JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 13, 2025) – The ETSU baseball team will return home to Thomas Stadium this weekend for a three-game series against Longwood. Due to the forecast in the Tri-Cities region this weekend, the Bucs and Lancers will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. with the series finale set for Saturday at 2 p.m. This weekend's series is presented by Ballad Health.
Probable Pitching Matchups
LHP Ethan Plesser (Longwood) vs. RHP Carter Fink (ETSU) – Friday @ 1 p.m. | Live Stats
TBA (Longwood) vs. RHP Jace Hyde (ETSU) – Friday @ 45 minutes following game one | Live Stats
RHP Guillermo Garcia Jr. vs. RHP Michael Harpster – Saturday @ 2 p.m. | Live Stats
Unicoi County Relief Day – ETSU Athletics will be hosting Unicoi County Relief Day for Saturday's game vs. Longwood. To help with this initiative, we are asking businesses, churches, schools, and individuals to donate a flex pass, containing twenty (20) tickets, to the Unicoi community for $50. Those who donate a flex pass will receive an in-game PA announcement and four (4) complimentary tickets for that day's game behind home plate. A clothing drive will also be hosted that day at the front gate of Thomas Stadium until the fifth inning. ETSU Athletics will be accepting new clothes, which will then be donated to the Unicoi County community. To donate flex passes, or for more information, please call the ETSU Athletics Ticket Office at (423) 439-3878 or email tickets@etsu.edu
Last Time Out – ETSU played a tight game at No. 4 Georgia on Tuesday but ultimately fell to the Bulldogs by a score of 8-6. Tuesday's loss moved ETSU's record to 12-4 this season.
Home Sweet Home – Over the last two seasons, the Bucs have been one of the toughest teams in the country to beat at home with a 36-7 record (83.7 winning percentage). ETSU is coming off a series win over Pittsburgh last weekend and it has lost just one series in its home ballpark over the last two seasons (James Madison in 2024).
Buccaneer Bats Continue Strong Start – Even facing a SEC pitching staff on Tuesday against Georgia did not slow down ETSU's offense. Entering this weekend's action, ETSU is second in the country with a .609 slugging percentage, third in home runs with 39, and 18
th in team batting average checking in .330. The seven qualified hitters (two plate appearances per game and 75% of games played) for the Bucs this spring are hitting a collective .317 with 33 home runs and 90 RBI.
Pitching Pulling Their Weight as Well – ETSU's pitchers held the hot-hitting Georgia lineup to only five hits on Tuesday. On the season, the Bucs lead the SoCon in ERA (3.64), hits allowed per nine innings (7.54), shutouts (2), and WHIP (1.26). Furthermore, Buccaneer relievers are holding opposing lineups to just a .198 batting average in 66.2 innings this spring.
Some more Stats on the Bucs – The Bucs have gotten their leadoff batter on base 49.2 percent of the time this season. ETSU's pinch hitters are batting .545 this season in 11 at-bats. Finally, the Buccaneer pitchers are holding opponents to a .192 batting average with runners in scoring position through 16 games.
About Longwood – Longwood makes the trip to Johnson City with a 5-12 record this season. The Lancers are coming off a 9-2 victory over UMass Lowell on Wednesday. A strength for Longwood this spring as been its work on the basepaths. As a team, the Lancers have stolen 46 bases, which ranks sixth nationally. Leading this charge has been Tre Keels with 16 steals and that total is tied for the fourth-most in Division I baseball.
Series History vs. Opponent – This will be the second ever series between the Bucs and Lancers with the first coming in 2014. ETSU won two of the three games in that three-game set by scores of 7-3 and 5-4.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
