Bucs take 2 of 3, home streak snapped

ETSU baseball took 2 of 3 games against Marist over the weekend at Thomas Stadium. The Bucs won their third straight series of the season defeating the Red Foxes 3-0 on Friday and 9-8 on Saturday, but missed the series sweep after a 13-2 drubbing Sunday.

Senior pitcher Kerry Doane took the glory for Friday’s victory after blanking the Red Foxes in his first collegiate shutout.

Doane pitched all nine innings, his second complete game of the season, allowing only six hits, one walk and striking out five Marist players.

Freshman designated hitter Dylan Powers provided the offensive surge knocking in two runs in the fourth inning, his first collegiate hit. Shortstop Chris Riopedre recorded the other RBI, a single in the seventh inning that scored Daniel Tucker.  
Saturday’s game was bizarre in several aspects. With steady snow flurries falling for the majority of the contest, the Bucs fell behind early against the Red Foxes before easing their way back into the game to claim victory off a Dylan Tritsch walk-off single, his second walk-off of the young season.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now,” ETSU head coach Tony Skole said. “We’re finding ways to win in a lot of different areas. Some days it’s our pitching, some days it’s our defense and other days it’s our offense.”

Going into the bottom of the 11th inning, Tritsch came to the plate with the bases loaded and slid a grounder up the right side before proceeding to run away from his teammates ready to soak him with water.

“(I) knew he was going to come with the off-speed first pitch, so I took that one,” Tritsch said. “Then he threw me a meatball right down the middle and I just put it right where I needed to and walked off again. It was great.”

Tritsch finished the game 2 for 6 with three RBIs and one run scored.

ETSU freshman pitcher Griffin Krieg allowed three runs to cross the plate in the second inning, all beginning with first baseman Mike Orefice’s solo home run. Two innings later, Orefice was back at the plate with the bases loaded and lifted another one over the right field wall, putting Marist up 8-1. Orefice finished the day 3 for 6 with five RBIs and two home runs.

The Bucs finally responded in the bottom of the fifth inning, with four runs crossing the plate off RBIs from junior Clinton Freeman and Tritsch to tighten the game to 8-5.

After tightening the score to 8-6 with a run in the bottom of the sixth, the Bucs were down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth when Freeman stepped to plate representing the tying run for ETSU. Senior Andrew Green had previously been hit by a pitch and waited on first. Freeman delivered with a long triple, tallying an RBI, and then scored the tying run on an errant cutoff throw.

Freeman also picked up the win on the mound after relieving Will Chesney in the top of the ninth inning. Freeman went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two triples.

The Bucs dropped the final game of the weekend series to Marist. The Red Foxes jumped out to an early 8-2 lead after three innings at Thomas Stadium and never looked back, finishing off ETSU with a 13-2 final.

The Bucs have had a couple dramatic comebacks this season but couldn’t find the magic in the cold, snowy weather this time. Pitcher Jimmy Nesselt got the start for ETSU and was handed the loss bringing his record to 1-1 on the year. Nesselt pitched three innings for the Bucs giving up eight runs, five earned.