CULLOWHEE, N.C. (March 21, 2024) – The ETSU baseball team will open its SoCon schedule this weekend with a three-game series at Western Carolina. The series will run Friday through Sunday at WCU's Hennon Field in Cullowhee. The series will get underway at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Probable Pitching Matchups
RHP Jace Hyde (ETSU) vs. RHP Gavin Mortenson (WCU) – Friday @ 5 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Andrew Ronne (ETSU) vs. RHP Spenser Hamblen (WCU) – Saturday @ 2 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Michael Harpster (ETSU) vs. LHP Ryan White (WCU) – Sunday @ 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Last Time Out – The Bucs fell on the road at No. 19 Virginia Tech on Tuesday by a score of 14-4. The loss moved ETSU's record to 14-6 on the 2024 campaign.
Starting SoCon Play – Under Head Coach
Joe Pennucci, the Bucs have fared well in their first SoCon series. ETSU is 4-1 in conference-opening series under Pennucci. Additionally, ETSU won its last four league series to close out 2023.
Trip to the Tar Heel State – ETSU's next seven games will be played in the state of North Carolina. After its series at WCU, ETSU will have a series at UNC Greensboro (March 28-30) and a midweek contest at UNC Asheville (April 2). Against the 19 Division I baseball programs in the state of North Carolina, the Bucs are 256-277 (.480 winning percentage) all-time.
Streaks into SoCon Play – A few different Bucs have streaks going into SoCon play.
Cody Miller currently has a 10-game hitting and a 15-game reached base streak.
Cameron Sisneros has reached base in a team-high 20 consecutive games, while
Tommy Barth has reached successfully in 13 straight games.
Players to Watch vs. WCU – A few Buccaneers have enjoyed quite a bit of success against WCU over the years.
Noah Webb is batting .429 in 21 at-bats with three home runs, 11 RBI and seven runs scored against the Catamounts. Barth has also put up stellar numbers against Western Carolina hitting .345 with two home runs, eight RBI, and 11 runs scored.
About Western Carolina – Western Carolina enters conference play on a six-game winning streak. WCU, which is 10-9 overall on the 2024 campaign, has also played well at home this spring winning seven of the 10 games in Cullowhee. Individually, a player to watch for the Catamounts is Nate Stocum. Stocum is tied for the conference lead with 10 home runs this season.
Series History vs. Western Carolina – ETSU and WCU have faced off over 100 times over the years. The Catamounts have won 71 of the 116 all-time matchups between these two programs. However, ETSU has won a series against Western Carolina in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Furthermore, the Bucs have come away with the win in each of their last six games in Cullowhee.
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