Friday, April 29, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Apr. 29, 2005) - The two top offensive teams in the Southern Conference will face each other this weekend as ETSU hosts No. 26 College of Charleston in a pivotal three-game series from Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn. The Bucs and Cougars will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday while the series finale will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

            College of Charleston currently leads the SoCon with a 32-9 record, 16-2 in league play. East Tennessee State is 11-9 in conference games and has posted a 25-11 overall record. Both teams come into this weekend on a high note as the Cougars have won three-straight while the Buccaneers have won a league-best six games in a row.

            CofC is batting .365 as a team, tops in the SoCon while the Bucs are second at .329. Junior right fielder Shane Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) paces the Buccaneer attack with a .401 batting average and a team-high 48 runs scored. Senior All-America catcher Caleb Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.) is currently hitting .370 with a team-best 12 home runs and 55 RBIs. His RBI total is currently third in the nation.

            Brett Gardner (.441), D.J. Wabick (.404) and Chris Campbell (.401) lead the Cougars at the plate. Campbell also leads CofC with nine home runs and 56 RBIs.

            ETSU junior righty Jeremy Hall (Gray, Tenn.) has been on a tear over the last month and a half, winning each of his last six starts. He is currently 9-1 with a 4.16 ERA and is tied for the NCAA Division I lead in wins. Moore anchors the bullpen for the Bucs, going 5-0 with a 2.03 ERA and nine saves in 18 appearances.

            The Cougar pitching staff has an ERA of 3.92 while five players have at least four victories. Danny Gemma is 5-2 on the season while Ryan Edell, Nick Chigges, Brett Harker and Zach Piccola each have four wins.