There are few collegiate starting pitchers better than Mark Appel this season and the projected first round pick was on the mound once again on Friday night against Fresno State. Appel had a perfect record of 2-0 heading into the matchup, but some timely hitting from FSU and a bit of poor defense worked against the talented righty. The Cardinal took the 7-4 loss.
Appel worked eight innings and struck out 11 batters while only walking three. In a bit of promising news, he allowed just two fly ball outs, meaning he continued to do a great job of keeping the ball on the ground.
The game was not televised, but many heard from reports out of FSU that the Stanford catcher, Eric Smith, missed a crucial tag at the plate that opened the floodgates. Appel was charged with seven runs (all earned), but it did sound like the guys behind him did not play their best game.
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