JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 27, 2026) – The ETSU baseball team battled back from a couple of different deficits to knock off VMI by a score of 6-5 on Friday from Thomas Stadium. Friday's victory boosts ETSU's record to 18-6 overall and 3-1 in SoCon play. Additionally, the Bucs are now 15-1 at Thomas Stadium this season.
A trio of ETSU hitters had two hits in Friday's win.
Nate Conner was one of those players going 2-for-4 with a home run and drove in four of ETSU's six runs.
Mason Ault went 2-for-3 with a home run of his own, while
Tristan Curless reached base a total of four times on the day with a double, single, and a pair of walks.
Tadan Bell started Friday's game for the Bucs on the mound and threw the first 5.1 innings. Bell allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits to go with six strikeouts against the Keydets. ETSU got stellar performances from three relievers in
Derek McCarley,
Carter Oliff, and
Thomas Costarelli. The trio combined for 3.2 shutout innings with two hits allowed and a pair of strikeouts. Oliff earned his second win of the season after tossing 1.2 innings, while Costarelli tallied his team-leading third save after getting the final two outs.
VMI took the lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a solo home run and an RBI double. ETSU quickly responded, however, with a solo home run by Ault and a sacrifice fly by Conner to knot the score at two in the second.
The Keydets brought home two more runs in the third and then tacked on another in the sixth to give them a 5-2 advantage. A solo home run by Conner in the sixth inning cut the deficit to a pair of runs. ETSU, which had plenty of chances to score with 10 runners left on base over the first six innings, broke through in the seventh.
Tyler Fetterman began the frame with a single and then moved to second base thanks to an error by VMI.
Ian Guanzon drove Fetterman in with a double to bring the Bucs within a run.
With the Bucs within a run,
Luke Matlock was hit by a pitch giving the Bucs a pair of runners on with two outs. An inning after his home run, Conner delivered again with a two-run double in the gap left-centerfield gap to give ETSU its first lead of the game, 6-5.
Protecting a lead, the tandem of Oliff and Costarelli combined to get the final six outs for the Bucs. ETSU has now defeated VMI eight straight times dating back to 2023.
Game two of the series between the Bucs and Keydets will be played on Saturday. The start time of Saturday's game has been pushed back to 3 p.m. Prior to the start of the game, there will also be a ribbon cutting ceremony involving alumni for the new turf at Thomas Stadium.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
