The Buccaneers kicked off the new month with a weekend victory, winning all three matches in the Buccaneer Classic, including their first-ever win over Tennessee.
During the second match on Sunday, ETSU dominated No. 20 Tennessee from start to finish with a 4-3 win over the Lady Vols. This is the first time in program history the Bucs have defeated Tennessee. After senior Nikki Grupp (Jacksonville, Florida) sent the player from third base to home, Toler hit a double that extended the Blue and Gold’s lead to 3-0.
Junior Lauren Lee (Cleveland, Tennessee) hit a single and made her way home to make the fourth and final point claiming for the Bucs.
The Buccaneer Classic originally featured five games, with the first and last being canceled due to bad weather.
“I think we played together as a team really well,” said junior Lauren Lee (Cleveland, Tennessee). “We started executing like we haven’t done before this season, we executed when we could. And we had a lot of fun out there. I think we played really well as a team.”
With the canceling of the first match against the Bowling Green Falcons, day of the home-opener was moved to Sunday.
The Bucs started off the classic defeating Tennessee Tech in six innings with a 10-1 outcome. Tennessee made their one and only mark on the scoreboard in the second inning following a double play. The Bucs regrouped and made it onto the board in the fourth inning before hitting their sweet spot in the fifth. The Blue and Gold scored six runs from four hits that started with a home run hit by freshman Lili Bowen (Charlotte, North Carolina).
After several walks, the bases were loaded for senior Kylie Toler (Bradenton, Florida) to make another home run, clearing the bases, and giving the Blue and Gold a 7-1 upper hand. The final three points were scored throughout the sixth inning marking the Bucs 10 victory over Tennessee Tech.
The Bucs faced the Bowling Green Falcons first thing on Monday defeating them 4-3. The final game on Monday was canceled for rain.
With the victory, ETSU improves to 7-10 in the season with 4-0 at home.
“We’ve been practising on our own a lot outside of scheduled practice,” said Lee. “We’ve changed our mindset from focusing specifically on skills to more on going out there and being there for each other and having fun.”
The Bucs take on the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville, Tennessee starting on March 6.
