JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 13, 2025) – The ETSU baseball team will lift the lid on the 2025 season this weekend when it hosts Northern Kentucky in a three-game series at Thomas Stadium. This weekend's series, which is sponsored by Atmos Energy, will begin with a doubleheader on Friday that starts at Noon. Game three of the series will be determined later.
 
Quick look back at 2024 – ETSU had one of its best seasons in program history last spring as it went 36-20 (13-8 SoCon). The 36 victories were tied for the third-most by the Bucs in a single season and the most since 2013 when they also totaled 36 wins. Only the 1981 (44 wins) and 1980 (39 wins) teams won more games in the program's history.
 
Bucs in the batter's box – ETSU's starting lineup will have several new faces this spring. The Bucs did lose the reigning SoCon Player of the Year Cameron Sisneros along with fellow lineup staples Nick Iannantone, Tommy Barth, Noah Gent and Ashton King from last season along with both of their primary catchers Noah Webb and Ryan McCarthy. The Blue and Gold does have Preseason All-SoCon selections Cody Miller, JD Yakubinis, Jamie Palmese and Blake Jacklin back to help lead the offense into 2025.
 
Pitching looks primed for a big year – A strength for the Bucs figures to be their pitching staff as they return their three primary weekend starters from last season in Michael Harpster, Jace Hyde and Carter Fink along with Andrew Ronne who was in the rotation for quite a bit of the season as well. In the bullpen, the Bucs did lose All-SoCon reliever Owen Kovacs to graduation but return Derek McCarley, Andrew Cotten, Landon Crumbley and Kenny Keller who all made between 18 and 22 appearances on the mound for ETSU last season.
 
Preseason Predictions – In the annual preseason coaches' poll, the Bucs were selected to finish tied for fourth with Mercer. Defending regular season champion UNC Greensboro was predicted to repeat as league champions followed by Samford and Wofford.
 
Coach Pennucci closing in a milestone – Head Coach Joe Pennucci is closing in a coaching milestone as he begins his eighth season leading the Buccaneer program. Pennucci needs just 10 more wins to become the third ETSU Head Coach to reach 200 victories with the program joining Tony Skole (471 wins) and Ken Campbell (223 wins).
 
Back home at Thomas Stadium – This will mark the 15^th straight season that Bucs have opened a new campaign at Thomas Stadium. ETSU was especially good at its home field last season posting a 24-5 record, which is its most wins since moving into their current home in 2013.
 
About Northern Kentucky – Like ETSU, Northern Kentucky is coming off a successful 2024 campaign. NKU went 35-24 a season ago and won the Horizon League Tournament to clinch its conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. It was NKU's first ever appearance in the NCAA Regionals.

Series History vs. Northern Kentucky – ETSU and Northern Kentucky have met 18 times since 2013. The Buccaneers have historically held the advantage over the Norse winning 13 of the 18 previous matchups. In the last series between these two programs in 2022, the Bucs swept the Norse by scores of 12-7, 12-4, and 14-3.

For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.