CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team is set for a four-game home swing in the area beginning Tuesday night at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis. Queens will face off against Appalachian State at 6:30 p.m. before welcoming North Florida over the weekend to kick off conference play.
 
QUEENS ROYALS (4-12 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens is looking to bounce back this week after going 1-3 last week which featured a gritty victory over UNC Asheville. Despite suffering a weekend sweep at Tennessee Tech, the Royals were very competitive with both losses coming off walk-off hits for the Golden Eagles.
• Left fielder Dillon Lewis is off to a hot start for the Royals in the 2024 campaign. The junior has totaled a team-leading 24 hits on the season, including five home runs, and four doubles. Across 16 games, the Charlotte native is batting a team-leading .364. Lewis has recorded a hit in 12-of-16 games, and has had multi-hit performances in eight contests this year.
• JJ Sousa is the Royals leading slugger as he has smashed six home runs and one double on the season. After missing four straight contests, Sousa returned against Tennessee Tech and blasted two home runs on Friday night. Sousa has already doubled his extra-base total from last year as he hit three doubles across the entire 2023 campaign.
• Senior catcher Tyler Cotto has started all 16 games behind the plate for the Royals. Cotto has found his form at the plate slugging .615 which is nearly 300 points higher than last season.
• The Royals offense is built around the long ball as they lead the ASUN in home runs with 30 on the season. The Royals have blasted multiple home runs in seven games this year. In Friday's matchup against Tennessee Tech, the Royals belted seven home runs in the contest which was a program single-game record.
• Sophomore left-handed pitcher Joey Ruller has begun to settle in on the bump for the Royals. The Charlotte native has has allowed no earned runs, seven hits, with nine strikeouts in his last two apparences across 9.1 innings of work.
• Kansas State transfer Landry Jurecka has brought the electricity on the mound for the Royals as he leads the Royals with 26 strikeouts across 21.2 innings.
• Queens pitching staff struggles to prevent free base runners. The Royals have surrendered the most walks in the conference with 118. However, the Royals do lead the conference in strikeouts with 98.
• The Royals are looking to subside their fielding errors as are second in the ASUN with 26 errors on the season.

 
APPALACHIAN STATE MOUNTAINEERS (10-4 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt)

• Tuesday's showdown between the Mountaineers and Royals will be held at the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers' Atrium Health Ballpark.
• App State is coming off a series split against Winthrop over the weekend. Winthrop took game one 9-6, with the second game being canceled due to weather, and then App State cruising past the Eagles 16-1 in the series finale.
• Outfielder Banks Tolley leads the Mountaineers offensive attack. He leads the App State offense with a .361 batting average, including six home runs, and four doubles. The senior has recorded a hit in 12-of-14 contests as he began the year on an eight-game hitting streak.
• Senior CJ Boyd is tied for the team lead in home runs as he has belted six on the year. Against Winthrop, Boyd blasted was 6-for-9 on the weekend with two home runs and five RBIs across the two games.
• Drew Holderbach is a steadying presence for the Mountaineers. The grad student is batting .348 on the season with a team-leading six doubles. Coming into Tuesday night's matchup, Holderbach is looking to extend his 11-game hitting streak.
• The App State pitching staff struggles limiting the long ball. The Mountaineers' pitching staff has given up 24 home runs on the season which is the third most across the Sun Belt.
• The Moutaineers defense has been great at preventing mistakes on the season. The squad has committed a conference-low 10 errors on the season.

NORTH FLORIDA OSPREYS (9-6 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• The Ospreys are building momentum as they enter conference play as they took 2-of-3 from Seton Hall last weekend. North Florida capped off the series victory with a decisive 11-0 win on Sunday in seven innings.
• Senior Cherokee Nichols is the leading hitter for the Ospreys with a .346 batting average with a team-leading three home runs. The senior outfielder is also tied for the team-lead with five doubles. Nichols has mailed in multi-hit performances in five games this season.
• Catcher Jakob Runnels has started all fifteen games behind the plate for North Florida. Runnels has been a steadying presence in the Ospreys lineup as he boasts a team-leading .492 on-base-percentage. On the season, the senior has belted two home runs, three doubles, and a triple.
• Redshirt junior Trip McKinlay leads the Ospreys with 19 hits across the fifteen games of action. McKinley has smashed six extra-base hits on the year, including four doubles.
• Left-handed pitcher Peter Holden has been the Ospreys Friday night starter on the bumper. Through four starts, he has a 3.50 ERA with 19 strikeouts across 18.0 innings of work.
• Tony Roca has been a steadying presence for the Osprey pitching staff. Across four starts, he has allowed one earned run with 13 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work.

 
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