JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 27, 2026) – The ETSU baseball team will return home to Johnson City on Tuesday to host UNC Asheville in non-conference action. First pitch between the Buccaneers and Bulldogs is set for 5 p.m. from Thomas Stadium.
Probable Pitching Matchup
LHP Nic Melton (AVL) vs. RHP Jack Vest (ETSU) – Tuesday @ 5 p.m. | Live Stats
Last Time Out – ETSU dropped two of three on the road at Western Carolina over the weekend. WCU bookended the series with wins by scores of 14-10 and 13-2 but the Bucs won the middle game, 4-3. With this weekend's results, the Bucs are now 26-15 and 9-6 in SoCon play.
Palmese Providing Offensive Punch – With ETSU hitter that has good a month of April has been
Jamie Palmese. Palmese is hitting .349 in 15 games with two home runs and 19 RBI. On top of his two home runs, Palmese has added 11 doubles as well. Of Palmese's 22 hits in April, 13 have been for extra bases.
Wrapping Up Non-Conference Play – ETSU's next five games will be against non-SoCon teams (UNC Asheville, three at UConn, Radford). The Bucs have fared well playing non-league games this season with a 17-9 record, which includes a 14-1 mark at home. Offensively, the Bucs are hitting .308 as a team and are outscoring non-SoCon teams 221-121 this season.
Terrific at the Thom – The Bucs have enjoyed one of the best home field advantages this season as they are 18-3 at Thomas Stadium. ETSU has shined in the batters' box and on the mound in front of its home fans with a team batting average of .334 and a team ERA of 3.51. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Bucs are 67-16 at Thomas Stadium (.807 winning percentage).
About UNC Asheville – The Bulldogs are currently 17-27 this season. A strength for Asheville this season has been on the basepaths as they rank third in the Big South with 59 stolen bases. A player to watch for the Bulldogs is Blaize Johnson. Johnson not only leads all Big South players with 108 total bases, but he also is batting .360 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI. Johnson also has worked 35 walks against 16 strikeouts this season.
Series Rewind against the Bulldogs – Tuesday will be the 73
rd all-time meeting between the Bucs and Bulldogs. ETSU has held the edge historically winning 45 of the previous 72 matchups. Since 2018, the Bucs are 14-1 against Asheville including a pair of victories last season by a combined score of 33-12.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball tab.
