Game 23 • Wednesday, March 24 • 2:00 p.m.
College of Charleston (17-5, 4-2 SoCon)
RHP Matt Pegler (1-0, 6.00 ERA)
at
Charleston Southern (9-12, 0-2 Big South)
RHP Jesse Cadenhead (2-2, 7.52 ERA)
College of Charleston returned to Southern Conference action last weekend, earning sweep of host UNC Greensboro to improve to 17-5 on the season and 4-2 in conference action. Junior CF Cole Rakar (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) continues to lead the team with a .407 batting average, 37 hits and 11 stolen bases. Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton Fla./American Heritage) and junior LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla./Broward College) are tied for the team-lead in home runs with six apiece, while Rodriguez tops the RBI chart with 27. Freshman RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood), lead the Cougar pitching staff with a 4-1 record and a team-best 28 strikeouts.
Charleston Southern enters the weekend with a record of 9-12 after defeating host Savannah State Tuesday afternoon by a 12-6 score. Nick Chinners is the Bucs' leading hitter with a .453 average and 22 RBI, while Tyler Thornberg has five home runs to lead CSU. Today's starter, Jesse Cadenhead is 2-2 with a 7.52 ERA in seven appearances. He has 20 strikeouts in 20.1 innings, while opponents are hitting .353 against him.
- ALL-TIME VS. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
College of Charleston leads the all-time series, 41-14, and has won the last 11 meetings between the two squads. The Cougars went 4-0 against CSU last season, picking up wins of 13-4 and 15-8 on the road and 10-3 and 5-2 victories at Patriots Point. Earlier this season, CofC defeated CSU 12-7 at Patriots Point on March 3. The last loss against Charleston Southern was Feb. 20, 2007, a 17-9 loss on the road.
WEDNESDAY - Freshman RHP Matt Pegler (Greenville, S.C./Riverside) takes the mound today for his fourth start of season. Last week, Pegler had a strong outing against then-#8 Coastal Carolina, tossing six innings and scattering four hits, while allowing four runs with seven strikeouts.
- COUGARS SWEEP SOCON WEEKLY AWARDS
College of Charleston junior DH Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) has been named the Southern Conference Baseball Player of the Week while teammate senior RHP Kevin Decker (Washington, Ind./Seminole CC) has been selected as the league's Pitcher of the Week for all games from March 15-21.
Kral had a career day at the plate on Friday evening, hitting three home runs with five RBIs in the Cougars' series-opening win at UNC Greensboro. Kral's three home run output ties the program's record for home runs in a game with four others, including current head coach Monte Lee (1999). The sophomore had at least one RBI in all five games for the Cougars this week as CofC went 5-0. He had four multi-hit games, 10 RBIs and slugged 1.000 as CofC improved to 17-5 overall and 4-2 in the SoCon.
Decker went 2-0 in two appearances this week, coming out of the bullpen to pick up the victory versus No. 8 Coastal Carolina and then making his first start at UNC Greensboro. The senior right-hander allowed only three hits in nine total innings, highlighted by two frames of hitless, shutout ball against the nationally-ranked Chants on Tuesday. He followed that by allowing two runs on three hits in seven innings of work against the Spartans on Saturday afternoon. Decker held opponents to a .103 batting average, giving up two singles and a double over 34 batters.
The Cougars went 35-22 overall and 17-13 in the SoCon last year, which put them fifth in the league standings. The comforts of home staked the Cougars a 22-5 record at Patriots Point Field in 2009. Last season, the Cougars were fourth in the country in home runs (110) and scoring (9.7 runs/game), and ninth in team batting average (.345).
College of Charleston senior Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) was selected as the Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's baseball coaches, the SoCon announced Thursday. Two other Cougars were also named to preseason all-conference teams.
Bergman led the country in both runs (88) and on base percentage (.551) in 2009 while finishing second nationally with a .452 batting average. Splitting time between shortstop and third base, Bergman also hit 15 home runs and had 57 RBIs while recording two or more hits in 35 of the 56 games. The senior is one of three returning starters to the Charleston lineup.
Senior Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Texas/Blinn College) joins Bergman on the Preseason All-Conference First Team at the designated hitter spot. Daniels hit .363 with 10 home runs and 64 RBIs last year in 50 games. His .457 on base percentage was third on the team. Junior Cole Rakar (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) earned a second-team preseason all-conference spot in the outfield. He started 56 contests for the Cougars, hitting .317 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. He tied the school record of three home runs in a single game on Mar. 28 against Furman.
College of Charleston baseball has been picked to finish third in the Southern Conference Preseason Poll by the media. The Cougars were tabbed to finish fourth in the coaches poll.
- BERGMAN EARNS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA NODS
Senior shortstop Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) was selected to the 2010 Louisville Preseason All-America Baseball Team by Collegiate Baseball. Bergman, who was named to the second team, received All-American status for the second time this preseason. He was also named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America Pro-Line Athletic Preseason All-America third team.
Elected the 2009 Southern Conference Player of the Year, Bergman had a .452 average while drilling 15 home runs last season. He became the 10th player in Southern Conference history to record 100 hits in a single season. He garnered third-team All-America status by Collegiate Baseball and the ABCA.
The Cougars return to SoCon action this weekend as they travel to face Western Carolina for a three-game set. Friday's game time is set for 6:00 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday have 1:00 p.m. first pitches.
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