Monday, May 24, 2004

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 24, 2004) -- Sixth-seeded East Tennessee State opens Southern Conference Tournament play Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. against third-seeded The Citadel from Riley Park in Charleston, S.C. The Bucs come into the tournament at 28-28, 15-15 in SoCon games. The Bulldogs are currently 33-25, 21-9 in conference games. ETSU and The Citadel played a tremendous series earlier this season from Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn. The Bucs swept all three games, but each of the games was decided by three runs or less. East Tennessee State comes into the tournament led by junior catcher Caleb Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.), sophomore first baseman Blake Church (Roswell, Ga.) and senior shortstop Andy Howdeshell (Maryville, Tenn.). Moore leads the country with a .466 batting average and 30 doubles while Church is hitting .362 and Howdeshell is batting .357. Moore also leads the team with 58 runs scored while Church paces the team with 53 RBIs. Howdeshell leads the squad with 11 home runs and is second on the Bucs with 48 RBIs and 55 runs scored. Howdeshell was named Southern Conference Player of the Week on Monday after batting .571 with three homers and five RBIs this past weekend against Furman. Live stats for all ETSU games at the tournament will be available on the East Tennessee State Athletic Department website, www.etsubucs.com. For more information on the 2004 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament, sponsored by the Virginia-Carolina Peanut Growers and the National Peanut Board, visit the Tournament Headquarters.