Saturday, May 21, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 21, 2005) - East Tennessee State scored five runs in the first three innings and freshman righty Robbie Campbell (Lothian, Md.) pitched six strong innings as the Bucs finished their regular season with a 6-5 Senior Day victory Saturday afternoon over High Point from Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn.

            Senior Justin Clear (Lafollette, Tenn.) was the story of the game, as he played all nine positions in the field, including pitching two-thirds of an inning in the ninth.

            The Bucs (31-20) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as junior right fielder Shane Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) hit his 11^th home run of the season, a solo shot over the right field wall.

            East Tennessee State added three runs in the bottom of the second. Senior second baseman Nick Crowe (Johnson City, Tenn.) doubled to lead off the inning and senior designated hitter Ryan Spriggs (Crossville, Tenn.) later walked with two outs. Junior shortstop Chuck Hargis (Powell, Tenn.) then hit a three-run blast over the left field wall, his fifth of the year.

            ETSU ran their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the third, as Crowe hit a two-out solo homer over the right-center field wall.

            High Point (19-36) got on the board in the top of the fourth as Mark Shorey led off the inning with a solo homer over the right field wall.

            The Panthers cut the Buccaneer advantage to 5-2 with another run in the top of the fifth. Bobby Brown led off the inning with a double to left and later scored on a single to center by Justin Pinyan.

            The Bucs scored their final run in the bottom of the fifth as Crowe hit his second homer of the day, another solo blast, again to right-center.

            Shorey got the Panthers back in the game with one swing in the top of the eighth, hitting his second home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot that cut ETSU's lead to 6-4.

            High Point scored another run in the top of the ninth as Dustin Holtzman doubled with two outs and scored on a single by Pinyan. But he was stranded at second as senior Caleb Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.) came on to record the final out for his 11^th save of the season.

            Campbell (2-0) earned the win, allowing two runs on just three hits in six innings of work. He also struck out a career-high six batters while walking two.

            Matt Schlanger (4-7) was charged with the loss for High Point, allowing four runs on four hits in two innings pitched.

            Crowe led the Bucs at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Moore had two hits in the win while Hargis drove in three runs.

            The Panthers were led by Shorey, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs on the afternoon.

            East Tennessee State will now await results of the remaining Southern Conference weekend games, determining the Bucs' seeding in the 2005 Southern Conference Baseball Championships, next week from Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.