JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 28, 2025) – After a seven-game road swing, the ETSU baseball team will return home to Thomas Stadium for a non-conference clash against UNC Asheville on Tuesday. Tuesday's contest, which will also be the team's senior day, is scheduled to get underway at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.
Probable Pitching Matchup
RHP Zachary Gaydos (AVL) vs. RHP Landon Crumbley (ETSU) - Tuesday @ 5 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Last Time Out – ETSU won two of three games on the road at Toledo over the weekend. The Bucs outlasted the Rockets by a score of 8-4 in 10 innings in the series opener on Friday before the Rockets rallied to even the three-game set with a 7-6 win on Saturday. With the series knotted at a game a piece, the Bucs knocked off the Rockets, 5-3, on Sunday to claim their ninth series win of the 2025 season. With the series win over the Rockets, ETSU is now 30-12 this season.
One for the History Books – ETSU's home run power has been a storyline all season long. With home runs by
Cooper Torres and
Tristan Curless on Saturday, the Buccaneers broke the program's single season home run record of 93 set by the 2010 Bucs. ETSU, which has currently hit 94 home runs this spring, is tied for fourth nationally in homers trailing only Georgia (112), High Point (101) and Tennessee (98). Furthermore, the 94 long balls that the Bucs have hit are tied for the tenth-most by a SoCon team in league history with last year's Mercer's team. ETSU needs six more homers to move into a tie for ninth on all-time conference list with Western Carolina's team from 1997.
Torres on a Tear – Torres led the charge for ETSU's offense in four games last week at Appalachian State and Toledo. The senior second baseman hit .375 with one home run, seven RBI and two stolen bases. Torres also worked five walks to finish with an on-base percentage of .524. Paired with his .750 slugging percentage, Torres finished the week with an OPS of 1.274. Torres began his week by finishing a home run shy of the cycle in Tuesday's 13-6 win at Appalachian State. Torres then recorded at least one hit in all three games of the Toledo series, including a two-run home run in Saturday's matchup. For the 2025 season, Torres leads ETSU in batting average (.361), slugging percentage (.759), runs scored (49), hits (60), RBI (55), and total bases (126).
Brady is the backbone of the Buccaneer bullpen – Earlier today sophomore
Brady Frederick was named the SoCon Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. Frederick tossed eight shutout innings across two appearances over the weekend in Toledo where he also picked up a win and a save. Opponents are hitting just .181 off of Frederick in 2025 and he ranks among the top 12 nationally in WHIP (8th – 0.88), ERA (11th – 2.10) and hits allowed per nine innings pitched (12th – 5.61).
30 wins & sitting atop the SoCon standings – With Sunday's win, the Bucs are the first SoCon team to reach 30 victories in 2025 and currently sit in first place in the SoCon standings with an 8-4 record with three weekends of league play remaining. With 11 games remaining in the regular season (nine SoCon games), the Bucs have a chance to have one of the best seasons in school history. If ETSU just posts roughly a .500 record in the final 11 games (6-5) it'll tie for the third-most wins in school history with the 2011, 2013 and 2024 teams. Only the 1981 (44 wins) and 1980 (39 wins) teams would be in front of this year's ETSU team at that point. Additionally, the Bucs finished third in the SoCon standings a season ago. If the Bucs finish second, it'll be the program's highest finish in the SoCon since 1983 and if they win the conference, it'll be their first outright SoCon title since 1980 after sharing the championship with Western Carolina and Marshall in 1981.
About UNC Asheville – The Bulldogs enter Tuesday's matchup with the Bucs sporting a 14-27 record overall, which includes a 7-11 mark in Big South play. As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting .265. Three of Asheville's top four hitters in terms of batting average are freshmen. Leading this charge is Blaize Johnson hitting .321 with four home runs and 21 RBI. Asheville's top power threat is also freshman in Jake Minarik, who has slugged eight homers during his first collegiate season.
Series Rewind vs. UNC Asheville – ETSU and Asheville have met at least once in every season (except for 2020) since 2009. In the 70 previous meetings between these two programs, the Bucs hold a 43-27 record against the Bulldogs, including a mark of 12-1 in the last 13 matchups. The Buccaneers have defeated the Bulldogs nine straight times in Johnson City with Asheville's last win at ETSU's home park coming in 2017, 6-4.
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