JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 2, 2025) – Trailing by as many as eight runs, the ETSU baseball team rallied late but ultimately fell to Radford by a score of 10-8 at Thomas Stadium on Wednesday. The loss to the Highlanders moves ETSU's record to 21-7 this season.
 
The duo of Cody Miller and Will Smoot led the Buccaneer offense on Wednesday. Miller matched a career-high with four hits in a 4-for-5 day at the plate with two RBI. Smoot, meanwhile, hit a three-run home run and added an RBI single as well. Jamie Palmese and Cooper Torres also had two-hit outings against Radford. For Torres, it extended his team-high hitting streak to 18 games.
 
Six different pitchers saw time on the mound for ETSU against the Highlanders. After giving up 10 runs in the first 2.2 innings, the Buccaneer bullpen stepped up and kept Radford off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest. The trio of Andrew Ronne, Andrew Cotten and Derek McCarley combined to toss 6.2 shutout innings with five hits allowed and five strikeouts.
 
After a scoreless first inning, both offenses got things going in the second. Radford used five hits and were aided by a pair of ETSU errors to bring eight runs across to score. Facing a sizable deficit, the Bucs cut the Radford lead in half with a four-run second. Tristan Curless lined an one-out double to get things started. Smoot then drove in Curless with a single to get the Blue and Gold on the board. Back-to-back doubles from Axel Melendez and Palmese brought home two more runs for the Bucs before a walk from Blake Jacklin and an RBI single by Miller chased home ETSU's fourth run of the frame.
 
Radford tacked on two more runs on four hits in the top of the third to build its lead back out to six, 10-4. After a total of 14 runs were scored, the Buccaneer and Highlander bullpens threw up 10 consecutive zeroes until the bottom of the eighth.
 
Palmese got a rally started with a single. An error on a failed pickoff attempt moved him into scoring position and then Miller drove him in with a single to make it 10-5 Radford.
 
ETSU continued to rally in the ninth. Torres doubled and then JD Yakubinis was hit by a pitch to put two runners on for Smoot. Smooth delivered and smashed a long home run off the scoreboard to pull the Bucs within two, 10-8. With still nobody out in the ninth, the Highlanders made pitching change to preserve their suddenly slim lead. Joshua Melleville was called on to protect Radford's lead and struck out the first two Bucs he faced then retired the final hitter on a flyout to clinch Radford's first win in Johnson City since 2014.
 
The Bucs will be back in action this weekend with a three-game series against UNC Greensboro. The series between the Bucs and Spartans is set to get underway on Friday at 5 p.m.

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