JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Interstat) — Two of the nation’s hottest early-season teams will clash Wednesday when the Appalachian State Mountaineers visit the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in a midweek nonconference showdown at Thomas Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for the afternoon, with clear skies but a frigid game-time temperature of 35 degrees forecast.

Both teams enter with identical 6-1 records, each riding four-game winning streaks. The Mountaineers are coming off a wild 9-8 victory over Southern Illinois on Sunday, while the Buccaneers swept a three-game series from Sacred Heart, including an 11-8 win Saturday and a 26-3 rout earlier that day.

A key matchup will feature Appalachian State’s pitching against ETSU’s potent offense. Mountaineers reliever Max Tramontana has been stellar, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts in Sunday’s win. He will be tasked with slowing Buccaneers’ outfielder Nathan Conner, who is red-hot. In Saturday’s doubleheader, Conner went 6 for 12 with three home runs and eight RBIs.

In their recent Sunday victories, Appalachian State relied on clutch relief pitching and timely hitting. Alongside Tramontana, Reyn Watson provided 1 2/3 scoreless innings against Southern Illinois, while center fielder Charlie Evans drove in three runs. ETSU’s Saturday win saw strong bullpen work from Evan Rolison and Thomas Costarelli, who combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Mountaineers’ only loss came on the road at Duke on Feb. 17. Since then, they have outscored opponents 37-11 over four games. The Buccaneers’ lone setback was a 7-5 defeat at Virginia Tech on Feb. 17. In their six wins, ETSU’s offense has averaged over 11 runs per game.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, this evenly matched contest projects to be a high-scoring affair, with a narrow 8-7 victory for Appalachian State.

Following Wednesday’s game, Appalachian State begins a three-game series at Gardner-Webb on Friday. East Tennessee State will host Quinnipiac for a three-game set starting Friday.