COLUMBIA, S.C. (April 30, 2024) – Winners of four of its last five games, the ETSU baseball team will hit the road for a matchup at No. 15 South Carolina on Wednesday. First pitch between the Buccaneers and Gamecocks is set for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
Probable Pitching Matchup
RHP Cason Engert (ETSU) vs. LHP Jake McCoy (SC) – Wednesday @ 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats | SEC Network +
Last Time Out – The Bucs finished off a three-game sweep of The Citadel on Sunday with a 13-3 win in seven innings. The three wins over the Bulldogs over the weekend improved ETSU's overall record to 27-14 and boosted its SoCon record to 9-6.
A Boost from Barth –
Tommy Barth played a key role in ETSU's sweep over The Citadel this weekend. The junior from Ohio collected eight hits in 14 at-bats (.571 average) to go with seven RBI and six runs scored. Barth had at least two hits in each victory, including a season-high four hits in the series opening win. Barth is now hitting .333 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 2024.
Fine Outings by Freshmen – A pair of freshmen starting pitchers turned two stellar outings to help ETSU record its first sweep of The Citadel since 2019 over the weekend.
Jace Hyde allowed two runs on one hit and struck out nine in his start on Saturday before
Michael Harpster recorded his seventh win of the season after tossing five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. Over his last two appearances, Hyde has allowed just two hits and two earned runs in 11.1 innings pitched to go with 12 strikeouts. Harpster, meanwhile, and his seven wins lead all freshmen in Division I baseball this season and is tied for the fourth-most overall.
Sisneros nears Sixty –
Cameron Sisneros drove in two runs in the series against The Citadel bringing his season total to 59 RBI. The 59 RBI ties his RBI total from all last season. With one more run driven in, Sisneros will be first Buccaneer to knock in 60 runs in a season since 2016 when Trey York drove in 62. Sisneros also paces the Bucs in walks (37), slugging percentage (.750), doubles (14) and home runs (15).
Vs. Nationally-Ranked Teams – Wednesday will be the third game this season that the Bucs have faced a nationally-ranked team with No. 9 Tennessee and No. 19 Virginia Tech being the other two. If ETSU can knock off the Gamecocks on Wednesday it'll be its first win over a nationally-ranked team since 2019 when it defeated No. 23 Tennessee, 6-5.
About South Carolina – The Gamecocks come into Wednesday's game with the Bucs with a 29-14 record. South Carolina is coming off a weekend where it took two of three games from No. 4 Kentucky. A couple players to watch for the Gamecocks on Wednesday are Ethan Petry and Cole Messina. The duo has combined for 26 home runs this season with Petry totaling 15 and Messina with 11. Overall, the Gamecocks have out-homered opponents 63-42 this season.
Series History vs. South Carolina – ETSU and South Carolina have matched up a total of eight times over the years with the Gamecocks coming away with the win each time. One of those eight contests between ETSU and South Carolina was in the 1980 Atlantic Region Tournament held at Clemson. South Carolina won that game by a score of 8-5.
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