GREENVILLE, S.C. (May 22, 2024) – Coming off one of its most successful regular seasons in recent memory, the ETSU baseball team will begin play at the 2024 Southern Conference Tournament on Thursday at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. The Bucs will open the tournament against the winner of Wednesday's game between No. 6/7 VMI and Mercer. First pitch for ETSU's first game will be at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN+.
 
Last Time Out – ETSU closed out its regular season by winning two of three games on the road at Miami (OH). The Bucs bookended the series with wins by scores of 9-3 and 10-2 but dropped the middle game, 7-6. By taking two of three from the Redhawks, ETSU moved its record to 34-18 on the 2024 season.
 
Best for the Bucs – As mentioned earlier this season has been ETSU's best in quite some time. The 34 wins before the conference tournament is the team's most since 2011. The 34 victories are tied for the fourth-most in history of the program and the Bucs' most since 2019. Additionally, the No. 3 seed in 2024 is the highest for the Bucs in a conference tournament since 2010 when they were members of the Atlantic Sun. The last time ETSU was the third seed or higher for the SoCon Tournament was in 1992.
 
Bucs well-represented on All-SoCon Teams – ETSU was well-represented on the various All-SoCon teams released by the league office on Tuesday. Cameron Sisneros was named the SoCon Player of the Year by media members that cover the conference, while Michael Harpster (Second Team, Freshman), Owen Kovacs (Second Team), Tommy Barth (Second Team), Nick Iannantone (Second Team), Jace Hyde (Freshman) and Jamie Palmese (Freshman) all garnered recognition for their play this season from the league's coaches and media members.
 
Sensational Season by Sisneros – Sisneros is the first Buccaneer to earn Player of the Year honors since 2010 when Paul Hoilman landed the same accolade from the Atlantic Sun. Sisneros is the first Buc to be named the SoCon Player of the Year since 2004 (Caleb Moore). On the field, Sisneros has put together one of the best offensive seasons in the history of ETSU baseball. The senior first baseman leads ETSU in walks (45), slugging percentage (.750), runs scored (58), RBI (78), doubles (15), home runs (21) and total bases (150). His home run (21) and RBI totals (78) are nearing the most ever by a Buc during a single season. Sisneros needs just four home runs and six more RBI to tie the school's program records in those respective categories. His 78 RBI are the sixth-most in Division I baseball this season and he has reached base successfully in all 52 of ETSU's games so far this season. Dating back to last season, Sisneros has reached base in 75 straight games.  

Boost from the Buccaneer Bats – ETSU has had stellar offensive campaign in 2024. Entering play in Greenville, the Bucs rank eighth in Division I baseball with a team batting average .319. Additionally, the Bucs have already broken the single season program record with 289 walks this spring that has led into a team on-base percentage of .420.
 
About the Field in Greenville – The SoCon has been one of the most competitive conferences in college baseball this season. As a league, the SoCon ranks eighth nationally in RPI and the top five teams in the league standings all have 12 conference wins or more. ETSU has more than held its own in league play with a 13-8 record. During the regular season, the Bucs swept series against VMI and The Citadel, while winning a home series against Mercer and taking two of three on the road at Western Carolina. Additionally, ETSU has also defeated the other teams (UNCG, Samford, Wofford) once with all of those series coming away from Johnson City.
 
Tournament Time – Thursday will mark the 25^th appearance for ETSU in the SoCon Tournament. The Bucs hold an all-time record of 22-45 in the SoCon Tournament. ETSU has never won the SoCon Tournament and it will be aiming for its first league tournament title since 2013 when it won the Atlantic Sun Tournament.

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