Sunday, April 11, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (April 10, 2010) – After dropping the first game of a doubleheader 9-3 to Jacksonville, the ETSU baseball team flexed its muscles taking the second game from JU 11-4 Saturday at Sessions Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
The win gave the Bucs (19-12, 8-4 A-Sun) their sixth series win and their third in conference play.
 
Both Bo Reeder (Cookeville, Tenn.) and Ben Booker (Knoxville, Tenn.) had good starts for ETSU. Reeder was tabbed with his second loss of the season in the first game after surrendering nine runs (four earned) on nine hits in 6.0 innings with four strikeouts.
 
Booker was masterful in game two taking a shutout into the eighth as he improved to 4-0 on the season. The junior right hander threw 8.0 complete scattering ten hits while striking out four.
 
Matt Tomshaw earned the complete game win for the Dolphins (17-16, 9-6 A-Sun) in game one, while Kyle Kriech was tabbed with the loss in game two giving up seven runs (six earned) on six hits in 3.0 innings of work.
 
On the day, Derek Niesman (Wellington, Fla.) and Chas Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) led the way offensively for the Bucs. Niesman was 4-for-7 and scored four runs, while Byrne had five hits and three RBI.

The Bucs grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the in the first inning of game one. After a two out walk to Paul Hoilman (Johnson City, Tenn.) and a single up the middle by Derek Trent (Kingsport, Tenn.), Reeder drove a double to the gap in right center scoring Hoilman. Trent was thrown out at the plate on the play to end the inning as the Dolphin defense made a good relay to get the Buccaneer catcher.

The Dolphins exploded for five runs on three hits and four ETSU errors in the bottom of the second to take a 5-1 lead.

ETSU cut into the JU lead in the fourth as Trent came in to score on a single through the right side by second baseman Kerry Doane (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) to make the score 5-2 Dolphins.

JACKSONVILLE'S SATURDAY RECAP: Baseball falls 11-4 to ETSU in series finale

ETSU scored early and often as the raced past the JU baseball team , 11-4, in the second half of a doubleheader at John Sessions Stadium to win the Atlantic Sun Conference series.
ETSU (19-12, 8-4) jumped out to an 11-0 lead through five innings and never looked back, racking up 14 hits against five JU pitchers.

JU (17-16, 9-6) scored all four of its runs in the eighth inning, with Chris Connelly accounting for half of the runs via a two-run homer.

“This was a disappointing finish to the day,” said JU head coach Terry Alexander. “We’ve got to come back ready to work on Monday.”

The Bucs took a 5-0 lead in the second when Cory Betterson hit a two-run double, Chas Byre hit a two-run triple to center and a run scored on a fielding error.

From there ETSU kept the pressure on JU and never let the Dolphins get back into the game. The Bucs got a run in the third, two in the fourth and three more in the fifth.

Ben Booker (4-0) was brilliant on the mound for ETSU, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs in eight innings of work for the win while striking out four.