in finance and banking this past weekend, boasts a 3.29 grade point average. A preseason candidate for the Wallace Award, given annually to college baseball’s top player, Franco has been hampered by injuries throughout his senior season but has still managed to hit four home runs and drive in 26. He has also delivered two of the Mountaineers’ biggest hits this season over the past two weeks — a two-run single that plated the tying run in the ninth inning of a 9-3 win over first-place Elon on April 30 and a two-run triple that brought home the winning run in yesterday’s 4-2 triumph over Furman (both came as a pinch-hitter).

TUESDAY’S GAME TIME, VENUE CHANGED: Tuesday’s non-conference finale at UNC Asheville has been moved from UNCA’s on-campus facility to historic McCormick Field, home of the South Atlantic League’s Asheville Tourists. Due to the venue change, first pitch has been moved to 7 p.m.

Appalachian (29-23, 13-11 SoCon) will look to extend its season-best winning streak to six games when it squares off versus UNCA (22-30, 5-13 Big South). Earlier this season, ASU pounded Asheville, 23-8, at Smith Stadium. Franco went 5-for-6 and drove in seven runs in the rout.

Right-hander Zach Quate (4-3, 5.96 ERA) will get the start on the mound versus the Bulldogs. He also made the start in the two teams’ first matchup of the season and allowed four earned runs over six innings to earn the win.