Nelson Stadium (5,000) - Knoxville, Tenn.

Buccaneer Baseball ... East Tennessee State is competing in its 56th season of baseball ... The Bucs have compiled a 747-848-7 (.469) after 1,601 games ... ETSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice -- 1980 and 1981 ... The Bucs highest national ranking was No. 17 in 1981.

Last Weekend ... The Bucs went 1-2 in the 2001 ETSU Pirate Club Classic played at Cardinal Park ... ETSU dropped the first game, 5-3, despite 15 strikeouts by starter Reid Casey (Feb. 23) ... The Bucs outslugged Valparaiso, 21-15, for a win on Feb. 24 ... Andy Baxter went 3-3 with 5 RBIs against the Crusaders ... In the final game on Feb. 25, ETSU carried a 14-10 lead into the ninth but were stung by Xavier, 15-14 ... Nathan Copeland went 4-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored.

Back-to-Back Homers ... For the first time this season, two Buccaneers hit back-to-back home runs in a 21-15 win against Valparaiso (Feb. 24) ... Baxters three run shot and Copelands solo homer capped a seven-run fourth inning against the Crusaders.

Middle of the Order ... ETSUs offense has generated from the 3-4-5 hitters ... Rightfielder Nathan Copeland leads the team with a .452 batting average and seven doubles from the three spot ... Third baseman Andy Baxter is hitting .381 with 16 doubles and three home runs from the clean-up position ... Both Copeland and Baxter are tied for the team lead with 15 RBIs ... Centerfielder Kirk Keithley ranks third on the team with a .343 batting average ... The Bucs No. 5 hitter, Keithley has six doubles.

Today's Starter ... Junior left-hander Bryan Crouse will start this afternoons game ... Crouse has pitched in one game this season, allowing three runs in 2.0 innings in a 14-7 loss at Coastal Carolina (Feb. 3, 2001) ... Crouse transferred to ETSU after playing two seasons at Walters State Community College.

Teribble Two ... Seniors Andy Baxter and Nathan Copeland have terrorized the opposition so far this season ... Copeland leads the team with a .452 (19-42) average while Baxter ranks second with a .381 average (16-42) ... Over the last three games, Copeland is hitting .600 (9-15), with 10 RBIs and five runs scored ... He has collected at least one hit in nine of the 10 games this season ... Baxter is hitting .857 (6-7) in the last two games ... He has six RBIs and six runs in that span.

Offensive Explosion ... The Bucs have struck for 35 runs and 33 hits in the last two games ... ETSU registered RBIs on 30 of the 35 runs ... The Bucs scored a season-high 21 runs in a six-run victory over Valparaiso on Feb. 24.

That Elusive Three-Bagger ... After 10 games and 374 at-bats, the Bucs still havent stroked a triple this season ... Opponents have recorded three triples against ETSU.

The Long Ball ... ETSU has belted 11 home runs to its opponents nine so far this season ... Senior Andy Baxter leads the squad with three home runs ... Nathan Copeland, Brandon Cross, Scott Rose and Chad Boruff have hit two home runs apiece ... No Buc player has hit just one homer.

Ironmen ... Four Buc players have started every game this season .. Seniors Nathan Copeland and Andy Baxter, along with juniors Jeremy Terry and Brandon Cross have started the first 10 games.

Quite a Recruiting Class ... Second-year head coach Tony Skole and his staff compiled the 47th-best recruting class for the 2001 season according to the Collegiate Baseball News.

Non-Conference Opponents ... The Bucs went 6-16 against non-conference opponents last season ... ETSU is 3-7 this season.

Second Year Skipper ... Head Coach Tony Skole led the Bucs to a 21-31 record in his first season at ETSU ... Skole has a 119-95 career record in four seasons as a collegiate manager.