BOONE, NC – Appalachian State picked up some mid-inning momentum on Friday to defeat the North Carolina A&T baseball team 9-3 at Smith Stadium.

The loss dropped the Aggies to 1-4 in the new season, even though seven different players had at least one hit in the game, including four extra base hits. App State improved to 4-1 behind a 3-for-5 evening from Ethan Puig that included three RBIs.

Graduate right-handed pitcher Diego Barrett (L, 0-2) started the game and retired the Mountaineers in order in the first inning. He ran into trouble in his second inning on the bump, giving up a leadoff single to Kameron Miller before Drew DuPont hit a two-run homer to give App State a 2-0 advantage. One out later, Puig also went yard to increase App State's lead to three.

The Aggies gave Barrett some help in the visitors' third when Reginald Tuggle III led off the inning against App starter and left-hander Tanner Nolan (W, 1-0) with a home run to center field. It marked his third career home run and his first as an Aggie after transferring from Savannah State.

Now trailing 3-1, Barrett recovered in the home third by retiring the Mountaineers in order again before pitching out of a jam in the fourth inning, where the Mountaineers put men on first and second before Barrett got Puig to fly out and Brook Wright to foul out to end the frame and his outing. Barrett went four innings, striking out three and walking only one.

Junior RHP Jacob Fields entered the game for A&T and pitched a scoreless fifth inning by pitching out of a bases-loaded jam by getting DuPont to fly out. But in the sixth, the Mountaineers scored three more runs as Riley Luft scored on a throwing error after opening the inning with a double. After a strikeout, Steven Smith hit a two-run homer to give App State a 6-1 lead.

The Aggies got a run back in the seventh as sophomore Bruce Wyche opened the inning against RHP reliever Nick DiRito (S, 1) with a triple, followed by an RBI single from senior Andrew Tinsley to cut App State's lead to four. But the Mountaineers added three more runs in their half of the seventh off an RBI single from Puig and a two-run single by Smith.

A&T added another run in the top of the eighth thanks to an RBI single from sophomore Tyler Smith. However, DiRito retired the Aggies in order in the ninth inning to secure the win. Despite the loss, sophomore JT Taylor doubled while Wyche and senior Nick DiCarlo both tripled. The Aggies and the Mountaineers will play again on Saturday, but in another location.

App State and the Aggies will take their in-state contest to Hickory, NC, to play at the Hickory Crawdads' L.P. Frans Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Crawdads are an MLB minor league affiliate of the Texas Rangers. RHP Gavin Sentell is scheduled to start the game for the Aggies.