CHARLESTON, S.C. (May 14, 2025) – The ETSU baseball team will close out the 2025 regular season this week with a three-game series at The Citadel. This series, which will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, has seeding implications for both teams for the upcoming SoCon Baseball Tournament.
Probable Pitching Matchups
RHP Carter Fink (ETSU) vs. LHP George Derrick Floyd (CIT) – Thursday @ 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Jace Hyde (ETSU) vs. RHP Andrew Stanley (CIT) – Friday @ 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Michael Harpster (ETSU) vs. TBA (CIT) – Saturday @ 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Last Time Out – ETSU finished off a series win over Wofford on Sunday with a 9-3 victory. It marked the first series win for the Bucs against the Terriers since 2015. Furthermore, the two wins against the Terriers boosted ETSU's record to 37-13 overall and 13-5 in SoCon action.
Championship Chase – The Buccaneers control their own destiny in terms of potentially winning at least a share of its first SoCon Regular Season Championship since 1981. ETSU, which hasn't won an outright league title since 1980, currently has a one game lead on Samford with three games to go and it currently holds the tiebreaker against the Bulldogs after taking the series between the two teams earlier this season. Samford will close its regular season with three games against Mercer in Macon.
League Leaders in the SoCon – Entering the final series of the regular season, the Bucs lead the SoCon in several statistical categories including batting average (.313), double plays turned (43), ERA (4.23), hits (542), hits allowed per nine innings (8.44), home runs (109), shutouts (4), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.48), WHIP (1.32), walks allowed per nine innings (3.44) and win-loss percentage (.740). Individually, a Buccaneer leads the conference in walks (
Grant Gallagher – 53), ERA (
Brady Frederick – 2.25), hits allowed per nine innings (Frederick – 5.55), home runs (
Cooper Torres – 21), RBI (Torres – 64), slugging percentage (Torres - .790), total bases (Torres – 154), and WHIP (Frederick – 0.88).
Terrific Season from Torres – Torres has been an anchor in the middle of ETSU's lineup all season long. The senior second baseman paces the Bucs in batting average (.374), slugging percentage (.790), runs scored (63), hits (73), RBI (64), doubles (14), triples (2), home runs (21), and total bases (154). Torres is four long balls away from tying the single season home run record of 25 set by Paul Hoilman in 2010. Furthermore, he could enter the top five single-season marks in school history in total bases, RBI, and runs scored with a stellar close to his 2025 campaign.
Sophomore Standout in the Buccaneer Bullpen – Sophomore
Brady Frederick has had a breakout campaign out of the Buccaneer bullpen. Frederick leads the SoCon ERA (2.25) and paces ETSU's pitching staff in batting average against (.179), saves (3), strikeouts (62) and appearances (20). The Bucs have won the last nine games that Frederick has pitched in.
Win, Win, Win – After winning 11 of its last 13 games, the Bucs are closing in on just their second 40-win season in school history. The only other time that the Bucs won 40 or more games in a season was in 1981 when they won 44. The only other team to win more games than this year's squad and the one from 1981 is the 1980 Bucs with 39 victories.
Road Success – ETSU has more than held its own away from Johnson City in 2025 with a 12-5 record in road contests. If the Bucs sweep The Citadel, it'll be the most road wins in a season for ETSU since 2011 when it also won 15 away from Johnson City.
About The Citadel – The Citadel has enjoyed a bounce back season in 2025 after finishing in eighth place last season in the SoCon. Depending upon the results this week, Bulldogs get one of the coveted byes in the upcoming SoCon Tournament. The Citadel, which enters the series with a 28-23 overall record and a 10-8 SoCon mark, currently leads the SoCon in sacrifice bunts and in team fielding percentage. The Bulldogs have also won six straight games at home entering this week's series.
Series Rewind vs. The Citadel – The Bucs and Bulldogs have met 112 times previously. The Citadel holds the historic edge in the series winning 65 of the 112 matchups. ETSU, however, has won the last six games between these two programs by a combined score of 55-11. The Bucs took two of three games against the Bulldogs the last time these two teams met in Charleston.
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