Bulldogs took two of three back in 2018

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 18, 2022) – The last three games of the regular season are here.

ETSU will host The Citadel for a three-game series at Thomas Stadium this weekend for the first time since 2018. The Citadel is coming off their first conference weekend series win at home against Samford while the Bucs are 1-1 in conference series at home (swept VMI, lost two of three to Mercer).

First pitch on Thursday and Friday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. while the regular season finale on Saturday is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. All three games will be streaming on ESPN+.

Records: ETSU (28-19, 9-9 SoCon) | The Citadel (24-27, 4-14 SoCon)

Twitter Updates: @ETSU_Baseball

Weather Forecast: Thursday (high-60s, cloudy, thunderstorms early) | Friday (low-70s, sunny) | Saturday (low-80s, mostly sunny)

Game 1: Thursday, May 19 | 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+

Probable Starters:

East Tennessee State – RHP Zach Kirby (3-2 | 3.21 ERA | 61.2 IP | 46 K | 18 BB)

The Citadel – RHP Cameron Reeves (2-7 | 4.44 ERA | 75.0 IP | 68 K | 21 BB)

Game 2: Friday, May 20 | 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+

Probable Starters:

East Tennessee State – RHP Hunter Loyd (3-4 | 3.53 ERA | 66.1 IP | 73 K | 30 BB)

The Citadel – LHP Fisher Paulsen (5-3 | 3.88 ERA | 62.2 IP | 52 K | 39 BB)

Game 3: Saturday, May 21 | 2:00 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+

Probable Starters:

East Tennessee State – TBD

The Citadel – TBD

ETSU QUICK HITTERS

• The Bucs are coming off their final road conference weekend at UNCG that saw ETSU win the first game of the weekend before dropping the final two decisions. Last weekend was the first time all season that the Bucs lost the weekend series after winning the first game.
• Still batting an absurd .369, Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) saw his 22-game hitting streak end on Saturday but holds a 25-game on-base streak. Barth, third in the conference in batting average and ninth in hits, aims to be the first freshman since 2008 (Paul Hoilman) to bat over .350 in a season and lead the team in batting average.
• Starting behind the plate over the last 11 games, Ryan McCarthy (Knoxville, Tenn.) has seen his bat come alive. His slash line over this span is .342/.422/.447, the second-best batting average in that span behind Barth, and has three of his five total multi-hit games on the season during this stretch. McCarthy has hit safely in 10 of these last 11 and holds a six-game hitting streak.
• Still in the top-15 in the nation in doubles, Ashton King’s (Knoxville, Tenn.) 21 doubles on the season shares the conference’s lead and puts him tied for ninth-most in a season. With one double over the weekend, King would move to a five-way tie for fifth-most doubles in a season. With two, King would tie Trey York’s 2016 season for fourth-most. King is four doubles off the national lead. King’s 0.48 doubles per game rank sixth in the nation.
• Putting an on-base streak together himself, Noah Webb (Kodak, Tenn.) carries a 27-game on-base streak into the final three games of the regular season. Webb’s streak, which started on March 15, has seen the only five-hit day by a Buccaneer this season and Webb has hit seven of his 11 home runs on the season during this stretch.
• With one hit this weekend, Bryce Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) would join David Beam (Knoxville, Tenn.), Cam Norgren (Cary, N.C.), and Ashton King as the fourth active player to record 100 career hits at the Division I level. Hodge is third on the team with 56 hits.
• The lone sub-3.00 ERA on the season with at least 30 innings, Andrew Ronne (Athens, Tenn.) has the chance to do what only one other pitcher in ETSU history accomplished. Ronne could join Scott McNally’s 2011 season as the only two pitchers with a 1.000 winning percentage with at least five decisions. Ronne is currently 5-0 with a 2.78 ERA.
• Zach Kirby (Upland, Calif.), expected to make his 11^th game one start, hurled seven innings allowing just one unearned run against UNCG last weekend. Kirby, whose ERA sits at 3.21, is third in the conference amongst starting pitchers. Kirby, a former SoCon Pitcher of the Week himself, is expected to duel against the reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week Cameron Reeves.
• At home, six everyday starters are batting above .300 to go towards a team batting average of .320, .314 in the four conference games. Hodge and Webb each have a team-high seven home runs at Thomas Stadium while 40 of the team’s 71 home runs of the season have occurred at home. As a team, ETSU’s slash line at home is .320/.409/.545.The Bucs, holding the six seed because of tiebreakers, could move up to the No. 3 or 4 seed depending on what happens in the Mercer/Samford and UNCG/Western Carolina series. The Bucs are one game back from the No. 3 seed and a half-game from the No. 4 seed.

ABOUT THE CITADEL

• The Bulldogs end the season on a four-game road trip, beginning last night with a 15-9 loss against the College of Charleston. The Citadel is 3-13 on the road this season.
• The lone two offensive batters to play in all 51 games, Tilo Skole and Ryan McCarthy, are batting above .300 as both hold 57 hits on the season and are separated by two at-bats. McCarthy leads the team with a .529 slugging and .412 on-base percentage.
• Cameron Reeves, Friday’s expected starting pitcher, is the reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week after tossing eight innings and allowing just one unearned run against Samford. Reeves struck out four and retired the last seven batters he faced. Reeves and Beckley hold two of the four total players of the week awards this season from the Bulldogs.
• The Citadel’s .258 batting average is last in the conference and is batting .216 in conference play. However, The Citadel’s pitching has a 5.06 ERA in conference play, the third-best in the conference.
• The Citadel was picked to finish last in both preseason polls with outfielder Ryan McCarthy garnering a first-team preseason selection.

DOUBLING UP

Ashton King has continued to find ways to hit doubles, whether it’s a ball down the line or legging out one towards the gap. King’s 21 doubles have him T-13^th in the nation and leading the team by at least six. King, who has 40 career doubles, is closing in on becoming the sixth Buccaneer since 2004 to lead the team in doubles in back to back seasons, joining Chuck Hargis (2005-06), Anthony Russell (2007-08), Paul Hoilman (2010-11), Clinton Freeman (2012-14), and Chris Cook (2017-18).

TICKET INFORMATION

Single-game ticket are still currently available at ETSUtickets.com or by calling 423-439-3878. Secure your tickets to the 2022 SoCon Baseball Tournament in Greenville, S.C. by visiting https://www.milb.com/greenville/tickets/collegehstickets or by calling 864-240-4528

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