Bucs host reigning SoCon champion in three-game set at Thomas Stadium

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 7, 2016) – The ETSU baseball team – winners of three straight and four of its last five – looks to continue its winning ways as the Buccaneers host reigning Southern Conference regular season and tournament champion Mercer in a three-game series this weekend at Thomas Stadium. 

GAME TIMES/PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday – 4 p.m.* – Game No. 29

RHP Griffin Krieg (0-1, 5.14) vs. RHP Ryan Askew (1-2, 4.19) 

Saturday – 3 p.m.* – Game No. 30

RHP Lee Haeberle (3-0, 4.54) vs. TBA 

Sunday – 1 p.m. – Game No. 31

RHP Victor Gonzalez (2-0, 4.50) vs. RHP Kevin Coulter (3-1, 5.73) 

* Due to inclement weather, game times for this weekend’s series have been altered. The Bucs open the series Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. (originally scheduled for 6 p.m.), while Saturday’s game time has been moved to 3 p.m. (originally a 2 p.m. start). Sunday’s fist pitch is still set for 1 p.m. 

Fans who attend Saturday’s MSHA Spring Football game and pick up a football schedule card will receive free admission to Saturday’s baseball game. 

ABOUT THE BUCS

Despite surrendering four first-inning runs to North Carolina A&T, the Bucs’ offense answered the challenge as ETSU plated six in the bottom half of the first and added five more in the fifth en route to capturing a 15-5 victory over the Aggies on Tuesday night at Thomas Thomas … ETSU swept the season series with the win as the Bucs defeated North Carolina A&T, 17-5, last month in Greensboro. 

Aaron Maher (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Kevin Phillips (St. Louis, Mo.) both hit home runs on Tuesday, while nine different Buccaneers accounted for the 16 hits … Maher – who hit his fourth home run of the season in the five-run fifth – went 2-for-5 with three runs and three RBI, while Phillips also homered in the fifth for his sixth of the campaign … Phillips finished the night with two hits (one double) and drove in three, while Robby McCabe (New Port Richey, Fla.) tied a career high with three hits. 

Trey York (Knoxville, Tenn.) – who carries a 22-game on-base streak into this weekend’s series – totaled three hits (one double), scored two runs and drove in one on Tuesday night … Lance Mays (Ridgely, Tenn.) extended his streak of reaching safely to 14 consecutive games after working a first-inning walk against the Aggies … Mays is hitting .400 (18-45) with two doubles, one triple, one home run and 11 runs scored in 17 games (12 starts) at Thomas Stadium. 

Blake Rowlett (Clarksville, Tenn.) is hitting .400 (12-30) with three doubles, seven runs and seven RBI during his eight-game hit streak, while McCabe is 15-for-30 with three doubles, four walks, 11 runs and 10 RBI in his last eight games. 

Following the four-run first inning, ETSU’s bullpen retired 18 of 21 Aggie hitters from the second-thru-seventh innings as Blake Smith (Ninety Six, S.C.) retired the six hitters he faced (three strikeouts), Jamin McCann (Kingsport, Tenn.) tossed two scoreless, and Logan Gentry (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Russell Koesters (Kingsport, Tenn.) each worked one scoreless frame … Smith earned the win (3-4), marking his first victory since March 24. 

As a group, ETSU pounded out 16 hits, marking the 16th time this season the Blue and Gold have finished with double-digit hits … Ten of the Bucs’ 15 wins have come when recording double-digit hits, while ETSU has scored 28 runs on 34 hits in its last two games … The Bucs are 4-0 this season when Jeremy Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) hits in the No. 9 slot, and he’s hitting .462 (6-13) with two triples, five runs and four RBI in those four contests … As a group, ETSU is hitting .369 (52-141) with 11 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 40 runs and 38 RBI in the four game with Taylor batting ninth … In addition, the Blue and Gold have a .445 on-base percentage. 

Saturday starter Lee Haeberle (Hendersonville, Tenn.) is 3-0 with a 3.28 ERA (13 ER/35.2 IP) in nine appearances (six starts) at Thomas Stadium … Haeberle has 41 strikeouts to 11 walks in those nine appearances. 

ETSU enters the weekend with a 15-13 record, and the Bucs are one of four teams with a 3-3 mark in conference play. 

ABOUT MERCER

After winning a season-high six straight games from March 18-25, Mercer (17-13, 3-3) has dropped five of its last seven games … The Bears are coming off a midweek setback (6-5) against #24 Georgia Tech on Tuesday night in Macon. 

The Bears are led by junior outfielder Kyle Lewis as he’s hitting a team-best .414 (46-111) with nine doubles, 12 home runs, 37 runs and 43 RBI … Lewis, the reigning SoCon Player of the Year, has also been walked 34 times … Lewis has earned numerous accolades as he’s has been tabbed First Team All-America by Perfect Game, D1Baseball.com, Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, while also landing on the 2016 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. 

Joining Lewis with over 40 hits this season is junior infielder Ryan Hagan … Hagan, a transfer from Chattahoochee Valley Community College, is 45-for-126 (.357) with eight doubles, four home runs, 34 runs and 26 RBI. 

Lewis ranks nationally in several statistical categories as he’s third in home runs and RBI, fourth in walks, fifth in slugging percentage (.820), sixth in runs, seventh in on-base percentage (.547), 20th in hits (46) and 26th in batting average (.414) … Hagan ranks 18th in runs and 32nd in hits, while sophomore outfielder Trey Truitt is 25th in runs (33) and 26^th in home runs (8). 

As a club, Mercer leads the country in home runs (48), home runs per game (1.60) and walks (187), while ranking fourth in runs scored (245), eighth in slugging percentage (.500), and 32nd in hits (308). 

Friday night starter Ryan Askew ranks 30th in the NCAA in starts (7), while after losing his first two decisions, the right-hander earned the win on March 25 at Wofford, while freshman right-hander Conard Broom leads the team in ERA (3.30) and strikeouts (42). 

Thirteen of Mercer’s wins have come at home, while the Bears are 4-6 on the road. 

SERIES HISTORY

Mercer leads the all-time series, 25-14, after the Bears swept ETSU last season in Macon. 

The Bucs have won both series played at Thomas Stadium as the Blue and Gold took two of three in both 2012 and 2014. 

Thirteen of the 39 games have been decided by two runs or less, with Mercer going 10-3 in those contests.  

Hagen Owenby (Knoxville, Tenn.) was 6-for-13 ( .462) with two runs and two RBI in three games against the Bears in 2015, while Kevin Phillips is hitting .371 (13-35) with one double, two homers, seven runs and 10 RBI in 10 career games (nine starts) versus Mercer … Phillips also has five walks. 

COVERAGE

This weekend’s series will be streamed live on the SoCon Digital Network (weather permitting). Please click the above links to view the video stream. 

Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast by visiting ETSUBucs.com. Fans can access live stats on their computers, mobile devices or tablets. 

Live updates will also be posted on Twitter by following @ETSU_Baseball.   

A LOOK AHEAD

The Bucs embark on a season-long nine-game road swing beginning Tuesday night at UNC Asheville. Game time is set for 6 p.m. 

TEXTCASTER

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For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball page.