JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 16, 2024) – The ETSU baseball team will open a string of four straight non-conference games on Wednesday as it welcomes Radford to Thomas Stadium. Wednesday's game, which is sponsored by Aubrey's, is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch on
ESPN+.
Last Time Out – The Bucs handed Samford its first conference loss on Sunday as they upended the
Bulldogs by a score of 13-9. With Sunday's victory, the Bucs improve to 21-12 overall and 6-6 in SoCon play.
Fine Game for ETSU's First Baseman – Like he has all season long,
Cameron Sisneros helped fuel ETSU's offense in Sunday's win over Samford. The Bucs' first baseman launched two home runs (one three-run, one grand slam) and finished the day with seven RBI. Sisneros has the fifth-most RBI in Division I baseball this season with 52 tied with Georgia's Charlie Condon. Sisneros also has slugged a team-high 12 home runs, tallied 12 doubles, totaled 95 total bases, and has an on-base percentage of .497.
Gent Giving ETSU a Lift – Another Buc that's swinging it well recently is
Noah Gent. In his last 10 games, Gent is hitting a team-high .413 with three home runs and 17 RBI to go with six doubles. Furthermore, Gent has driven in at least one run in nine straight games and currently ranks second on the team with 36 RBI.
Bucs Among the National Leaders in Batting Average – The Bucs totaled 11 or more hits in all three games last weekend at Samford. ETSU has totaled 23 games this season with 10 or more hits. Entering Wednesday's game with Radford, the Bucs are hitting .324 as a team, which ranks ninth nationally. If the season ended today, the .324 average would be the third highest ever for an ETSU team in a season trailing only the 1997 (.342), 2010 (.331) and 1981 (.331) squads.
Non-Conference Note – Playing its next four games outside of the SoCon, the Bucs have enjoyed quite a bit of success against non-conference teams so far in 2024. ETSU is 15-6 in non-league action, including a 14-4 mark at Thomas Stadium.
Cody Miller is batting a team-high .403 in those games this season and seven other Buccaneer hitters have batting averages above the .300 mark. On the mound,
Owen Kovacs (2.19),
Andrew Cotten (2.70) and
Carter Fink (3.26) all have ERAs under 3.50 in non-conference games.
Bucs vs. Big South Teams – ETSU has had its share of success against Big South teams over the years. Against the current members of the Big South, the Bucs have a record of 120-81 (.597 winning percentage). ETSU knocked off
UNC Asheville, 5-2, in its lone game against a Big South foe this season.
About Radford – The Highlanders enter this week's action with an overall record of 10-22, which includes a 3-9 mark in Big South action. Radford, which is 0-14 on the road this season, are led by Cameron Pittman. Pittman, who was an All-Big South Freshman Team honoree in 2021, is hitting a team-high .360 this season to go with 12 stolen bases.
Series History vs. Radford– ETSU and Radford have met a total of 57 times over the years. The Bucs have won 34 of the 57 games between these two programs, including the last three. Since 2004, ETSU is a combined 16-4 against the Highlanders in games played in Johnson City.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
