Norgren went 3-for-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Mar. 19, 2022) – For the second consecutive day, an extra-inning game didn’t go the way of the Bucs.

The Golden Eagles took game two of a three-game set 10-9 in ten innings at Thomas Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Bucs have lost two-straight games for the second time this season. Eight of the ETSU’s nine offensive starters reached base this afternoon.

Following two walks to begin the afternoon from Ashton King (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) had the Bucs in business early. Bryce Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) grounded into a fielder’s choice to the hot corner, but he and Barth advanced bases on an error. Cam Norgren (Cary, N.C.) would get his first of three RBIs on the afternoon with a sacrifice fly.

With two away, Noah Webb (Kodak, Tenn.) would blast a two-run homer, his fifth of the season, right after to give the Bucs a 3-0 lead after one inning. Entering today, the Bucs were 11-0 when scoring first and 6-0 when scoring in the first inning. Webb’s home run pulled Tennessee Tech’s Carter Gannaway out of the game after just two-thirds of an inning pitched.

Colby Stuart (Elon, N.C.) had a masterful first two innings, racking up three strikeouts and three groundouts with just one baserunner, but the Golden Eagles’ offense got to him in the third. Tennessee Tech put up a five-spot in the top of the third on five hits after a scoreless second inning. The Bucs would respond with two of their own on an RBI-single from Jackson Green (Blackwood, N.J.) and RBI-double from Logen Sutton (Knoxville, Tenn.).

Tennessee Tech would string together three one-out singles to retake the lead, ending Stuart’s afternoon and bringing in Andrew Ronne (Athens, Tenn.). Ronne struck out both batters he faced, and King blasted his second home run of the season in the bottom half to tie the game back at six.

After scoring again in the fifth and seventh, the Bucs were far from out of this slugfest. With one out, King reached on an error, Barth singled through the left side, and Hodge walked to get the bases loaded for Norgren. On the first pitch he saw, Norgren blooped one right down the left-field line, catching fair territory, as it took a huge bounce away from the left fielder to bring in two and it was suddenly a one-run game again. Hodge would score on a wild pitch in the next at-bat, tied at nine after seven innings.

Tennessee Tech would bring in the go-ahead run in the tenth inning on a pinch-hit solo home run. In the eighth, ninth, and tenth innings, the Bucs had runners on first and second but could not bring them around. Two of Tennessee Tech’s three double plays in the game came in the eighth and ninth innings.

In their five losses, the combined run deficit is eight (1.6 runs per game).

Pitchers of Record

• Win: Colt Taylor 2-0
• Loss: Nathan Hickman 0-1
• Save: N/A

Game Leaders

ETSU

• Norgren | 3-for-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI, R
• Sutton | 2-for-5, 2B, RBI
• King | 1-for-5, HR, 2 R, BB
• Webb | 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB

TTU

• Johnson | 4-for-5, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB
• Lacy | 3-for-5, 2B, 4 RBI, R, BB
• Dyer | 1-for-1, HR
• Taylor | W, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 34 P

Notables

• Following his 3-for-3 day, Norgren takes the team lead in batting average (.373), hits (22), home runs (6), total bases (48), on-base percentage (.479), and slugging percentage (.814). Norgren has three consecutive multi-hit games.
• For the second time in five starts to start the season, Stuart did not get the decision. Stuart started in a 6-5 win against Winthrop on March. 5. Both of Stuart’s no-decision starts resulted in one-run games.
• The Blue & Gold gave up double-digit runs for the first time since May 8, 2021, in a 13-5 loss to UNCG.
• The last time the Bucs dropped the first two games of a three-game home series was May 3 and 4, 2019, against UNCG.
• The Bucs have dropped back-to-back extra-inning games for the first time since 2018 against Wofford to end the regular season and start the conference tournament.

Record Update

• ETSU: 12-5
• TTU: 13-4

Up Next

The Bucs look to take the series finale from the Golden Eagles tomorrow afternoon at Thomas Stadium with first pitch at 1:00 p.m. The game will be streaming on ESPN+.

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