NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 10, 2026) – The ETSU baseball team jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on the road at Belmont on Friday evening and never gave it back as the Buccaneers upended the Bruins, 6-3. The victory boosts ETSU's overall record to 22-9 on the 2026 campaign.
Five of ETSU's seven hits on Friday came from the top four hitters in its lineup.
Tristan Curless logged the lone multi-hit performance by a Buc against the Bruins finishing 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
Jamie Palmese also drove in two runs for ETSU, while
Nate Conner reached base three times thanks to a bunt single and a pair of walks.
Henry Ferguson extended his reached base streak to 31 games with a single.
Gabe Juarez and
Joey Little also picked up singles in the victory.
The Bucs used just three pitchers on Friday.
Tadan Bell turned in a quality start by pitching six innings and allowing two runs on seven hits with one walk. Bell, who picked up his fourth win of the season to improve his record to 4-2, also matched a season-high with six strikeouts against the Bruins.
Thomas Costarelli and
Reid Brosnan followed Bell and protected ETSU's early lead. Brosnan did not allow a run in the final 1.2 innings of the contest and picked up his first collegiate save.
Both teams had runners reach base in the first and second innings, but the first runs did not come across to score until the top of the third. Conner and Ferguson got things rolling with a walk and single. Curless delivered a double to score Conner before Palmese brought two more Bucs home with a double of his own to make it 3-0 Bucs. Palmese would make it a four-run inning later in the frame as he came in to score on a passed ball.
The Buccaneers added to their lead in the fourth. ETSU loaded the bases without a hit (walk, hit by pitch, walk) with nobody out.
Ian Guanzon came across to score the Bucs' fifth run on a double play turned by the Bruins. ETSU was not done adding on though as Curless delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 6-0 ETSU.
Belmont got one of those runs back in the fourth inning and then another in the sixth on a solo home run off Bell. The Bruins closed the gap further with a run in the eighth to make it a three-run game. Brosnan entered the game with one out in the eighth and stranded a runner at third base. Brosnan then worked around a walk in the ninth to finish off the 6-3 victory for the Bucs.
ETSU and Belmont will wrap up their three-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader. First pitch for the twin bill is scheduled for 2 p.m. eastern time with the final game of the weekend set to follow shortly after the conclusion of that first matchup. Both games will air on ESPN+.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
