GREENVILLE, S.C. (May 25, 2024) – Fresh off an exciting win on Friday, the ETSU baseball team had some more excitement in store on Saturday from the SoCon Tournament in Greenville, S.C. The Bucs began the day by downing No. 7 seed Mercer by a score of 12-4 but saw their season come to an end with a 13-10 loss to No. 5 seed Wofford later in the day. With Saturday's results, the Bucs conclude the season with a record of 36-20. The 36 wins are tied for the third-most in the history of the program matching the 2011 and 2013 teams. Only the 1980 and 1981 Buccaneer teams won more than this 2024 squad.
 
Game One Recap – An eight-run seventh inning proved to be the difference in ETSU's 12-4 victory over seventh-seeded Mercer to begin the day's action in Greenville. The Bucs would score the first four runs of the contest, but the Bears would bite into the Buccaneer lead in the middle innings before the eight-run seventh proved to be enough cushion for the Bucs and advanced them to the game later in the evening vs. Wofford.
 
Like it has all season long, the Buccaneer offense was balanced in the win. All nine players in the starting lineup scored at least one run and three Bucs drove in two or more runs. Tommy Barth provided an early jolt of offense for ETSU with a three-run home run in the second inning. While that was the lone home run in the matchup with the Bears, Cody Miller (2-for-4, two RBI), Noah Webb (2-for-4, two RBI), and Jamie Palmese (3-for-4, three RBI) all had multiple hits and drove in multiple runs to help fuel the victory.
 
Freshman Michael Harpster made his first start since May 12 for the Bucs on Saturday. Outside of a two-run home run, Harpster fared well in his first ever appearance in the SoCon Tournament. Harpster pitched the first 4.1 innings, allowed three runs on four hits to go with four strikeouts. Derek McCarley, however, pitched most of the game for the Bucs. McCarley tossed a career-high 4.1 innings and matched a career-best with six strikeouts while allowing just one run on four hits. McCarley picked up his fourth win of the season for his effort boosting his record to 4-2.
 
Game Two Recap – In a matchup between two of the top offenses in the college baseball, the Bucs and Terriers did not disappoint in Saturday's nightcap. The two teams combined for 23 runs and 30 hits on the night, but it was the Terriers that ultimately came out on top in the high-scoring battle, 13-10.
 
A highlight on the night came from Cameron Sisneros. Sisneros hit his 23^rd home run of the season to tie the game at 5-5 in the third inning. The home run drove in three runs for ETSU and brought Sisneros' RBI total to 85. The 85 RBI broke the program's single season RBI record held by Paul Hoilman from 2010 (84 RBI).

Even after Sisneros tied the game at 5-5, Wofford's offense kept clicking. The Terriers outscored ETSU 8-5 over the final six innings to punch their ticket to the final day of the SoCon Tournament. The Bucs scored a pair of runs in the eighth and had the tying run on deck, but the Terriers got the final out to get out of that jam. ETSU also picked up a run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by Palmese. However, Wofford reliever Alec Bouchard retired the next two Bucs to advance the Terriers to Sunday.  
 
Nick Iannantone went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI in his final game as a Buc. Barth went 3-for-5 and finished a home run shy of the cycle. Sisneros drove in five of ETSU's 10 runs on the night to finish with 86 on the season. Blake Jacklin and Palmese also had multi-hit efforts for ETSU.
 
On the pitching side, ETSU used four pitchers against the Terriers. Seniors Nathan Hickman and Owen Kovacs both pitched in their final collegiate games, while Landon Crumbley turned in the best outing by far by a Buccaneer pitcher. He tossed 3.1 shutout innings and limited the Terriers to two hits, and he struck out three.
 
The Bucs will have to replace some key players for the 2025 campaign as ETSU will lose 11 seniors in Ryan McCarthy, Owen Kovacs, Noah Gent, Ashton King, Walker Trusley, Joseph Acosta, Noah Webb, Cameron Sisneros, Nathan Hickman, Nick Iannantone and Jackson Green.

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