The Bucs’ baseball team were able to win the series against Marist College this weekend, as they took two games and lost only one.”You hate to put the label ‘must win’ on your ball club this early in the season,” said head coach Tony Skole after the game. “But to come out of the weekend two and one instead of one and two is enormous.”

Junior pitcher John Long, a transfer from Spartanburg Methodist Junior College, started on the mound for ETSU on Friday. He went five innings on the mound and only allowed four hits and two runs. Long also had four strikeouts.

Long’s work was not done for the weekend, however. Sunday afternoon he was able to bat 3-for-4 at the plate for the Bucs, including one homerun.

“John has as much power as anyone . he just doesn’t get the opportunities as much,” said Skole after the game. “But he had an opportunity today and he made the most of it.”

Pretty much everything went right for the Bucs on the offensive end Sunday. Junior outfielder Matthew Scruggs got the Bucs going early with a homerun in the second to even the game, and ETSU would never look back.

Junior Dylan Pratt was also able to provide a big boost as a designated hitter this weekend. He got the Bucs rolling with three RBIs, two doubles, and a home run on Friday. Pratt also added three hits and two RBIs on Sunday.

Senior first baseman Paul Hoilman also played well Friday. He got the Bucs an early lead with an RBI to left field, and then finished off the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to seal the game.

Saturday was the only day that didn’t go very well for the Bucs. Despite getting a run early in the first inning, ETSU’s offense was completely stalled for the entire rest of the game. Pratt had the only RBI for the Bucs in the game and Marist was able to walk away with a 5-1 victory.

The Bucs return to Cardinal Park this weekend for a series against Rider. The first pitch is set for Friday at 3:05 p.m.

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