ASU takes on ETSU
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

No doubt, it’s been a frustrating Southern Conference season for Appalachian State. However, winning two out of three from Georgia Southern gave the Mountaineers a lift going into their game Wednesday at East Tennessee State.

The Mountaineers (18-19 overall, 3-9 SoCon) play at Cardinals Field beginning at 7 p.m. against their former SoCon rivals. East Tennessee State (9-26, 7-14 Atlantic Sun) is coming off a split of a doubleheader with Gardner-Webb last Saturday.

The Bucs have won three of their last five after dropping nine of their previous 10 games. They are led offensively by Paul Hoilman, who is hitting at a .365 clip. Anthony Russell is next with a .338 average, followed by Bart Roark (.330) and Troy Mendez (.328). In fact, the Bucs have six players hitting above .300.

Pitching has been a different story. The Bucs have an ERA of 6.92 and teams are hitting .330 off their staff.

However, the Mountaineers are more worried about themselves. Following East Tennessee State, the Mountaineers play a three-game series with Western Carolina, beginning Friday night.