ETSU baseball reached .500 following a rocky start to the season when the Bucs shutout an undefeated Appalachian State team 5-0 inside Thomas Stadium on a warm and sunny Tuesday afternoon in East Tennessee.
The Bucs entered the day (3-4) fresh off a 10-2 win over Georgia Southern that prevented a three-game series sweep over the weekend, and the momentum was clearly on their side.
The Bucs took the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Garett Wallace (Sanford, Fla.) RBI brought in Tommy Barth (Brecksville, Ohio) for a single score to put the Bucs up 1-0.
There wasn’t much action on the field until the seventh inning until a three-up three-down for App State that opened up another opportunity for the Bucs to extend their 1-0 lead, and that’s exactly what they did off a double RBI by Ashton King (Knoxville, Tenn.) that brought Barth and Ethan Pyler (Lexington, S.C.) in for a score a piece to give the Bucs a 3-0 advantage entering the eighth.
The Bucs would allow one hit for Appalachian State in the eighth inning, but would yet again prevent a score as they entered the bottom of the inning.
With a 3-0 lead, the Bucs were able to add two more scores to their total after a throwing error allowed Kain Collins (Kingston, Tenn.) to steal third base for a run and Nick Iannantone (Plainfield, Ill.) to snag second base, setting up for another steal off a wild pitch to put the Bucs up 5-0 to close the eighth out.
The Bucs would make quick work of the ninth inning. ETSU pitcher Nathan Hickman (Lenoir City, Tenn.) would be relieved by Derek McCarley (Seymour, Tenn.). McCarley would allow a hit by his first batter before a fly-out and strikeout would seal the victory for the Bucs, who are now 4-4 on the season.
Wednesday was the first of four consecutive home games for the Bucs as the (0-6) Marist Red Foxes will visit for a three-game series March 3-5.
For more information about ETSU baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com/baseball.
