Thursday, November 04, 2004

(Nov. 4, 2004) - East Tennessee State head baseball coach Tony Skole released the team's 2005 schedule Thursday afternoon. The slate is highlighted by 33 home games including a six-game homestand to open the season, a three-game home series with West Virginia and two games against both Virginia Tech and in-state rival Tennessee.

            The Buccaneers will open the 2005 campaign at Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn. by hosting Niagara for three games on Feb. 18-20 and Xavier for three games on Feb. 26-27. ETSU will then travel to Kentucky for a two-game set on Mar. 1-2. The Bucs defeated the Wildcats 12-7 in Lexington, Ky. on Mar. 3 of last season.

            West Virginia will travel to Cardinal Park on Mar. 4-6 for a three-game set. The Bucs and Mountaineers played a three-game series late last season from Morgantown, W.Va. with WVU taking two of three.

            ETSU begins its Southern Conference schedule with a series at Furman on Mar. 11-13. The Bucs first home SoCon series will take place as Georgia Southern comes to town on Mar 18-20.

            "As always we are playing a difficult and exciting non-conference schedule which I hope will prepare us for conference play," said Skole Thursday afternoon. "I anticipate the talent level of all the programs in the Southern Conference to be the highest it has ever been."

            The Bucs will take on Tennessee on Mar. 16 from Knoxville, Tenn. and will host the Vols on Mar. 23. ETSU will play Virginia Tech on Mar. 29 from Blacksburg, Va. and will face the Hokies again on Apr. 26 in the Kingsport Classic from Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, Tenn.

            The Southern Conference Tournament will be held on May 25-28 from Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.

            East Tennessee State had a strong 2004 season, finishing 28-30 and 15-15 in Southern Conference play. The Bucs return all but one of their top hitters from last season, including All-American senior catcher Caleb Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.). Moore led the nation with a .455 batting average and .60 doubles per game last season, while also hitting nine home runs, scoring 59 runs and driving in another 45.

ETSU also returns most of its pitching staff, led by junior righty Jeremy Hall (Gray, Tenn.), who went 9-8 last season.

The coaching staff has also brought in another highly-rated recruiting class, headlined by University of Tennessee transfer Nick Crowe (Johnson City, Tenn.).

"I am very excited about the challenges that our schedule possesses," commented Skole. "Our program is also excited about the number of games we will be playing at Cardinal Park. Our players have had a great fall and are working extremely hard this winter. We have some very exciting players in our program and it is going to be fun to watch this ball club compete."