By Matt Present. SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – App State grabbed a 4-0 advantage early, but were unable to keep pace with the offense of Texas State on Saturday, falling 17-7 in seven innings at Bobcat Ballpark.

Leading 2-0 in the second inning, Austin St. Laurent and Xavier Moronta hit back-to-back home runs to push the App State advantage to 4-0. CJ Boyd later added his seventh home run of the season, but all three long balls from the Mountaineers (11-6, 0-2) were solo shots.

Batting one through three in the Mountaineers’ order, Boyd, St. Laurent and Moronta combined to tally six hits, score five runs and drive in five runs for the App State offense.

All three Mountaineer long balls were solo shots.

Meanwhile, Texas State (11-8, 2-0) responded with three home runs in an eight-run bottom of the second inning. Daylan Pena homered twice in the inning and blasted three home runs in the ballgame for the Bobcats. Texas State finished the contest with 17 hits, including four round-trippers.

Texas State scored at least a run in every inning after the first, ultimately securing a run rule walk-off win on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh.

App State will look to salvage the finale of the series on Sunday, as Dante Chirico will make the start, in a contest slated for 2 p.m. ET.

BOX SCORE: HERE

By Matt Present. SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – In a ballgame that was scoreless through six innings of play, App State put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the ninth inning, before falling 3-2 at Texas State on Friday at Bobcat Ballpark.

Bradley Wilson was outstanding for the Mountaineers in his first start of Sun Belt play. The right-hander allowed just one hit, and struck out six, in six scoreless innings of work.

Wilson escaped a bases loaded jam in the second, after a walk, an infield single and a fielder’s choice gave Texas State a marquee scoring opportunity early. Wilson struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning unscathed, and went on to retire the final eight batters he faced in the ballgame. Wilson commanded all of his pitches, running his fastball up to 97 miles-per-hour on the night.

Holderbach has reached base in all 16 games this season.

In a game that saw just one runner reach third base in the first six innings of play, the Mountaineers (11-5, 0-1) jumped on the scoreboard first in the seventh. Xavier Moronta was hit by a pitch with one away, and then after a two-out free pass to Braxton Church, Drew Hoderbach singled up the middle to give the visitors a 1-0 edge. Holderbach has now reached base in all 16 games this season.

Texas State (10-8, 1-0) responded with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to go in front for the first time in the ballgame, and then added an insurance run in the eighth on a wild pitch to pull in front 3-1.

With App State down to its final out in the ninth, Banks Tolley lined a home run over the left field wall, his seventh of the season, to bring the deficit to just one run. Church then walked and Holderbach singled to left, but the Mountaineers were unable to extend the rally any further, stranding the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on base.

The two teams combined for only seven hits in the ballgame, with Austin Eaton allowing just one run over seven innings in his start for the Bobcats.

The teams will play game two of the series on Saturday, with first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m. ET.

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. – Following the best conference finish in program history last fall, App State head soccer coach Aimee Haywood has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2027 season, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin announced Friday. The extension was approved by Chancellor Sheri Everts and the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees.

“We are extremely excited about the direction of App State Soccer under Aimee,” Gillin said. “After achieving the best conference finish in program history, we look forward to our soccer student-athletes’ continued pursuit of excellence in the classroom, in the community and in competition.”

App State’s 15 wins under Haywood are the most in a head coach’s first two years leading the program.

In 2023, Haywood led the Mountaineers to their most overall and conference wins since 2018, and recorded a program-record third place conference finish. The team tallied a program-best eight shutouts in the process, conceding just 16 goals on the season, the fewest in a year in program history. App State finished with its best RPI since 2015.

App State’s 15 wins under Haywood are the most in a head coach’s first two years leading the program.

“I would like to thank the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Everts, Doug Gillin and Jonathan Reeder for their continued trust in my leadership of this program,” Haywood said. “I am grateful to each of them for their work and leadership in providing the resources and opportunities necessary for this program to grow over the last two years and years to come.

“There is a lot of momentum on this mountain for our soccer program and the University as a whole and I’m incredibly grateful and excited to be a part of it. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my team and my staff for the hard work they put in every single day to elevate themselves and our program.”

Since taking over the program in December 2021, Haywood’s Mountaineers have far exceeded expectations. Picked 13th in the Sun Belt in 2022, App State finished seventh in the league standings, and then achieved their third-place finish in 2023 despite being tabbed eighth in the league preseason poll.

Under Haywood’s tutelage, senior forward Izzi Wood earned All-Sun Belt honors in 2023, becoming the first Mountaineer to earn that distinction since 2018. Haywood’s first recruiting class also saw Summer Bowman notch four goals and three assists in 15 games, while Olivia Simon recorded four goals and one assist in 18 games, including the first hat trick by an App State player since 2014.

Off the field, Haywood has demonstrated a commitment to developing well-rounded student-athletes by incorporating “mind gym” and “culture class” as ongoing team initiatives. App State soccer student-athletes have excelled in the classroom as well, with 11 team members earning Chancellor’s List recognition and seven earning Dean’s List honors this past fall. The team has maintained at least a 3.45 cumulative GPA throughout her tenure.

Haywood and her team will be hosting a trio of spring matches in Boone over the coming weeks. On Sunday, March 24, App State will play matches against Western Carolina at 1 p.m. and Lees-McRae at 3:40 p.m. Then, on Wednesday, April 3, App State will host North Carolina, which has made the NCAA tournament each of the last 42 seasons and won 21 national championships.

By Ethan Bumgarner. BOONE, N.C. — On the heels of leading App State to its first Mid-American Conference championship, field hockey head coach Emily Dinsmore has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2027 season, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin announced Friday. The extension was approved by Chancellor Sheri Everts and the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees.

“We are extremely excited about the trajectory of App State Field Hockey under Emily’s direction,” Gillin said. “Leading the team to a conference championship and being named MAC Coach of the Year in her first year as a head coach is a tremendous accomplishment. We look forward to supporting our field hockey student-athletes’ continued pursuit of excellence academically, socially and competitively.”

In her first season as head coach following a six-year stint as an assistant coach, Dinsmore led the Mountaineers to a MAC regular-season title for the first time and a program record-tying 14 wins on her way to MAC Co-Coach of the Year honors. App State also took down No. 8 Louisville on the road for the program’s first win over a top-10 opponent.

“It is such a blessing to be the head coach of this incredible program,” Dinsmore said. “Thank you to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Everts, Doug Gillin and Erika Cheung for continuing to believe in me, our staff and our student-athletes. As a program, we want to continue building on the success from this season and we are looking forward to competing for a MAC Championship in the fall. There is something special happening here on the mountain and I’m excited for the years to come.”

Dinsmore’s squad went 6-1 in the MAC for their best conference record since joining the league in 2017. They closed the regular season on a nine-game winning streak, the third-longest streak in program history.

Five Mountaineers earned All-MAC honors in 2023, led by Addie Clark being named MAC Goalkeeper of the Year and a first-team selection. Lise Boekaar also earned first-team honors, while Charlotte Bosma, Grace Ball and Sophia Baxter were named to the second team. Florine Koopman and Baxter made the All-MAC Freshman team.

In the classroom, the field hockey team boasts a 3.49 cumulative GPA. App State had 11 student-athletes named to the 2023 NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad (3.5+ GPA during fall semester) and three earn NFHCA Division I Scholar of Distinction accolades (3.9+ GPA during fall semester). Also in the fall, there were four field hockey student-athletes named to the Chancellor’s List and 13 who made the Dean’s List.

By David Rogers. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the first half of the NCHSAA 4A West Regional Championship game on March 14, Watauga clawed back to tie Charlotte Catholic at 34-34 early in the second half and even led at 39-38. Unfortunately, the Cougars’ adept 3-point shooting and strong inside play around post player Blanca Thomas kept the Pioneers from extending their momentum. CCHS won, 61-55, at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Wake Forest University.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article

In some respects, this was a battle between one dominant player on each team: Thomas had a team-high 27 points for CCHS while Kate Sears poured in a game-high 38 points for the Pioneers.  No other players on either team scored in double figures but the Cougars had just a little more scoring from players not having a last name of Thomas than the Watauga support players not named Sears.

Case in point: Charlotte Catholic was good on 7-of-18 shots (39 percent) from beyond the arc, compared to Watauga’s paltry 4-of-22 (18 percent) from 3-point land. Freshman sharpshooter Blair Haines was 2-for-2 from long distance to account for half of her team’s made threes.  The rest of the team was 2-for-20.

Especially against opponents with a significant size advantage such as Charlotte Catholic had on the court that can dominate inside the paint, Watauga thrives — or not — from beyond the arc. This was one of those “not” encounters.

Reflecting that dominance inside, Charlotte Catholic outrebounded Watauga, 38-20, through the course of the game, including 15 offensive boards that provided the Cougars with an ample number of second chance opportunities and 23 defensive rebounds that denied the Pioneers of second chance shots.

One area that allowed Watauga to keep the game close was in free throw shooting. The Pioneers made good on 17-of-21 (81 percent) from the charity stripe while Charlotte Catholic struggled at the line, 12-of-20 (60 percent).

With seven seniors on the Cougars’ roster, the Charlotte contingent was just a little bit deeper than the Pioneers. CCHS had six players who were on the court at least 19 minutes or longer, Watauga also had six players in double-digit minutes played, but Sears (31 minutes), Laney Shook (23), Kaitlyn Darner (28) and Charlotte Torgerson (30) were the only ones on the court for 23 minutes or more. Julie Matheson (16) and Haines (17) saw significant time on the floor, too.

With the win, Charlotte Catholic advances to the 4A Championship game on March 16, also to be played at LJVMC. They will face the Rolesville Rams, who defeated the Hoggard Vikings in the 4A East Regional Championship.

With the loss, Watauga’s historic season comes to a close.

TOP PERFORMERS

• WAT – Kate Sears: 38 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals
• CC – Blanca Thomas: 27 points, 18 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 2 steals
• CC – Olivia Fava: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• CC – Gracyn Gough: 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
• CC – Maggie Kernodle: 9 points, 3 assists
• WAT – Blair Haines: 6 points, 1 rebound
• WAT – Julie Matheson: 5 points
• WAT – Charlotte Torgerson: 4 points, 1 assist, 1 steal
• WAT – Kaitlyn Darner: 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

BONUS PHOTOS

All photos by David Rogers for High Country Sports

By David Rogers. NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — With the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race weekend just two months away (May 19) and having had the North Wilkesboro track recently repaved, NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports and North Wilkesboro got together with Goodyear for some good, old fashioned tire testing on March 12, 13, and 14.

The March 12 testing sessions focused on the Truck Series, while March 13 and 14 are focused on the Cup Series.

It was a picture perfect day for racing, as well as for tire testing on March 13. Temperatures hovered in the high 70s, the skies were clear, and only the slightest breeze kept the American flag in the middle of the mostly empty track infield from dropping against the flag pole, motionless.

Scott Cooper, Senior Vice President for Communications at Charlotte-based Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which owns North Wilkesboro Speedway, explained to High Country Sports that a driver from each of the three major car manufacturers were invited to participate, with members of their support teams. The mission is to allow Goodyear to select the perfect tire for the new pavement, to be supplied to the Cup teams who will compete in the All-Star event.

For the March 13 testing, three of NASCAR’s young stars represented the manufacturers: Joey Logano (Penske Racing, Ford), William Byron (Hendrick, Chevrolet) and Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota).

The grip of the tire on the race track and how it performs during acceleration and braking are among the characteristics being evaluated by the race teams and Goodyear.

All three drivers offered high praise for the new paving vs. what they experienced a year ago. Logano said there were still some idiosyncrasies in turn No. 1 and that a bump in turn No. 4 is still there, noting that “… they give the race track character.”

The NASCAR All-Star Race is slated for May 19 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Against NCHSAA 2A power Fred T. Foard High School, Watauga women’s soccer face one of the best coached and better prepared teams they will face in the non-conference schedule. Thanks to persistent defense and an adept “small ball” offensive attack, the Pioneers prevailed, 2-0.

Pioneer senior forward Katie Durham recorded a first half goal, the assist credited to Morgan Flynt. The final goal came midway through the second half, by Charlotte Cuthbert and the assist credited to Savanna Rogers.

“Morgan gave a really good through-ball,” said Durham in recalling her first half goal. “I was just able to get to it before the goalkeeper.”

Cuthbert said her goal resulted from a cross kick pass from Rogers. In terms of the Pioneers’ expectations in meeting Foard, Cuthbert added, “We know from past games in which we have played them, in previous seasons, they always come pretty aggressive. They come out strong. They have a consistency in their strength throughout the game.”

“We knew that most of Foard’s games are on fields that are much smaller than ours,” said Durham. “So we wanted to really make them run, maybe make them tire. We have the biggest field in our conference and one of the biggest in the region.”

Watauga head coach Chris Tarnowski was quick to express appreciation for Foard and the stiff opposition they provided.

“We have to give a lot of credit to Foard,” said Tarnowski about Watauga’s March 13 opponent. “They are an extremely well-coached team and they have one of the highest strength of schedules in the entire West region. After losing their opening match to one of our Northwestern Conference rivals, Hibriten, by the same score we beat them today (2-0), Foard came into this match with three straight wins over Maiden (6-0), Bandys (3-1) and Crest (4-3). They came out to play tonight and are probably among the most solid defensive teams we will face all year.”

Analyzing his own team’s performance, gave another nod to Foard’s defense.

“We had a little bit of trouble in the first half moving the ball the way we like,” said Tarnowski. “We just needed to settle down. We did that and put together some small passes in the middle that really fuels our entire offense. We have the players to connect quick, small passes when they are on it. It just takes some minutes playing together to get that chemistry down and that confidence in one another. That’s why we schedule these early season tough games. We want to build off of these Foard type matches.

“Those quick short passes is the way we think the game should be played,” Tarnowski added. “It is a style that makes sure all of the players on the field get involved. Foard plays the same way and that is one of the reasons this game was so close. You had two really good teams playing good soccer.”

Tarnowski acknowledged that Watauga has some new faces on the field this season and it takes minutes playing together to establish the kind of chemistry required.

“Our new players and others playing in new roles are doing really, really well,” he said. “They will get even better with the minutes playing together.”

Now 4-0 in the young season with non-conference wins over St. Stephens (5-1), Wilkes Central (5-1), East Forsyth (4-1), and now Foard (2-0). The Pioneers are halfway through their non-conference schedule with four more tough assignments on March 15 @ Forbush (Yadkinville), March 18 @ Asheville, March 22 vs. Lincoln Charter, and March 28 @ Abingdon. They open Northwestern Conference play on April 9 @ South Caldwell and April 12 @ Alexander Central.