Terriers took two of three last season in Johnson City

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (April 13, 2022) – Following one of the best offensive weekends for the Blue & Gold of the season, a huge road test awaits against the only ranked team in the SoCon.

ETSU travels to Wofford for a three-game series at Russell C. King Field in Spartanburg, S.C., to take on the 25^th-ranked Terriers. Last season, ETSU took game two of the series in Johnson City after Wofford gutted out a 3-2 win to open the series in extra innings. Wofford would win the rubber match 11-9 to take the series.

First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Friday also at 6:00 p.m., and the finale on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday will be streaming on ESPN+.

Records: ETSU (20-8, 3-0 SoCon) | #25 Wofford (24-9, 3-0 SoCon)

Twitter Updates: @ETSU_Baseball

Weather Forecast: Thursday (mid-50s, cloudy, 50% chance of rain) | Friday (mid-50s, partly cloudy) | Saturday (mid-60s, partly cloudy)

Game 1: Thursday, Apr. 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+

Probable Starters:

East Tennessee State – RHP Zach Kirby (2-0 | 2.76 ERA | 32.2 IP | 28 K | 12 BB)

#25 Wofford – RHP Matthew Marchal (2-2 | 2.44 ERA | 44.1 IP | 57 K | 5 BB)

Game 2: Friday, Apr. 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+

Probable Starters:

East Tennessee State – LHP Colby Stuart (3-0 | 6.61 ERA | 32.2 IP | 24 K | 16 BB)

#25 Wofford – RHP Josh Vitus (2-3 | 3.64 ERA | 29.2 IP | 32 K | 4 BB)

Game 3: Saturday, Apr. 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Live Stats

Probable Starters:

East Tennessee State – RHP Hunter Loyd (3-1 | 2.58 ERA | 38.1 IP | 50 K | 16 BB)

#25 Wofford – TBD

ETSU QUICK HITTERS

• ETSU bounced back in a huge way against Western Carolina to start conference play, sweeping the Catamounts while putting up 38 runs over three games that included the first 20-run game by the Bucs since 2013.
• Bryce Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Noah Webb (Kodak, Tenn.) were two main contributors to all the runs over the weekend, accounting for six of the 10 home runs hit over the weekend. Each shared a two-home run game in the series finale that saw ETSU put up 20 runs.
• Offensive production came from numerous others in the sweep over the Catamounts as Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.) had a two-home run game on Saturday while Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) and Jackson Green (Blackwood, N.J.) each added a long ball.
• Hodge earned SoCon Player of the Week for the week of April 4-10, the first player of the week award for the Bucs since Jackson Greer won the same award the first week of competition in 2019. Hodge also earned SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week, the only baseball player thus far to earn that award.
• While Hodge has been destroying baseballs, Cam Norgren (Cary, N.C.) has been consistent at the plate, hitting safely in seven consecutive games and 12 of his last 14 games. Norgren trails Hodge with a .375 batting average yet matches with 39 hits on the season.
• ETSU’s 50 home runs rank second in the conference behind Mercer (61) and 23^rd in the country. However, the Bucs are 10^th in home runs per game (1.79) with a few games this season either canceled or postponed.
• The last time ETSU went on the road to a ranked conference opponent was Mercer in May 2013. Later that season, the Bucs would win the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
• Matt Bollenbacher (Powder Springs, Ga.) has continued to dominate in his last few relief outings, recording a career-high seven strikeouts in a four-inning relief win to open the series against the Catamounts.
• The bullpen combination of Bollenbacher and Andrew Ronne (Athens, Tenn.) has been clutch this season, each picking up a win over the weekend as the two combined for eight strikeouts and no walks in 5.1 innings. Ronne has only allowed five earned runs in 19.0 innings.
• The Bucs are 0-1 against ranked teams this season, with the lone loss coming to top-ranked Tennessee on March 1.

ABOUT #25 WOFFORD

• Wofford, along with ETSU, swept their conference-opening series against UNCG at home to start the conference slate 3-0. The Terriers improved to 17-3 at home this season.
• The Terriers have won all their weekends aside from a round-robin weekend with Monmouth and Marist College. Most recently, the Terriers took two of three from #18 Dallas Baptist in Texas.
• Senior John Dempsey leads an offense that is batting just under .300 despite six different Terriers having at least 30 hits on the season through 33 games. The Terriers have also stolen 105 bases on the season, leading the conference and third in the country.
• Wofford’s pitching has been great this season, with three relievers holding an ERA under 2.00. Wofford has only walked 89 batters in 291 innings, fifth in the country in walks per nine innings at just 2.75.
• Wofford was voted the preseason favorite in the SoCon by the coaches and the media. Wofford found a top-25 ranking for the first time in program history, sitting at #25 according to Baseball America.

HAMMERIN’ HODGE

Earning both SoCon Player of the Week and SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week, Bryce Hodge has hammered baseballs over his last four games. Entering the weekend, Hodge has recorded a multi-hit day in four consecutive games, two of which saw a two-home run game. Hodge shares the team lead in home runs (nine) with Noah Webb, while holding the team-lead in batting average (.386) and slugging (.733).

BETTER CALL BOLLY

After transitioning back to the bullpen following his opening-day start, Matt Bollenbacher has found a huge groove in relief. Bollenbacher has allowed three earned runs in 22.2 relief innings after surrendering five in three during his lone start. Over his last four outings, Bollenbacher has allowed two runs (both unearned) in 16.2 innings while walking three and striking out 21.

CLOSING IN ON A CENTURY

Two batters will be looking for their 100^th career Division I hit this weekend: Ashton King and Cam Norgren. King seeks to reach the mark in his third season in Johnson City while Norgren looks to reach it in three seasons as well after two at North Carolina Central. Entering the weekend, King has 98 career hits and Norgren has 94.

TICKET INFORMATION

Season tickets, single-game tickets, and flex pack ticket options are all currently available at ETSUtickets.comor by calling 423-439-3878. 

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