JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 16, 2024) – The ETSU baseball team continued its stellar play at its home ballpark on Saturday as it knocked off Villanova by a score of 11-5 at Thomas Stadium. ETSU, which has now won four games in a row, improves to 14-4 on the 2024 season. The 14-4 start matches the best start for Buccaneer baseball since 2019 when the team also started 14-4.
A pair of Bucs posted three-hit performances in the win over the Wildcats.
Nick Iannantone reached base a total of five times after going 3-for-4 with a pair of walks.
JD Yakubinis also went 3-for-4, which is tied for his most hits in a game this season.
Ryan McCarthy went 2-for-5 with two RBI, while duo of
Noah Gent and
Cody Miller both drove in three runs to help secure the win.
Andrew Ronne put together arguably his best start as a Buc on Saturday. Ronne worked the first six innings and allowed two runs on two hits to go with six strikeouts. The six-inning start by Ronne was not only a career-long for the junior right-hander but it also matches the longest start by a Buccaneer pitcher this season. Additionally,
Cason Engert pitched two shutout innings out of the Buccaneer bullpen to help seal the victory for Ronne and the Bucs.
Ronne sat the Wildcats down in order in the top of the first and then the Buccaneer offense got to work. Iannantone and
Tommy Barth got things started with back-to-back singles.
Cameron Sisneros worked one of his three walks on the day to give ETSU bases loaded with nobody out. Miller, who came through with the game-winning hit in the series opener, got it done again with a two-run single to give the Bucs an early 3-0 advantage after a wild pitch moved all three runners up a base. A sacrifice fly by Gent pushed the ETSU lead to four runs after one inning of play.
An RBI groundout from Miller that scored
Richard Benitez grew the Buccaneer lead to 5-0 after the second. Villanova got a run back in the third before the ETSU offense continued to roll in the fourth plating three runs on a pair of hits to make it 8-1 ETSU.
ETSU brought across another run in the sixth to grow its lead to eight, 9-1. Villanova's offense showed some signs of life in seventh with a pair of home runs. A leadoff solo home run ended Ronne's day in the top of the seventh. Prior to that long ball, Ronne had retired 12 consecutive hitters. A pair of hit batters gave Villanova a scoring chance without getting a hit. A three-run home run from the next batter closed the gap to four, 9-5, at the seventh inning stretch.
The Bucs pushed their advantage back out to six, 11-5, thanks to run-producing hits by McCarthy and Iannantone in the eighth. As mentioned earlier, Engert pitched well out of the bullpen for the Bucs and finished off the win for ETSU. In his outing that covered two innings, Engert did not allow a run and struck out two.
ETSU will look to finish off the sweep of the Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. First pitch for the series finale is set for 1 p.m. from Thomas Stadium. A reminder that the first 200 fans to the game will receive a green t-shirt in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
