Five Bucs with multi-hit days, Loyd grabs 10 K’s again

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 27, 2022) – Hits, hits, and more hits.

The Bucs took game three of a three-game series at Thomas Stadium, blasting past Wagner 14-4 on Sunday to take the series.

The start of the season has seen ETSU score fast and score early, and today was no different. The Bucs plated multiple runs in all but one scoring inning, jumping out to a 4-0 lead that then became a 7-0 and 11-1 lead after just four innings. Wagner would score in the sixth, seventh, and ninth while ETSU would score in the fifth and the eighth to finish the scoring.

Jared Paladino (Levittown, N.Y.) got the offense going with a double down the left-field line in the first inning and would score the game’s first run on an RBI-single from Cam Norgren (Cary, N.C.). Noah Webb (Kodak, Tenn.) would rip one down the right-field line to score Norgren and Leo Jiminian (Saint-Lo, France) would bring in Webb and score from a Ryan McCarthy (Knoxville, Tenn.) single to open the scoring. All ETSU’s runs in the first inning came with two outs.

Hunter Loyd (Knoxville, Tenn.) looked like he was going for Knack’s single-game record in strikeouts after the first two innings, retiring the side both times and picking up five strikeouts after just six batters. Loyd would grab strikeout number six to start the third, but Wagner would put on their first baserunner with two outs.

To start the bottom of the third, Webb legged out a double to right and Jiminian blasted one to left to put ETSU up 6-0. Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio), McCarthy, and Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.) would go with three consecutive singles following the home run, all while there were no outs. Wagner would roll a double play with runners on first and second, and quickly limit the damage.

Wagner plated their first run of the game with some situational hitting after the leadoff man got on with a hit-by-pitch despite no hit in the inning. Loyd would get a pair of groundouts and his seventh strikeout to end the fourth. ETSU’s fourth inning had more scoring in them after the Bucs strung together five baserunners, two coming on doubles, with two outs to plate another four.

Matt Bollenbacher (Powder Springs, Ga.), Nathanial Tate (Manchester, Tenn.), and Nathan Hickman (Lenoir City, Tenn.) held their own as the backend of the bullpen for ETSU, combining for just two hits, two earned runs, and four strikeouts over 3.1 innings. Tate went three up, three down in his work of the eighth inning.

Insurance runs came courtesy of two home runs for the Bucs: Bryce Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) sending a solo shot to left field and Kyle Rachels (Manteca, Calif.) taking one over the 370-sign in the left-center gap. ETSU’s three home runs combined for just five of the team’s 14 runs.

Pitchers of Record

• Win: Hunter Loyd 2-0
• Loss: Frankie Wright 0-2
• Save: N/A

Game Leaders

ETSU

• Jiminian | 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, BB
• Webb | 3-for-3, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R, HBP
• Wallace | 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, HBP, BB
• Barth | 2-for-2, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
• Rachels | 1-for-1, HR, 2 RBI
• Loyd | W, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
• Tate | 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

WAG

• Ruggiero | 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
• Kobayashi | 1-for-3, 2 R

Notables

• ETSU’s 17 hits in a game is the most in a game since posting 18 against Georgia State in 2020.
• The Bucs now have more double-digit run games this season (five) as they did last season.
• This marks the second game this season that ETSU has posted six doubles in a game, more than they had all last season (one).
• The Bucs have had multiple homeruns over the last five games, the longest streak since 2010 when ETSU posted seven straight games with at least two homeruns.
• The Bucs have posted at least 15 hits in three of the first six games this season, the most to start a season since 2017 when the Blue & Gold notched at least 15 hits in four of the first five games. The Bucs already have three games with 15+ hits after having just one last season.
• Wallace, who is 6-for-11 on the season, still has recorded an RBI in every hit thus far after an RBI-single and RBI-double today. Wallace has nine RBIs on the season, second on the team behind Webb (10).
• Paladino extended his on-base streak to all six games with a double down the left-field line today. Paladino has scored in every game for the Bucs.
• Loyd recorded his second consecutive outing with at least 10 strikeouts, the longest such streak of his career and the first to do so since Landon Knack opened the season with four consecutive outings with at least 10 strikeouts in 2020.
• The five through nine-hole hitters (Webb to Wallace) of ETSU’s starting lineup combined for 12 of ETSU’s 17 hits. Rachels’ pinch-hit homerun made it 13 of ETSU’s 17 with the bottom half of the lineup.

Record Update

• ETSU: 5-1
• WAG: 1-5

Up Next

The Bucs will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday and take on #15 Tennessee at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

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