JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 26, 2009) - A six run fourth inning lifted the ETSU baseball team to a record ninth straight win as the Bucs completed the sweep of High Point defeating the Panthers 16-10 Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Park.

The nine straight wins are the most ever by ETSU in division I play. The Bucs improve to 23-19 overall with the win, while High Point drops to 17-23 on the season.

Senior Ben Andrews (Leesburg, Fla.) went 1.2 innings allowing one runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts as he picked up his third win of the year. Corey Swickle was tabbed with the loss giving up six runs (three earned) on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Right fielder Cory Betterson (Atlanta, Ga.) and first baseman Paul Hoilman (Johnson City, Tenn.) led the way offensively for the Bucs as Betterson was 3-for-5 with a double and drove in three, while Hoilman was 4-for-5 with a double, scored four runs and had two RBI.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the top of the first as they scored six runs on five hits highlighted by a two-run doubles by catcher Kyle Mahoney and left fielder Pablo Rosario.

ETSU answered with four runs in the bottom of the first as Hoilman singled through the left side scoring centerfielder Jacob Fabry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and the designated hitter Derek Trent (Kingsport, Tenn.) launched a three-run blast over the fence in left to cut the HPU lead to 6-4.

The Bucs added five more runs in the bottom of the second on four hits including a two-run single by Betterson to take a 9-6 lead.

High Point tied the game at 9-all in the top of the second scoring three runs on a RBI double by Drew Geissinger and RBI ground outs by Eric Marion and Alfie Wheeler. In the inning, Bill Manion broke the High Point school career hit record as he doubled to right center for his 256^th career hit.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Bucs exploded for six more runs on five hits including a two-run single by second baseman Chris Rankhorn (Gallatin, Tenn.) and a two-run double by left fielder Tory Mendez (Roswell, Ga.) to take a 15-9 lead. The hit extended Mendez's hit streak to a team high 17 games.

Rosario homered in the top of the fifth for the Panthers to cut the ETSU lead to 15-10.

Hoilman came in to score on an error by Rosario in the bottom of the seventh to increase the Buccaneer lead to 16-10.

Relievers Drew Story (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Darren Caldwell (Spartanburg, S.C.) combined to throw five scoreless innings of relief as the two only surrendered four hits with no walks.

The Bucs are back in action Friday at 7 p.m. as they take on conference opponent Florida Gulf Coast in a three-game series at Cardinal Park. Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information on ETSU baseball and all other Buccaneer athletic news.

ETSU 16, High Point 10 (April 26, 2009 at Johnson City, Tenn.)
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HPU.............. 603  010  000   - 10   16     3   (17-23, 9-9 Big South)

ETSU............ 450  600  10x    - 16   17     0   (23-19, 9-12 A-Sun)

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Pitchers: ETSU - Bo Burton; Ben Andrews (3); Drew Story (5); Darren Caldwell (8)

HPU - Mike Caldwell; Cory Swickle (2); Brian Jones (5); Zach Scott (6); Jeremy Berg (8)

Win - Ben Andrews (3-3) Loss - Corey Swickle (0-0)

Home Runs - ETSU - Derek Trent (5)

HPU - Pablo Rosario (2)