Bucs to play in-state foe Tennessee Tech this weekend 

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (March 16, 2023) – For the second time this season, ETSU will hit the road for a three-game set as the Bucs make the short trek to Cookeville for a three game series against Tennessee Tech set to begin Friday, March 17 at 7 p.m.

All three games will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available for all three games. Fans can also follow @ETSU_Baseball on Twitter for up-to-date information as the game progresses.

GAMEDAY INFO

March 17-19 — East Tennessee State at Tennessee Tech

Location: Cookeville, Tenn.

Venue: Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex

Tickets: Free Admission

Presenting Non-Conference Road Sponsor: Jersey Mike’s

PROBABLE STARTERS

Game 1 — Friday at 7:00 p.m.

ETSU: RHP #26 Landon Smiddy

TTU: RHP #17 Peyton Calitri

Game 2 — Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

ETSU: LHP #7 Austin Emener

TTU: RHP #12 Hunter Mann

Game 3 — Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

ETSU: RHP #2 Nathanial Tate

TTU: TBA

FOLLOW ALONG 

Game 1: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

Game 2: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

Game 3: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

Follow on Twitter: @ETSU_Baseball

ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU has an 8-7 overall record and a 7-3 record at home.

• ETSU has won all three of its home series so far with two wins each over Toledo, Marist and Winthrop. The Bucs are also undefeated in get-away games, including a Sunday win over Georgia Southern on the road last month.

• The Bucs seek their first road series win of the season after taking one of three from Georgia Southern last month. ETSU’s last non-conference road series win came around this time last season against Winthrop — last week’s opponent at home.

• The Blue & Gold won both games of a doubleheader their last time out, defeating Winthrop with an 11-0 run-rule win in the opener and a 5-4 walk-off victory in the nightcap. The winning run crossed in the bottom of the ninth of the finale, as Skyler Cannady (Nicholasville, Ky.) raced home on a passed ball.

• This season ETSU will face four teams that qualified for last season’s NCAA D1 Baseball Championship, including three that hosted regionals — Virginia Tech, Georgia Southern and Oklahoma State. The other is reigning SoCon champion UNCG.

• Through 15 games, ETSU is batting .294 as a team while limiting opponents to .248.

• The Bucs have 24 returners and 15 newcomers on this year’s roster, including six returning starters.

• The pitching staff is led by Nathanial Tate (Manchester, Tenn.), who owns a 1.64 ERA in 22.0 innings. He won Southern Conference Player of the Week honors last week and has pitched 13 straight scoreless innings over three outings.

• Sophomore outfielder Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio), a 2022 Freshman All-American, has reached base safely in 57 of his 62 career games so far, including hits in nine of the first 12 games this season.

• Last season, ETSU had two Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-Americans in Barth and rising sophomore pitcher Andrew Ronne (Athens, Tenn.). Ronne was also named to the Preseason NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List for this season. 

• In the preseason polls, ETSU was picked to finish fifth in both the coaches and media polls. Last season, the Bucs finished fifth with an 11-10 record, but was only one game back of three other teams tied for second at 12-9.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES

• Tennessee Tech has a 7-9 record so far this season. Much like ETSU, TTU has won three series so far this season with wins over Bowling Green, Queens and North Alabama.

• Last time out, the Golden Eagles were defeated by nearby rival Middle Tennessee State, 11-3.

• Tennessee Tech is 5-2 at home so far this season.

• TTU is batting .242 on the season, while opponents are hitting .276 against them. The Golden Eagles get most of their production from the long ball, leading the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in home runs (21) and sacrifice flies (10). The team also leads the league in walks with 93.

• Senior infielder Peyton Mills leads the team with five homers and 19 RBIs, while batting .250. He ranks second in the OVC in RBIs and third in homers.

• Brody Lanham will be the pitcher to watch for TTU, as he has six appearances out of the pen and a 1.42 ERA through 12.2 innings. He also collected a save against Queens on March 4.

• The Golden Eagles are led by Matt Bragga in his 20th season overall and his 17th at TTU. Now in his second stint in Cookeville, Bragga has a 483-428-2 record with the program. He was named OVC Coach of the Year in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2018 — winning the conference each of those seasons while leading TTU to an NCAA Super Regional in 2018 with a 53-12 record.

SERIES HISTORY

• Friday will mark the 91st meeting between ETSU and TTU.

• The Golden Eagles have a slight 48-42 edge in the all-time series.

• With 90 meetings, Tennessee Tech is the seventh-most frequent rival for ETSU behind Appalachian State (140), Western Carolina (113), VMI (108), The Citadel (101), Eastern Kentucky (95) and Furman (95). Tennessee is not far behind with 88 meetings.

• Last season, Tennessee Tech took two of three from ETSU in a close series. Both ETSU losses came in extra innings, falling 4-2 in the opener and 10-9 in the second game. The Bucs dominated the finale with an 11-3 win behind five RBIs from Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.). All 11 runs driven in during that game came from returning players on this year’s roster.

• Prior to 2022, the last meeting between the two came in 2013. TTU won the midweek tilt, 10-6, in Cookeville.

• ETSU’s last win at Tennessee Tech came exactly 12 years ago today — a 6-5 win on March 16, 2011.

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