ETSU baseball honors 19 seniors prior to first pitch

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 9, 2023) – ETSU baseball had a memorable senior day on Tuesday at Thomas Stadium, completing its non-conference schedule with a 12-6 victory over cross-mountain rival UNC Asheville in Johnson City.

After celebrating its 19 seniors prior to first pitch, ETSU put on an impressive offensive display with 10 runs in the first three frames — including seven unanswered. UNC Asheville trickled back into the game with six runs over four innings to make it 10-6 in the sixth, but a pair of runs in the late going kept ETSU ahead comfortably the rest of the way.

ETSU used six pitchers in a staff day set-up with junior Walker Trusley (Knoxville, Tenn.) picking up his first collegiate win. Trusley led the Bucs with three strikeouts over 2.0 scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth frames. He threw more pitches than any Buccaneer with 39 in the outing.

Four seniors started the outing as Landon Smiddy (Knoxville, Tenn.) pitched a scoreless frame, then was followed by his high school teammate Owen Kovacs (Knoxville, Tenn.) with 2.0 innings. Local product Brogan Beckner (Kingsport, Tenn.) made his ETSU debut with 1.0 innings and was followed by fifth year senior Joseph Acosta (Vineland, N.J.) with 2.0 frames of work. Acosta had two strikeouts to lead the group.

Closing out the contest was sophomore Trevor Hanselman (Tallahassee, Fla.) with a scoreless frame and a strikeout, finishing off the contest after Trusley’s two innings.

Meanwhile, the offense did all it needed to do within the first three innings. Nine Buccaneers combined for 14 hits on the day, while five Buccaneers had multi-hit days.

The avalanche of runs started with four in the first frame, as leading hitter Nick Iannantone (Plainfield, Ill.) hit a one-out double and came around to score on an RBI single through the right side by reigning SoCon Player of the Week and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honoree Cameron Sisneros (Littleton, Colo.). While Sisneros was the main source of power with five homers at No. 16 Oklahoma State this past weekend, the player hitting behind him on Tuesday would be the one to make the big splash.

With two on and one out, sophomore Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) smashed one over the left field fence for a three-run bomb to make it 4-0 through five batters. The homer was Barth’s third of the season. The sophomore went on to finish 2-for-5 with a homer, a double and a game-high four RBI.

The second inning brought about another player that had two multi-base hits, as Ryan Enos (Oriskany, N.Y.) hit his first home run as a Buccaneer with a leadoff solo shot to make it 5-0. Enos went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, two runs scored and two runs driven in. Also in the second inning, Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.) drove in Cody Miller (Rocky Point, N.Y.) and Justin Hanvey (Purcellville, Va.) with a two-RBI single.

The Bulldogs answered with two in the third on a homer by Dylan Bacot, but the Bucs topped that with three runs in the bottom of the third. A leadoff hit-by-pitch to Jared Paladino (Levittown, N.Y.) put an early runner home, allowing Marshall Awtry (Wilmington, Del.) to move him over and Enos to drive him in with a double down the left field line.

Iannantone would produce the next two runs, as Enos and Miller would score on his two-RBI triple to the gap in right center. This would make it a 10-2 game, as momentum was fully clothed in Blue & Gold. UNC Asheville began to slowly work back into it, but an infield hit by Sisneros and a ground-rule double by Barth resulted in two more runs to extend the lead. Skylar Cannady (Nicholasville, Ky.) also added a single to the hit column after coming in as a defensive sub later in the contest.

In total, ETSU had six multi-base hits with two each from Barth, Enos and Iannantone. The trio now combine for 38 multi-base hits this season.

The win marked ETSU’s second straight season with a senior day victory over UNC Asheville — almost one year to the day. The Bucs have won 10 of the last 11 against the Bulldogs under Coach Joe Pennucci. The win also allows ETSU to split the season series with UNC Asheville and improve to a 14-10 record at home.

The seniors that were honored pre-game include the following: Joseph Acosta, Marshall Awtry, Brogan Beckner, Leif Bigelow, Skyler Cannady, Cade Carlson, Ryan Enos, Justin Hanvey, Leo Jiminian, Ashton King, Owen Kovacs, Ryan McCarthy, Jared Paladino, Landon Smiddy, Colby Stuart, Nathanial Tate, Garett Wallace, Noah Webb and athletic trainer Michael Bischoff.

PITCHERS OF RECORD

Win – Walker Trusley (1-0)

Loss – Chris Sabo (2-4)

Save – None

TEAM RECORDS

ETSU: 21-25

AVL: 21-24

ON DECK

The Bucs hit the road for a crucial three-game set at VMI. Friday’s game is set to begin at 6 p.m. in Lexington, Va. Saturday is set for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is slated for 1 p.m.

At 6-9 in league play, ETSU can position itself to jump the Keydets (8-9) in the Southern Conference standings with a series win, as the Bucs have three games in hand.

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