ETSU’s baseball team traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, to play a three-game series against the Samford Bulldogs on March 26 and 27. The Bucs dropped the first two contests on March 26 but found redemption with a 5-1 victory March 27.
The Bucs started off game one strong, earning three runs in the third inning. Samford earned one run in the third inning and one run in the fifth.
For the rest of game one, offenses were largely quiet — there were no runs until the eighth inning when Samford scored five runs, and with no runs in the ninth. The final score of game one was 7-3 in favor of the Bulldogs.
“I think game one of the series was a heartbreaker — we were winning the game the whole day until the eighth [inning], but that’s part of it.” said ETSU senior Ethan Cady (Soddy Daisy, Tennessee). “The second game I felt we were still down from the first game.”
Samford carried their momentum into game two, eventually winning by a score of 10-2.
In game three, the Bucs came out strong with good pitching and confidence.
“We were able to score first and add on to that,” said Bucs head coach Joe Pennucci. “We had good pitches and defended at a high level. It’s not easy to bounce back after 18 innings, and the team showed their toughness.”
Cady hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, giving the Bucs a 3-0 lead against the Bulldogs.
“It was a good feeling,” Cady said. “I was getting pitched well all series, with lots of off-speed pitches and getting fastballs here and there. To see the first pitch fastball and hit it for a home run is what I needed and what the team needed at the time. I’m proud of the boys for coming back and getting the [win] against a solid club.”
In the end, the Buccaneers were the victors of game three, defeating the Bulldogs by a score of 5-1.
After the series, Coach Pennucci explained how it was incredibly important for the team’s morale to hold the Bulldogs to one run after allowing a combined 17 runs on Friday.
The Bucs will next travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, to play another three-game series against University of North Carolina Greensboro April 2-3.
