Friday, February 23, 2007

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 23, 2007) - Junior Anthony Russell (Waldorf, Md.) drove in sophomore Troy Mendez (Roswell, Ga.) with a one-out double in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking a 3-3 tie, and the Bucs went on to drop Rider 5-3 Friday afternoon at Cardinal Park.

After the Broncs scored twice in the top of the eighth to tie the game, Mendez led off the bottom of the frame with a walk, and advanced to second on senior Michael Courtney's (Knoxville, Tenn.) sacrifice bunt.  Russell drove Erik Holck's 1-1 to deep center field, giving the Bucs the 4-3 advantage.  Sophomore Jacob Fabry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) provided and insurance run later in the inning, driving in Russell with a single through the left side.

The Bucs (5-2) took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, started by Mendez's RBI single scoring sophomore Ben Allen (Kingsport, Tenn.) from second base.  Courtney drove in the inning's second run with a sacrifice fly to center, plating senior John Weddle (Knoxville, Tenn.)

After Rider (0-1) cut the lead in half in the sixth, Allen ripped his first home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh over the left field wall, restoring the Bucs two-run advantage.

Senior Caleb Glafenhein (Knoxville, Tenn.) pitched the final inning and a third, improving to 2-0 on the season.  Holck (0-1) took the loss for the Broncs, surrendering two runs in an inning of work.  Junior starter Brandon Langston (Ringgold, Ga.) had another strong outing for ETSU, striking out four and scattering five hits and one run over six innings of work.

The two teams are back in action Saturday afternoon in a series concluding doubleheader.  First pitch is scheduled for noon at Cardinal Park.  The series was originally scheduled to continue with single games Saturday and Sunday, but the threat of rain in the Tri-Cities area on Sunday forced the change to a doubleheader on Saturday.