JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.— The LIU Brooklyn baseball team closes its trip down south with a weekend series against East Tennessee State University beginning Friday, March 1 at 4:00 p.m. from Thomas Stadium.
The Blackbirds and Buccaneers have met on the diamond just once before with a neutral site matchup in Florida 25 years ago. ETSU came away with a 13-1 win over LIU back in 1994.
LAST TIME OUT
LIU earned a 1-0 win over ninth ranked Georgia on Tuesday night at Foley Field. It was LIU's first win over a top-10 team nationally and Southeastern Conference school.
The Blackbirds were led on the mound by a pair of Georgia natives in junior Jackson Svete and freshman Nick Torres. Svete stifled the Bulldogs offense, with just two hits over six innings of work while striking out five for his first win of the season. Torres pitched the final two-and-two thirds innings in relief, surrendering just two base runners on the way to his first collegiate save. Senior Joe Mercadante led LIU with a pair of hits including the game-winning RBI single in the top of the fourth inning.
SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
ETSU enters the weekend with a 6-2 mark on the year, with all six of its victories coming at home. The Buccaneers earned series sweep over familiar foes in Iona College and Wagner to start the season before falling to ACC schools, Virginia Tech and Clemson.
Cullen Smith leads the team with a .393 batting average to go along with a pair of doubles. Jackson Grier has been the team's top run producer with 12 RBI in eight games. He also leads the team with three home runs, .821 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage.
The Buccaneers weekend rotation features Micah Zaczor, Landon Knack as the top two arms. Kazcor boasts a 0.75 earned run average while holding opponents to .128 in 12 innings on the year. Knack leas the team with 13 strikeouts in 10 innings. Out of the bullpen James Giambalvo owns two saves on the season with five strikeouts in just two innings of work thus far.
ON DECK
LIU returns north a mid-week matchup at Stony Brook on Wednesday, March 6 at Joe Nathan Field. The Blackbirds cap the week with their opening series at LIU Field with a 3:00 p.m. start on Friday, March 8 against NJIT.