JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 15, 2025) – After some shuffling with this weekend's schedule, the ETSU baseball team finished off a series sweep of Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon with a 6-2 victory at Thomas Stadium. The win boosts ETSU's record to 3-0 in 2025, and it is the third time in the past four seasons that the Bucs have started a new campaign with three straight wins.
The Bucs scored the game's first run on Saturday with a two-out rally in the second inning.
Henry Ferguson got things started with a ringing single up the middle ahead of
Gabe Juarez who lined a double off the left field wall. Juarez's double was enough to score Ferguson all the way from first base and give the Bucs the early 1-0 advantage.
ETSU plated two more runs in the third inning to expand its advantage to 3-0.
Cody Miller (infield single) and
JD Yakubinis (walk) reached base to give the Bucs a chance with a pair of runners on with one out. Miller and Yakubinis executed a double steal to push themselves both into scoring position.
Cooper Torres would drive Miller in with a groundout and then Yakubinis would score shortly after on a NKU wild pitch.
It looked like ETSU would add on in the fifth inning as it had the bases loaded with one out. NKU, however, was able to strike out back-to-back Buccaneer hitters to escape the threat and keep it a three-run game.
Northern Kentucky would break through against the Buccaneer bullpen in the eighth inning. A single and double started the frame. With those two hits, NKU pushed across its first run of the contest. With a runner on third base with one out, the Bucs turned to newcomer
Colin Eaton to get them out of the jam. Eaton struck out two NKU batters to eventually get out of the inning but an RBI double in between the strikeouts got the Norse within one run, 3-2, heading to the bottom the eighth.
With Northern Kentucky gaining momentum, the Bucs used a patient and disciplined approach at the plate to build their lead back to four with a three-run eighth.
Lenny Montesano drove in the first run on a fielder's choice and that was followed by sacrifice fly from Ferguson and then
Grant Gallagher, who entered the game as a pinch runner, scored on a passed ball to give the Bucs some more breathing room for the ninth inning.
Eaton remained on the mound for the Bucs in the ninth inning. The Cartersville, Georgia native retired the Norse in order in the ninth and added a pair of strikeouts to finish off the win for ETSU. For his efforts, Eaton was awarded his first save as a Buc.
Carter Fink started Saturday's contest for ETSU and pitched well tossing four shutout innings. Fink allowed two hits, three walks and struck out three in his first start of the new season and ended up being the winning pitcher.
ETSU will hit the road for the first time this spring on Tuesday when it visits Virginia Tech. First pitch between the Buccaneers and Hokies is set for 4 p.m. in Blacksburg.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
