Wednesday, April 24, 2002

Johnson City, Tenn. (Apr. 24, 2002) -- The East Tennessee State Buccaneer softball team will play their final home games of the season with a doubleheader against Virginia Tech tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. from Metro-Kiwanis Park in Johnson City. The Buccaneers have shattered virtually every record from their 2001 inaugural season. ETSU currently has a 22-26 record, improved from 14-35 just a year ago. The team is tied for fourth in the Southern Conference with an 8-10 record, just a half-game behind third-place UNC Greensboro (8-9). East Tennessee State finished fifth in the conference last season with a 9-11 SoCon record. Tomorrow will also serve as senior day for three members of last season's inaugural ETSU softball team. Seniors April Arnold (Mountain City, Tenn.), Melanie Collins (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Marsha Giles (Jonesborough, Tenn.) will play their final games in front of the home crowd. East Tennessee State has played great softball at home this season, recording a 11-6 record at Metro-Kiwanis Park, compared to an 8-8 record last season. The Bucs swept Southern Conference rival Furman in a three-game series at home on Apr. 13-14 and swept a doubleheader, 5-2 and 8-0, from Radford in their last games on Tuesday afternoon. Admission to Thursday's games against Virginia Tech at Metro-Kiwanis Park is free of charge.