JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 10, 2024) – The ETSU baseball team bounced back with a 7-6 victory over James Madison on Sunday afternoon at Thomas Stadium. Sunday's win boosts ETSU's overall record to 11-4 on the 2024 campaign.
Cameron Sisneros had another big day at the plate to lead the Buccaneer offense on Sunday. Sisneros drove in five of ETSU's seven runs on the day and went 3-for-4 with a home run and a walk. Hitting in front of Sisneros were
Nick Iannantone and
Tommy Barth and both of those players scored two runs. The duo of
Noah Gent and
Cody Miller also posted multi-hit days for the Bucs going 2-for-4.
Michael Harpster made his second straight start and pitched well for the Bucs. Harpster, who got the win to improve to 3-0 on the season, pitched the first six innings, allowed four runs on six hits, and struck out five.
Owen Kovacs continues to be one of ETSU's go-to options out of the bullpen as he tossed two shutout innings to finish off Sunday's win. Kovacs has now saved three games for ETSU so far this season.
A day after James Madison jumped out to an early lead, the Bucs did the same on Sunday. Sisneros drove in both Iannantone and Barth with a single to stake ETSU to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. ETSU would add five more runs in the second with the big hit being a three-run home run by Sisneros to push the lead to seven runs, 7-0.
Harpster was in control for most of his start on Sunday. JMU did score one run in the fifth on a pair of doubles to make it 7-1. After a scoreless sixth, Harpster started the seventh but the Dukes started to put some things together against Harpster and then the Buccaneer bullpen. The Dukes went on to score five runs in the seventh with three coming on a three-run home run to close the gap to one run, 7-6, at the seventh inning stretch.
With the lead shrunk to a run, the Bucs handed the ball to Kovacs and he took it the rest of the way. A pair of runners did reach on singles, but Kovacs left them stranded as the Bucs held on for the 7-6 win. In 2024, Kovacs has lowered his ERA to 0.79 in 11.1 innings pitched to go along with the previously mentioned three saves.
ETSU will be back in action on Wednesday when it welcomes Harvard to Johnson City. First pitch between the Bucs and Crimson is set for 3 p.m. from Thomas Stadium.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
