JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 9, 2025) – East Tennessee State University softball swept its way to two Sunday afternoon wins over St. Bonaventure, 3-1, and Mercyhurst, 7-3, at Betty Basler Field.
Sophomore infielder Tiare Rieger played hero in the opener, sending a three-run homer out over the right center field fence in the top of the fourth inning, just missing the scoreboard. The long ball, which scored junior catcher Leinani Lutu and sophomore outfielder Leilani Coleman, provided ETSU's only scoring in the first half of the doubleheader.
The Bucs collected ten hits in the game, including two apiece from senior infielder Cameron Young and junior outfielder Taylor Suchy, but stranded seven runners in the contest.
The performance in the circle negated all of the runners left on base though, as freshman
Eden Muncy dominated for her first collegiate win. Muncy allowed just two hits, both in the second inning, and one run while striking out a season-best nine Bonnies through five innings of work.
In relief, junior Marissa Barnes worked through traffic to record a clean sixth inning before sophomore Gabrielle Fowler entered and shut down St. Bonaventure, with a two-strikeout seventh inning for her first save of the season.
In the final game of the Buccaneer Softball Classic, Sara Muir showed up. The senior pitched six sterling innings, scattering five hits with four strikeouts and no runs allowed. At the plate, she doubled, walked twice and scored a run.
Meanwhile, Young, Suchy and sophomore infielder
Makayla Veglia all collected four-hit days between the two games, and each of the trio had two RBI against Mercyhurst.
Veglia kicked off the scoring with a first inning single that scored senior infielder Riley Nayadley. Nayadley then made it a 2-0 ETSU lead with a second inning single to bring home sophomore infielder Maddison Stowell.
Suchy and Veglia broke open the game in the bottom of the fourth. First, Suchy drove in Muir and Young. Four pitches later, Veglia singled Suchy home to give the Bucs a 5-0 lead.
Young capped off the Bucs' scoring in the fifth with a two-run double to left center. The Lakers would scratch three runs across in the top of the seventh before Whitney Boone closed out the 7-3 win for ETSU.
Next, the Bucs will begin the ETSU Invitational on Thursday at 3 p.m. against North Dakota.
For more information on Buccaneer softball, follow @ETSUSoftball on X (Twitter), @etsubucssoftball on Instagram and visit ETSUBucs.com.
