ETSU baseball wins third straight with late rally 

RADFORD, Va. (April 25, 2023) – ETSU baseball won its third straight game on Tuesday against a familiar midweek foe, defeating Radford for the third time this season with a 9-3 victory over the Highlanders just north of the Tennessee/Virginia border.

Owning two previous wins over the Highlanders this season — one at Radford and one in Johnson City — the Bucs finished the season sweep by overcoming a 3-2 deficit with a six-run eighth inning. The big hit in the game came off the bat of Ashton King (Knoxville, Tenn.), who smashed a three-run homer to emphatically break a 3-3 tie. From there, the Bucs added three more runs and never looked back.

Additionally, the win marked ETSU’s third straight victory following back-to-back shutouts at The Citadel this past weekend. This ends an eight-game road stretch on a high note for ETSU, as the Bucs overcame a five-game skid to start the trip with a trio of momentum-shifting results.

SWING IT ⚔️
FLIP IT 🔄
CROWN 'EM 👑@ashtonking1012 breaks up the tie with a THREE-RUN BLAST!#BucsBaseball // #ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/AnIoepGZUg

— ETSU Baseball (@ETSU_Baseball) April 26, 2023

Today’s win over Radford had a few similarities to the first two wins over the Highlanders. Just like the first meeting in Radford back on March 28, ETSU broke a tie in the eighth inning and rallied to finish with nine runs with over half coming in the final two innings.

Outside of another late inning rally in the second meeting, ETSU’s walk-off victory in Johnson City was also won by the same pitcher that won tonight’s game — freshman Derek McCarley (Seymour, Tenn.). The lefty completed three shutout innings with one hit and two walks allowed with four strikeouts. He improves to 2-0 on the season with both wins coming over the Highlanders.

Although ETSU won by a six-run margin, the two teams remained within two runs of each other most of the way. Hits were at a premium early on, as ETSU only had three hits after the sixth inning. The Bucs woke up in the final three innings to pepper Radford with 10 hits — six of which came in the eighth inning. Three of those came off the bat of Cameron Sisneros (Littleton, Colo.), who finished 3-for-5 with a double and two singles.

Radford led 2-0 with runs in the first and third inning, but strong pitching kept ETSU alive. Getting the start was left-hander Austin Emener (Macon, Ga.), who went two innings with two runs, one earned, allowed. With only limited damage, Andrew Ronne (Athens, Tenn.) took the ball and ran with it, completing 2.1 scoreless and hitless frames with one walk and one strikeout. Owen Kovacs (Knoxville, Tenn.) bridged the gap between Ronne and McCarley, going 1.2 innings with only one hit and one run allowed on a wild pitch.

ETSU’s first run did not cross until the very first pitch of the sixth inning, as Noah Gent (Corryton, Tenn.) took one for a ride over the left field fence for his second homer of the season. Radford answered back to make it 3-1, but ETSU opened the flood gates in the late innings to snatch the lead. Gent would be the spark to this flame, singling home Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.) in the seventh to make it 3-2.

In the eighth inning, ETSU tied things up as Wallace came back around and doubled in trusty freshman Cody Miller (Rocky Point, N.Y.). This set up King just two at-bats later to hit his tie-breaking three-run shot with two outs in the frame. Three more players kept the two out rally alive, as Gent was hit by a pitch, Skyler Cannady (Nicholasville, Ky.) doubled his way into scoring position on a hustle play and Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) drove them both home with a multi-base hit. The rally ended as Barth was tagged out going from second to third in an attempt to extend his double into a triple.

ETSU added a cherry on top in the ninth as Wallace hit his sixth sacrifice fly of the season to bring home Nick Iannantone (Plainfield, Ill.). McCarley walked the first batter of the ninth, but retired three straight after that with a fielder’s choice and back-to-back strikeouts — one looking and one swinging.

A telling stat for both offenses came in the clutch, as ETSU hit 5-11 with runners in scoring position. Radford went 0-4. Both teams left six runners on base, but ETSU limited Radford to just four hits in the outing.

The Buccaneer pitching staff combined for nine strikeouts.

PITCHERS OF RECORD

Win – Derek McCarley (2-0)

Loss – Foster Seitz (1-3)

Save – None

TEAM RECORDS

ETSU: 18-20

RAD: 8-34

ON DECK

ETSU will begin an important three-game series against Western Carolina this weekend, beginning on Friday, April 28 at 5 p.m. inside Thomas Stadium. Saturday’s game is set for 2 p.m., while Sunday’s finale is set for 1 p.m.

For up-to-date information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab. Also, follow us on Twitter at @ETSU_Baseball.

𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐏 🧹🧹🧹

The Bucs finish off the season series against Radford with a 3-0 record, completing an eight-game road swing on a three-game win streak!

We're back home this weekend on Friday at 5 p.m.#BucsBaseball // #ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/57Z735SRos

— ETSU Baseball (@ETSU_Baseball) April 26, 2023