BLACKSBURG, Va. (Feb. 17, 2025) – After sweeping its first series of the season against Northern Kentucky, the ETSU baseball team will hit the road for the first time in 2025 on Tuesday when it visits Virginia Tech. The game time for Tuesday's matchup has been moved up from 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. due to potentially cold temperatures.
Probable Pitching Matchup
Tristan Curless (ETSU) vs. Grant Manning (VT) – 2 p.m. | Live Stats | ACC Network Extra
Strong Star for the Starters – With early season pitch counts in effect, the three Buccaneer starting pitchers fared about as well as anyone could hope for in their respective 2025 debuts. The trio of
Michael Harpster,
Jace Hyde and
Carter Fink did not allow a run in 13.2 innings of work against Northern Kentucky. Harpster, who was the Co-Preseason SoCon Pitcher of the Year, was especially good as he not only kept the Norse off the scoreboard, but he also did not allow a hit in five innings of work.
No hits for you – Along with the work by ETSU's starters, the Buccaneer bullpen also did well in the opening series in limiting NKU's offensive chances. In the three games, Northern Kentucky mustered just 14 hits. The 14 hits given up by ETSU pitchers are tied for the eighth-fewest by any staff through college baseball's first weekend of action.
Bucs stealing bases at an impressive clip – Through just three games, the Buccaneers have already stolen nine bases. In perspective, that's nearly 16 percent of ETSU's stolen bases from all last season (57 stolen bases) in 2025's first series.
Cody Miller, who led ETSU with 19 steals in 2024, leads the charge with three stolen bases in three games, while
Jamie Palmese,
Blake Jacklin and
JD Yakubinis all have swiped two.
No slump from the newest Bucs – Overall, nine different Buc registered their first plate appearance in an ETSU uniform last weekend. Collectively, the newest group hitters fared well posting an average of .278.
Axel Melendez and
Lenny Montesano led the newcomers with three hits a piece, while Melendez,
Grant Gallagher and
Eli Evans all hit their first home runs as Bucs against the Norse.
Coach Pennucci closing in a milestone – With the three wins over the weekend, ETSU Head Coach
Joe Pennucci needs just seven more victories to become just the third coach in program history to reach 200 wins with the program. The only other coaches to reach this milestone are Tony Skole (471 wins) and Ken Campbell (223 wins).
Rare Road Trip – Tuesday will be the last road game for the Bucs for quite some time. The next game for the Bucs that will be played away from Johnson City will be at nationally-ranked Georgia on March 11. Overall, the Bucs play 21 of their first 24 games at Thomas Stadium. Furthermore, the Bucs won't play a series away from their home ballpark since March 28-30 when they travel to take on USC Upstate for a three-game set.
About Virginia Tech – Virginia Tech opened its 2025 season by winning two of three games against Bucknell. The Bison won the second game 8-6 but the Hokies won the other two games by a combined score of 46-1. As a team, Virginia Tech hitting .407, which ranks fourth nationally behind only Baylor (.430), Rhode Island (.420) and Wake Forest (.412).
Series History vs. Virginia Tech – Tuesday will be the 60
th all-time meeting between the Buccaneers and Hokies. VT has won 41 of the previous 59 meetings, including a 14-4 victory in Blacksburg last March. ETSU, which will host the Hokies at Thomas Stadium on April 15, will be in search of its first win over the Hokies since 2017.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
