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ETSU sweeps second straight SoCon series

 JOHNSON CITY – The ETSU baseball team outscored VMI by a score of 20-1 in a doubleheader sweep of the Keydets on Sunday afternoon at Thomas Stadium. The Bucs won game one 11-1 in seven innings before shutting out VMI by a score of 9-0 to complete the series sweep. The sweep over VMI, which is the team’s third in the last four years over the Keydets, boosts ETSU’s record to 30-15 overall and 12-6 in SoCon play. Furthermore, the two victories on Sunday pushed ETSU’s win total at Thomas Stadium this season to 23, which is the most the Bucs have had in a single season since moving into the stadium for the 2012 season. 

 

Game One Recap – VMI struck first with leadoff home run, but it was all Buccaneers after that in game one of the day. The Bucs scored four in the first and third innings on top of single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to roll past the Keydets, 11-1. 

 Noah Gent continued to be one of ETSU’s top run-producers in the game one win. He drove in one run with a sacrifice fly in the four-run first inning before slugging a grand slam in the third inning to finish with five RBI in the contest. Cameron Sisneros also homered in the victory in a 3-for-4 outing at the plate with three runs scored and two RBI. Cody Miller (2-for-4, two runs scored) and Ashton King (2-for-3, walk) also had two-hit performances in the 11-1 win. 

 Jace Hyde was stellar again for ETSU in game one. The freshman tossed six innings in the matchup with the Keydets and allowed one run on four hits to go with eight strikeouts. Over his last three outings (two starts), Hyde has allowed just three runs on six hits in 17.1 innings to go with 20 strikeouts. After Andrew Cotten logged a scoreless seventh inning, Hyde improved his record to 6-3 on the season with Sunday’s victory. 

 

Game Two Recap – After scoring 11 runs in game one, the Bucs kept things rolling in the series finale. ETSU scored in six of the eight innings and all nine members of the starting lineup reached base at least once en route to a 9-0 win over VMI to complete the doubleheader sweep. It marks the first time ETSU has swept back-to-back league series since 2016 when the Bucs swept consecutive three-game sets from VMI and Samford. 

 ETSU homered three times in the series finale. Sisneros homered for the second time on the day and drove in a pair of runs to bring his RBI total to 64 in 2024. The 64 RBI are the most for a Buc since Paul Hoilman drove in a program record 84 runs in 2010. Nick Iannantone and Noah Webb also homered to help fuel the win, while Miller and Jackson Green also contributed two-hit days. 

 The Bucs were excellent on the mound again to finish off their second straight SoCon sweep. Starter Michael Harpster pitched five shutout innings, scattered five hits, and struck out seven. Tyler Fetterman, Andrew Ronne, and Owen Kovacs all logged scoreless appearances out of the Buc bullpen. Harpster collected his eighth win of the season to improve to 8-1. His eight wins are tied for the second-most in the SoCon behind only Samford’s Michael Ross and his 10 victories.