The ETSU men’s baseball team played the Butler Bulldogs this past weekend in a doubleheader at home.
The teams split the wins as they both fought hard for the victories.
In the first game, Jimmy Nesselt pitched a gem for the Bucs.
The Bucs held the Bulldogs from scoring until the eighth inning.
Nesselt retired 22 of the final 24 hitters, which helped the Bucs overtake the Bulldogs for the victory.
The Bucs hit the ball well in Game 1.
They made contact with the ball nine times, the Bulldogs only four.
With great hitting in the last five innings, the Bucs took the win 4-1 in Game 1.
However, the Bulldogs would prevail in Game 2 as the Bucs struggled defensively to keep Butler in their grasps.
Butler got a 2-1 lead at the end of the second inning, but the Bucs would tie 2-2 in the fourth inning.
Butler continued to put runs on the board and by the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs were up to a 5-2 lead over the Bucs.
During the final inning, the Bulldogs would score four runs, which would result in a 9-3 loss for the Bucs. This would break the eight game losing streak the Bulldogs were on.
The loss this weekend brought the Bucs to a 5-2 overall record.
The teams have a rubber match this weekend on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at Thomas Stadium in Johnson City.
The rubber match between the Bucs and Bulldogs will be a great sight to see as ETSU’s right-hander Griffin Krieg faces off against Butler’s Nick Morton.
The last time Krieg pitched was during the ETSU and Pittsburgh game on Feb. 22. Krieg threw six scoreless innings to guarantee the Bucs a 10-4 win over Pittsburgh.
Both teams have shown that they both have the pitching power and accurate batting to guide them to wins.
The Bucs have a great weapon on their side in their pitching game. However, ETSU has shown in past games that not only pitching, but hitting is also a factor.
Just like in the Upstate Classic, the Bucs hit remarkably in their games this weekend and will hope to carry it into the next few games.
