Wallace & Barth blast homers, Smiddy strikes-out eight in six innings

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Mar. 20, 2022) – The Bucs didn’t need to go into extra-innings this time around.

The Blue & Gold took the series finale against Tennessee Tech 11-3 Sunday afternoon at Thomas Stadium. It’s the ninth time this season that the Bucs have scored double-digit runs and have won eight of the last ten games.

For the second consecutive day, the Bucs got on the board first with a four-run second inning that saw three of those four runs plate with no outs. Noah Webb (Kodak, Tenn.) drew a leadoff walk, Logen Sutton (Knoxville, Tenn.) doubled right behind him, and David Beam (Knoxville, Tenn.) drew a walk himself to load the bases with no outs. Ryan McCarthy (Knoxville, Tenn.) belted his first double of the season, the second double in the inning, to plate a pair and Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.) ripped an RBI-single right afterward. Ashton King (Knoxville, Tenn.) brought in the final run of the game with an RBI groundout.

That offense was more than enough for the groove Landon Smiddy (Knoxville, Tenn.) found on the mound today. Despite getting at least one runner on in four of the first five innings, Smiddy was able to hold Tennessee Tech’s offense scoreless through those frames. Smiddy, who went four innings in a start on Tuesday against Radford, went six innings giving up just one run while walking none and striking out eight.

The fourth inning saw more firepower from the Bucs as Wallace lined a two-run homer down the left-field line to increase the lead to six, and Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) would blast his first of his career to deep left-field and put the Blue & gold up seven after four innings. Wallace and Barth would grab another RBI in the following inning to make it 10-0. Only three players recorded an RBI today (Wallace – 5, Barth – 3, McCarthy – 2).

Tennessee Tech would score a run in the sixth off a solo shot, the lone run Smiddy would give up before Jackson McDavid (Kingsport, Tenn.) would enter in the seventh, giving up just one run. Barth collected his third RBI of the game in the next half beating out a fielder’s choice. In every game that Barth has recorded an RBI, he’s brought in at least two runs.

Walker Trusley (Knoxville, Tenn.) recorded the final four outs after pitching an inning on Wednesday against Lafayette.

On the week, Smiddy went 10.0 innings on two starts giving up seven hits, two runs, walking none, and striking out 11.

Pitchers of Record

• Win: Landon Smiddy 1-2
• Loss: Connor Adams 1-1
• Save: N/A

Game Leaders

ETSU

• Wallace | 3-for-4, HR, 5 RBI, R
• Sutton | 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R
• McCarthy | 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R
• Barth | 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Smiddy | W, QS, 6.0 IP, 5 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 103 P
• Trusley | 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K, 14 P

TTU

• Johnson | 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
• Hinchman | 2-for-4, RBI, R
• Dyer | 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
• Newsom | 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K, 13 P

Notables

• Wallace’s five-RBI day ties his career-high after such a game against Gardner-Webb during his freshman year at USC-Upstate on March 29, 2019.
• Just the second time in the last six games, the decision for ETSU went to the starting pitcher. Trevor Hanselman (Tallahassee, Fla.) got the win after going five innings against Lafayette.
• In every game that Tommy Barth has recorded an RBI, the Bucs have scored double-digit runs.
• Scoring 11 runs in today’s game marks the ninth time the Bucs have scored double-digit runs in a season, more than double than that of 2021 and just one less than the amount scored in 2019 (10).
• With 13 hits in today’s game, the Bucs have registered at least 10 hits in five of their last seven games, which included a season-high 20 knocks in the second game of their doubleheader against Rider.
• After a pair of home runs today, the Bucs have blasted a round-tripped in eight of their last nine games. The Bucs have hit a home run in 14 of their 18 games and have registered multi-home run games in 11 of those 14.
• With the win, the Bucs are 2-1 when Landon Smiddy starts on the bump, with the lone loss coming against #17 Tennessee to begin the month.

Record Update

• ETSU: 13-5
• TTU: 13-5

Up Next

ETSU will play their next game on Friday, March 25, against George Washington as they host the Colonials for a three-game set at Thomas Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. The game will be streaming on ESPN+.

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