Baseball’s head coach Joe Pennucci recently announced the upcoming 2019 schedule.
Bucs head baseball coach Joe Pennucci
(Courtesy of the ETSU Bucs)
Come February, the Bucs will start regular season and end in conference play come May. The Bucs’ first game will be against Iona, and it will be the first time facing the New York team.
“It’s exciting to have guys come down from different parts of the country,” said Pennucci. “There are some really good coaches and some really good programs coming to Johnson City which is exciting.”
The Bucs lost 10 seniors last year but have added an impressive list of freshman and transfers to the roster.
“A lot of these guys are going to have an opportunity to prove themselves,” said Pennucci. “It’s going to be exciting to see some of those freshman get thrown into the fire and see how they do.”
The season is going to be a learning one for the Bucs, but that doesn’t mean the record will suffer.
“It’s a new team, but I think some of the returners learned how to compete at a high level over the course of a season,” said Pennucci. “We play a lot of games in a short amount of time, and I think having some of those returners can help lead the younger guys.”
Out of the 55 games in the 2019 season, 33 will be at home, and 21 of the Bucs’ first 29 games will be home contests. Highlights for the Bucs’ 2019 slate will include six marquee matchups facing SoCon opponents and Athletic Coast Conference, some of those including Virginia Tech and Tennessee.
“We are playing some new teams and will be tested for sure, but I think it will give us an opportunity to prepare ourselves for Southern conference play,” said Pennucci.
SoCon play will start early next year for the Bucs as they host Western Carolina in March. Later in the season, the Bucs will host Wofford in April and UNCG in May before closing the regular season as they face Samford at home.
The Bucs will start season play on Feb. 15 and have all of winter break to get ready.
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