MACON, Ga. (April 16, 2025) – The ETSU baseball team will begin a seven-game road swing this week with a three-game series at Mercer. The series is slated to get underway on Thursday with first pitch set for 6 p.m. from Macon.
Probable Pitching Matchups
RHP Carter Fink (ETSU) vs. LHP Colton Cosper – Thursday @ 6 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Jace Hyde (ETSU) vs. RHP Jeb Johnson – Friday @ 6 p.m. | Live Stats
RHP Michael Harpster (ETSU) vs. LHP Jess Ackerman – Saturday @ 1 p.m. | Live Stats
Last Time Out – ETSU dropped a game to Virginia Tech on Tuesday by a final score of 11-4. With Tuesday's loss to the Hokies, the Bucs are now 25-10 in 2025.
Buccaneer Offense Tops the SoCon in Multiple Categories – ETSU's offense has been one of the best in the SoCon this spring. Following play on Tuesday, the Buccaneers lead the SoCon in batting average (.319), hits (384), home runs (81), home runs per game (2.31), and slugging percentage (.593). Individually, the Bucs have the top three players in the conference in terms of slugging percentage in
Grant Gallagher (.829),
Cooper Torres (.727) and
Cody Miller (.716). Furthermore, Gallagher currently leads all of Division I baseball with 18 home runs.
More Success on the Mound as Well – As a pitching staff, the Bucs pace the conference in ERA (4.35), hits allowed per nine innings (8.20), shutouts (3) and WHIP (1.32). ETSU's pitchers have also benefitted from the Bucs turning a SoCon-leading 29 double plays this spring. Through nine league games, the pitching staff has been even better with a staff ERA of 3.16.
Rare Road Swing for the Bucs – ETSU will embark on a seven-game road swing after playing just six of its first 35 games away from Thomas Stadium. The Bucs are 3-3 on the road so far in 2025. Torres has been especially good on the road in the limited number of games hitting .423 with four home runs and 14 RBI. Pairing his slugging and on-base numbers together, Torres has an OPS of 1.478 on the road.
About Mercer – The Bears enter the series with the Bucs with a 24-15 overall record, including a 5-4 mark in SoCon play. Mercer is coming off back-to-back one-run wins over Charleston Southern (4-3) and Georgia Southern (7-6) coming into play Thursday. A player to watch for the Bears is Bradley Frye. Frye currently ranks 10
th nationally and leads the SoCon with 62 hits. Frye has also flashed power with 13 doubles and 11 home runs as well as speed with 10 stolen bases in 2025.
Series Rewind vs. Mercer – Mercer has historically held the edge against the Bucs as it has won 40 of the 58 all-time meetings. However, the Bucs won three of the five games between the two programs a season ago, including twice in the SoCon Tournament. ETSU will be looking to secure its first series win at Mercer since 2009.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
