GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 22, 2026) – The ETSU baseball team won its first Southern Conference (SoCon) series of the season on Sunday with a 15-8 win on the road at UNC Greensboro. Sunday's win not only boosted ETSU's overall record to 16-6 and 2-1 in SoCon play but also clinches the team's first series victory in Greensboro since 2021.
There was no shortage of offensive numbers for ETSU on Sunday. Six different Buccaneers had at least two hits and six also drove in two runs or more.
Luke Matlock totaled a season-high four hits in a 4-for-5 day at the plate.
Tristan Curless went 3-for-5 with four runs scored, a home run, and three RBI, while
Nate Conner had his second multi-home run game in the win.
Ian Guanzon also slugged a home run plus
Henry Ferguson (2-for-4, two RBI),
Axel Melendez (2-for-5, three RBI), and
Jamie Palmese (2-for-5, two RBI) all drove in multiple runs and had two hits a piece for the Bucs.
On the mound, the Bucs used six pitchers to get the win on Sunday.
Thomas Costarelli collected his first win of his college career after tossing two innings early in the game.
Reid Brosnan had the longest outing by an ETSU pitcher on the day (2.2 innings). In addition to his work at the plate, Curless closed the game out for the Bucs with two shutout innings to pick up his first save in an ETSU uniform.
Conner started the series finale with a bang with a solo home run on the first pitch of the game. An inning later, Guanzon crushed a home run of his own to left field to give ETSU the early 3-0 lead.
Even with UNCG getting a couple runs back in the second, the Buccaneer offense kept clicking along with a two-run double by Palmese pushed the lead back out to three. In the fourth, Curless knocked in a run with a single and two more runs came in on sacrifice flies later in the inning to make it 8-2 Bucs.
Conner launched his second home run of the game in the fifth to make the score 10-3 ETSU. The Spartans took a big bite out of the Buccaneer lead with a five-run seventh. It looked like the Spartans might make the score even tighter in the eighth as they loaded the bases with nobody out. A clutch double play and a long flyout got the Bucs out of the jam with their three-run lead still intact.
ETSU still had some more offense in it as four came across to score in the ninth inning thanks to run-scoring hits from Curless, Ferguson, and Melendez. Curless, who got the Bucs out of the bases-loaded jam in the eighth, retired the Spartans in order in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the series win for ETSU.
The Buccaneers will return home to Thomas Stadium on Tuesday when they welcome Virginia Tech to town. Tuesday's game against the Hokies is a Gold Out and fans are encouraged to wear gold. First pitch between the Bucs and Hokies is scheduled for 5 p.m.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
