JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 10, 2025) – After having its midweek game at Radford canceled, the ETSU baseball team will return to action this weekend with a three-game SoCon series against Western Carolina. The three-game series is slated to get underway at 5 p.m. on Friday night from Thomas Stadium.
Last Time Out – ETSU dropped two of the three games to UNC Greensboro last weekend at Thomas Stadium. The Bucs rolled in the first game winning 17-3 but the Spartans bounced back to win the second and third games by scores of 5-4 and 3-2. Last week's results moved ETSU's record to 22-9 overall and 3-3 in SoCon action.
Homer Happy Bucs – With three more home runs hit last weekend against UNCG, the Buccaneer home run total this season has moved to 75. Georgia (92 home runs) and Tennessee (80 home runs) are the only two teams that have hit more long balls than the Bucs. The 2024 Bucs hit 75 long balls for the entire season (56 games) and this year's team reached that mark in just 31 games. With four more home runs, this season's ETSU team will sit only behind the 2010 (93) and 2011 (86) teams on the single-season home run in the program's history.
Gallagher leads Division I Baseball in Home Runs – A big piece of the Buccaneer power puzzle this spring has been third baseman
Grant Gallagher. Gallagher currently leads Division I baseball with 17 home runs. In perspective, ETSU's individual single-season home run leader Paul Hoilman slugged 25 home runs in 2010. Hoilman did not his 17
th home run that season until the team's 41
st game. Friday will be the 32
nd game of the season for ETSU.
Strong Streak by ETSU's Shortstop – Shortstop
Cody Miller has been one of ETSU's hottest hitter lately. Over his last 10 games, Miller is hitting a team-high .439 with three home runs and 12 RBI to go with three stolen bases. Miller, who also has an on-base percentage of .500 during that stretch, is tied for the team-lead with 14 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games. His offensive production has been especially good at his home ballpark as he is hitting .362 with six home runs, 29 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 25 games at Thomas Stadium in 2025.
About Western Carolina – Western Carolina enters this weekend's series with the Bucs with a 16-16 overall record and a 2-4 mark in SoCon action. 13 of WCU's 16 wins this season have been in Cullowhee. In SoCon play, the Catamounts dropped two of three games against both VMI and Mercer. Individually, a player to watch for Western Carolina's offense is Brayden Corn. Corn nearly leads the team in batting average (.346), home runs (5), RBI (29) and paces the squad with 13 stolen bases. On the mound, Davis Wright leads the charge with a 3-3 record and a 4.23 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched.
Series Rewind vs. WCU – Historically, the Catamounts have held the edge against the Bucs winning 70 of the 115 all-time matchups. Despite the record, ETSU has won the last six series between these two programs dating back to 2018. WCU's last series win over the Bucs came in 2017 as it swept ETSU at Thomas Stadium.
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