Appalachian State put together a pair of five-run frames to rally past Siena Baseball 15-7 in the series-opener in Hickory, North Carolina. Freshman Tyler Figueroa continued his torrid start for the Saints, homering and knocking in five runs in defeat.
 
Siena (0-4) mustered just five hits, albeit none bigger than a fourth-inning go-ahead grand slam by Figueroa to claim a 6-5 lead. The rookie previously opened the scoring for the Saints with an RBI triple the inning prior.
 
But Appalachian State (4-1) mounted its own rally with its first five-run frame in the fifth. CJ Boyd and Austin St. Laurent capped the decisive inning with the go-ahead two-run single and a two-run homer, respectively, to reclaim a 10-6 advantage. The top two hitters in the Mountaineers order, Boyd and St. Laurent combined for three homers, nine RBI, and six runs scored.
 
Appalachian State added five more runs in the seventh to pull away, with Boyd bookending the inning by driving in runs. The Mountaineers totaled 13 hits on the afternoon.
 
Danny Barbero and Louis Percival each contributed sacrifice flies to round out the Siena scoring.
 
Five Saints pitchers combined to strike out 14 batters. Ramsey Collins mopped up with 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings to highlight the staff effort.
 
Game Two of the three-game weekend series is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.