Buccaneer Classic shifts to Saturday-Monday format

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 27, 2020) – The 2020 Buccaneer Classic, scheduled to begin tomorrow, has been pushed back due to weather in the Johnson City area. The first of two ETSU home tournaments will now begin on Saturday, Feb. 29 and will conclude on Monday, March 2. The Bucs enter the tournament with a 4-10 overall mark, having most recently finished 1-4 at the Bailey Memorial Tournament hosted by Kennesaw State. The 2020 Buccaneer Classic will feature the host Buccaneers alongside Bowling Green, Tennessee and Tennessee Tech.

TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
Date: Saturday, Feb. 29 – Monday, March 2
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Betty Basler Field
Teams: ETSU (4-10), Bowling Green (6-3), No. 20 Tennessee (8-6), Tennessee Tech (8-6)
Weather: Sat. – High: 40, Low: 23 / Sun. – High: 56, Low: 35 / Mon. – High: 54, Low: 47
Live Stats: Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3 / Game 4 / Game 5
Live Video: ETSU vs. Tennessee (Sunday)
ETSU Notes: Game Notes
Tournament Central: Buccaneer Classic
Tickets: Buy your tickets here
Twitter Updates: @ETSUSoftball

SoCon Recognition
Kelly Schmidt (Norcross, Ga.) garnered Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for her performance in the circle over the weekend. Schmidt finished the weekend with a 1-0 record and an impressive 0.58 ERA. The Georgia native began the week with a no-decision against Marshall, throwing five innings and allowing one run over six hits with two strikeouts. Schmidt returned to the rubber on Saturday and was two outs away from her second collegiate no hitter, what would have been her first career 7-inning no hitter. Schmidt struck out five batters and allowed one hit in the 4-0 victory. The Bucs are 2-4 on the season when Schmidt pitches as she has racked up four no decisions in six appearances. The ETSU senior has also left the game twice with the lead and later credited with a no-decision outing.

Home Sweet Home
It feels good to be home for the Bucs after three consecutive weekends on the road. Under the Brad Irwin era, ETSU is 7-2 in home openers. The Bucs have won six of their last seven home openers, including last year’s 11-5 victory over Siena on March 9. The Bucs are also 19-14 in the first home tournament of the season under Coach Irwin, not having held a tournament in 2012. Last season, ETSU finished 2-2 in the Buccaneer Classic with wins against Siena and Evansville. The Bucs have finished the home tournament undefeated just once before in 2014 when ETSU posted a perfect 4-0 record with two wins over both Oakland and Siena.

Flying with the Falcons
The Bucs will square off with Bowling Green twice over the weekend (Saturday @ 10 a.m. & Monday @ 10 a.m.). The Falcons enter the weekend with a 6-3 overall record, having finished 4-0 this past weekend at the Tiger Classic hosted by Tennessee State. Bowling Green outscored its opponents 26-5 in Nashville, Tenn., including a pair of 7-1 victories and an 8-0 shutout win. The Falcons have benefited from strong pitching by Payton Gottshall, posting a 6-2 overall record with a 1.65 ERA. Gottshall has pitched 43.2 of the possible 61.0 innings for Bowling Green, striking out 65 batters and allowing just nine runs in eight appearances.

ETSU is 2-4 all-time against Bowling Green, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Falcons in Boiling Springs, N.C. last season.

No Need to Volunteer
The Lady Vols are 8-6 on the season and will square off with the Bucs on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The 20^th-ranked softball team stumbled its way through the Tampa Tournament over the weekend, winning a 9-1 decision over Florida International and then dropping four consecutive games to close the event. Tennessee was run-ruled in consecutive losses to Central Florida before dropping back-to-back one-run losses to South Florida. The Lady Vols most recently upended UT Martin on Tuesday (3-2), running their stretch of consecutive wins over in-state opponents to an even 100. Tennessee has been led in the circle by Callie Turner with a 6-4 record and a 2.88 ERA in the absence of ace pitcher Ashley Rogers. Chelsea Seggern has been the go-to bat with a .378 average and eight extra-base hits with 13 RBIs.

The Bucs will be in search of their first win in program history against the Lady Vols, currently holding an 0-19 overall mark against the foes from Knoxville.

What’s Cooking in Cookeville?
The final opponent for ETSU will be the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech, squaring off twice during the weekend (Sunday @ noon & Monday @ 2 p.m.). Tennessee Tech holds an 8-6 record coming into Johnson City, most recently finishing 2-2 in the Wings Etc. Classic. The Golden Eagles have dropped five of their last eight games heading into the weekend. Tennessee Tech displays power at the plate, belting 15 home runs on the season thus far. Raleigh Lewis and Sydney Love-Baker each have five long balls apiece, while Lewis leads the team in RBIs (13) and batting average (.381).

ETSU is 9-19 all-time against the Golden Eagles after splitting a doubleheader in 2019 in Cookeville, Tenn. The Bucs and Tennessee Tech each recorded shutout wins in Cookeville last season.

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.

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