JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 29, 2026) – The ETSU baseball team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday afternoon as VMI knocked off ETSU by a score of 5-4 from Thomas Stadium. Sunday's loss moves ETSU's overall record to 19-7 and 4-2 in Southern Conference (SoCon) play.
 
ETSU totaled six hits on Sunday against the Keydets. Jamie Palmese hit a solo home run, while Ian Guanzon had an RBI triple as well to account for the run-producing hits for the Bucs. Mason Ault, Tristan Curless, Henry Ferguson, and Axel Melendez also tallied hits for the Blue and Gold in the contest.
 
A total of five different pitchers saw time on the mound on Sunday for ETSU. Cooper Jones made the start and pitched the first three innings. Jones allowed two runs on three hits and struck out four in his outing. The bulk of the game was pitched by Reid Brosnan. Brosnan pitched a career-high 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits and totaled four strikeouts on Sunday.
 
ETSU and VMI traded runs in the first inning. VMI's run came via an RBI single in the top half. However, the Bucs answered in the bottom half when Nate Conner came in to score on a double play to even the score at one. The Buccaneers then took their first lead of the game in the second without a hit. Ault (hit by pitch) and Ty Galusky (walk) gave ETSU a pair of runners on base. It looked like VMI would get out of the jam, but an error allowed ETSU's second run of the day to come in and score.
 
VMI knotted the score at two in the fourth with a solo home run by Seth Buchanan, which was Jones' final batter of the afternoon. Guanzon got ETSU's lead back in the bottom half with a triple that split the left-center field gap that scored Ault from first base.
 
Palmese pushed the ETSU advantage to a pair of runs on a long home run to left field to lead off the sixth. It was Palmese's second home run of the season and first since March 13 against Bradley.
 
Brosnan, who entered the game with nobody out in fourth, was in control on the mound for the Bucs as he faced two more batters than the minimum until the ninth inning. In the ninth, Brosnan alternated walk and strikeout to the first four batters of the inning. With the go-ahead run coming to the plate and his pitch count at a season-high, the Bucs gave the ball to Stratton Scott in relief of Brosnan. Scott, who earned his first save in Saturday's win over the Keydets, was greeted with an RBI double from Easton Ogle to make it a one-run game before Owen Prince knocked in two runs to give VMI its first lead since the first, 5-4.
 
Moving to the ninth inning, VMI stuck with Buddy Baker who entered the game in the eighth to close it out. Baker retired the Bucs in order in the ninth to finish off the 5-4 win for the Keydets. Sunday's win by VMI snapped ETSU's nine-game winning streak against Keydets that dated back to 2023.
 
The Bucs will return to action on Thursday when they open at three-game series at Samford. First pitch for game of the series against the Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m. eastern time from Birmingham.

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