Tate, Cotten combine for shutout; Bucs tally 14 hits 

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (March 19, 2023) – ETSU baseball got out of town quicker than usual for its Sunday get-away game, shortening the series finale with Tennessee Tech to seven innings with a dominant 12-0 win over the Golden Eagles at Bush Field in Cookeville.

Following a close loss in the series opener, ETSU outscored Tennessee Tech 25-4 in the final two games of the series to win it. The Bucs have won four of five series so far and improve to a perfect 5-0 in Sunday games this season. ETSU also has two shutouts and two seven-inning mercy rule wins this season.

The Bucs improve to a 10-8 record, while Tennessee Tech slips to 8-11.

In a complete effort, the Buccaneer bats produced 14 hits, while the duo of senior starter Nathanial Tate (Manchester, Tenn.) and freshman reliever Andrew Cotten (Lexington, S.C.) limited Tennessee Tech to just two hits on the day. ETSU scored eight of its 12 runs in the fourth inning, adding to an early 4-0 lead.

Tate had another brilliant outing with 6.0 innings pitched — two hits and one walk allowed, as well as six strikeouts. Five of the six strikeouts were part of a string of consecutive outs in the fifth and sixth innings. Cotten closed things down in the seventh with the double-digit lead already in hand, recording three consecutive outs to finish the series. 

Noah Gent (Corryton, Tenn.) got the scoring started with an RBI single in the first inning, then Ashton King (Knoxville, Tenn.) increased the lead with a three-run shot to left-center field. The homer was King’s first of the season and the 16th of his career.

King was also the player that started the eight-run string in the fourth, walking his way on and scoring three at-bats later as Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. This set up Cameron Sisneros (Littleton, Colo.) to for a two-RBI double to make it 7-0.

Noah Webb (Kodak, Tenn.) and Nick Iannantone (Plainfield, Ill.) added to the onslaught with back-to-back RBI base knocks, then Webb scored on a wild pitch. After batting around once, King came back to the plate and hit a sac fly to bring home Iannantone, then Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) capped the scoring with an RBI double to bring in catcher Marshall Awtry (Wilmington, Del.).

Sisneros led the day with a 4-for-5 day, while King finished 1-for-2 with a homer, a walk, two runs and four RBIs.Iannantone also had a stellar day, going 3-for-3 with a walk and a pair of runs. Barth also had a multi-hit day with a single and a double.

PITCHERS OF RECORD

Win – Nathanial Tate (2-1)

Loss – Matt Gelorme (0-2)

Save – None

TEAM RECORDS

ETSU: 10-8

Tennessee Tech: 8-11

NEXT GAME

ETSU will make the short trek to UNC Asheville on Tuesday, March 21. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. 

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