BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 11, 2024) – The ETSU baseball team will head to Alabama this weekend for a three-game series against league-leading Samford. All three games are scheduled to air on ESPN+ and the series will open on Friday at 7 p.m. eastern time.
Probable Pitching Matchups
RHP Carter Fink (ETSU) vs. RHP Michael Ross (SAM) – Friday @ 7 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Andrew Ronne (ETSU) vs. RHP Brooks Rice (SAM) – Saturday @ 3 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Michael Harpster (ETSU) vs. TBD (SAM) – Sunday @ 2 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Last Time Out – The Bucs picked up an
11-4 win over Mercer on Sunday afternoon at Thomas Stadium. Sunday's win boosts ETSU's overall record to 20-10 and its SoCon record to 5-4. Furthermore, it also marked ETSU's first series win over the Bears since 2014.
Bucs will double it – Entering this weekend's action, the Bucs lead all SoCon teams with 76 doubles (2.53 per game). ETSU has picked up at least one double in 25 of its 30 games this season. Overall, 13 different Bucs have at least one two-base hit in 2024 with
Cameron Sisneros and
Noah Gent leading these efforts with 12 and 11 doubles, respectively.
Top 10 Batting Average – ETSU's offense has been one of the deepest in the nation this spring as it is hitting a collective .322, which ranks 10
th in Division I baseball. The nine teams ahead of the Bucs, which include six Power Five teams, are a collective 220-69 this season (.761 winning percentage). Furthermore, ETSU has two hitters batting over .400, four others over .300 and four more hitting .270 or higher.
So far in SoCon play – The Bucs have had a few players play a key role in their success in conference play so far.
Nick Iannantone is batting nearly .500 (.488) so far in SoCon play with six other Bucs hitting .300 or higher as well. On the mound, Sunday's starter
Michael Harpster is 2-0 with a 3.93 ERA against league foes in three starts, while
Owen Kovacs is 1-0 with a pair of saves and a 2.70 ERA to lead the way out of the Buccaneer bullpen.
About Samford – Samford enters this weekend's series with the Bucs with a 22-10 record overall and a 6-0 mark in league play. The Bulldogs are not only the lone SoCon team with an undefeated league record, but they are also coming off a win over No. 10 Kentucky on Tuesday by a score of 9-7. A strength of the Bulldogs is their ability to hit for power as they lead the SoCon with 49 home runs. Individually, Samford has three of the top four on-base percentages in its lineup with Garrett Howe leading the charge at .558. The Bulldogs also have the SoCon ERA leader in Michael Ross (2.66). In addition to his ERA, Ross is tied for second in Division I baseball with seven wins on the 2024 campaign.
Series History vs. Samford – The all-time series between ETSU and Samford has been fairly even with the Bulldogs holding the slight edge, 16-15. Three of those 16 Samford wins came last season. However, the Buccaneers have a winning record when facing Samford on its home field winning seven of the 12 matchups.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
