According to ETSU baseball coach, Tony Skole, his team is talented but they lack competitiveness. Getting out to early leads in both games of a double header Saturday, ETSU managed to drop both games at Cardinal Park in a Southern Conference matchup against the Catamounts of Western Carolina. In the first game, the Bucs (13-18, 4-10 SoCon) were playing a make up game after a rainout Friday. Matt Traylor got ETSU off to a fast start in the first game with a homerun to right field off of a 1-2 pitch. Jeremy Hall looking for his fifth win of the season was on target allowing no runs up until the top of the sixth inning.
Hall continued getting run support from teammate Josiah Glafenhein as he drove a two run homerun to deep center field in the bottom of the second, giving ETSU a 3-0 lead.Glafenhein was 3-for-4 with three RBI’s off a two homeruns.But Hall’s luck changed in the sixth inning as Western Carolina (13-16, 3-7) cranked out five runs on five hits. Jared Greenwood led off the sixth with a double to right. Jimmy Cochran walked and Jared Greenwood stole third base on a wild pitch. Chad McKown then walked to the plate and took Hall’s first pitch deep to center for a three run homer to tie the game at 3-3. Hall gave up two more singles a before being pulled. His replacement, Josh Kite was handed a bases loaded situation gave up a sacrifice fly that scored one run. He then hit Greenwood to score the Catamount’s fifth run of the sixth inning before Brian Sigmon grounded out.
“It’s a disappointing afternoon for us to get swept at home,” Skole said. “Western Carolina has a better ball club than we do. They made the pitches, they made the plays and got the hits. They made big hits when they need to.”
Caleb McConnell got the win for the Catamounts, throwing nine innings and giving up nine hits for four earned runs. McConnell kept his pitch count to 105 and had five strikeouts. Skole believes his team has great players but they are not tough enough just past the midway point of the season.
Skole said, “I think our team our ball club is better than it has been in recent years.We’ve got great kids and great students, fine gentlemen. But we don’t have a lot of tough kids who thirst for competition.”
“Time after time this year when big situations arrive we seem to run away from them. We’re not very good when the game is on the line. We get a lot of hits and our numbers are pretty good but those are games we win 12-2 or 18-3. In Southern Conference baseball games are usually close, he said.
In game two, the Catamounts came from behind and won 8-4 on twelve hits and four ETSU errors.
Calicutt doubled to center scoring Caleb Moore and Greg Roberts giving the Bucs a 2-1 lead in the first inning.
With the game tied at 3 a piece WCU took over in the fourth scoring two runs on two hits off of one error.
The Bucs were led by Calicutt who was 2-for-4 with two RBI’s. Tim Turner got the loss for ETSU giving up six runs of six innings of pitching.
Skole said, “I think we’ve got talented kids- it’s just pulling it together.”
” It’s got to come from these guys. I can speak like Vince Lombardi until I’m blue in the face but these guys have to show up to play. Not just one or two guys have to show up but the whole team.

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