ETSU drops regular season finale in walk-off fashion

GREENSBORO, N.C. (May 4, 2019) – The ETSU Buccaneers could not hold off the Spartans in the closing innings, allowing two runs in the final three innings as ETSU dropped a 3-2 decision on Saturday against UNCG at the UNCG Softball Stadium. The Bucs fall to 20-25-2 on the season and 6-11 in Southern Conference following the walk-off loss.

The Spartans struck first for the third time in three games with the pitcher Stephanie Bryden helping her own cause following an RBI single to center field in the first inning. MacKenzie Dyson (Hanahan, S.C.) worked around the loaded bases, holding UNCG to just the one run.

After Dyson stranded the bases loaded in the third inning, the Bucs went to work in the top of the fourth beginning with Kylie Toler’s (Bradenton, Fla.) leadoff homer, her fourth of the season. Toler’s solo blast evened the game as she sent the equalizer screaming over the left field fence. The Bucs then claimed the lead on the next at bat with Julia Fritz (Glen Allen, Va.) following Toler’s lead, launching a solo homer of her own for the 2-1 advantage. Fritz’s long ball sailed over the right field fence and was her second dinger of the campaign.

The lead was short lived with UNCG tying the contest at two apiece in the bottom of the fifth inning following Makenna Matthijs RBI single with two away.

The Bucs failed to plate the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth inning despite back-to-back, two-out singles. The Spartans took advantage of the missed opportunity in the home half of the seventh. After a pair of two-out walks in the final inning to load the bases, UNCG’s Katie Stettler put a damper in the final game for the Bucs. Stettler laced a walk-off single through the right side of the infield, bringing the game-winning run home from third.

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Stephanie Bryden (22-10)
» Loss: Taylor Boling (7-11)

Stat of the Game
The Bucs held the Spartans’ offense at bay for much of the contest, allowing just four hits in the game. However, the six walks thrown came back to bite ETSU in the end, surrendering three walks in the final inning.

Notables
» Despite the loss, Kelly Warren (Mechanicsville, Va.) turned in a career performance with four base hits.
» ETSU finished with nine hits in the ball game, tallying five more base knocks than UNCG.
» Dyson started the game in the circle for ETSU, yielding one run on two hits in three innings of work. Taylor Boling (Jasper, Ga.) relieved Dyson, throwing three and two-thirds innings and picking up the loss after allowing two runs on two hits and walking three batters.
» With the loss, caps off the weekend with a 1-2 record and falls to 8-27 all-time against UNCG, including 4-13 when playing at the UNCG Softball Stadium.

Record Update
» ETSU: 20-25-2, 6-11 SoCon
» UNCG: 30-21, 12-5 SoCon

Up Next
ETSU will await its seeding in the upcoming 2019 SoCon Tournament. The seedings will be announced following the conclusion of the regular season. The tournament will be held at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Keeping up with the Bucs
For complete information on ETSU softball, follow the program via social media on Twitter (@ETSUSoftball), Instagram (@etsubucssoftball) and Facebook (@BucSoftball). For more information on Buccaneer softball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the softball link.