The baseball team held a three-game series over the weekend against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders. The Bucs came away with a strong showing, winning all three games and securing their fifth consecutive series win.
Saturday saw twice the action with a doubleheader. The first game the Bucs shutout the Highlanders until the eighth inning. Senior Micah Kaczor (Washington, D.C.) pitched a solid six innings with only three hits. With hitting, freshman Colby Emmertz (Hampstead, North Carolina) shined for the Bucs in the game, nailing two homers and three RBIs. He also went 3-for-4 at bat and scored two runs.
The Highlanders finally got runs on the board in the eighth with a run and a RBI, with the final score being 12-2.
The second game saw the Bucs rally eight unanswered runs starting in the
third inning. The Highlanders got the first run in the opening inning, but the momentum shifted to the Bucs.
Junior Landon Knack (Johnson City, Tennessee) pitched at the mound in the opening six innings and struck out six players, along with only allowing one run on four hits. Emmertz, Cade Gilbert (Ringgold, Georgia), Kyle Richard (Zionsville, Indiana) and Jake Lyle (Spring Hill, Tennessee) had two hits each to finish the day with a score of 8-1.
The Bucs wrapped up the series on Sunday with a close game ending with a score of 3-2 in favor of the Bucs. Junior Ethan Cady (Soddy Daisy, Tennessee) gave the Bucs the one-run lead with a homer in the bottom of the eighth. James Giambalvo (Alhambra, California) closed out the game pitching, securing the Bucs’ third win.
“We are just taking it game by game,” said junior Cullen Smith (Lebanon, Tennessee).
Southern Conference play starts this weekend when the Bucs take on Western Carolina in three-game series, starting on Friday.
