Baseball to Face Western Carolina in Key SoCon Weekend Series
3/26/2010 4:00:00 AM | Baseball
Games 24-26
CofC (18-5, 4-2 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (13-6-1, 1-4-1 SoCon)
Friday, March 26 - 6:00 p.m.
RHP Christian Powell (4-1, 4.55 ERA) vs. RHP Jason Sullivan (3-1, 3.49 ERA)
Saturday, March 27 - 3:00 p.m.
RHP Kevin Decker (3-0, 2.50 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Benedict (2-0, 3.26 ERA)
Sunday, March 28 - 2:00 p.m.
RHP David Peterson (2-2, 5.92 ERA) vs. LHP Vance Chavis (2-3, 4.71 ERA)
- BATTING PRACTICE
College of Charleston returns to Southern Conference action this weekend riding a six-game winning streak after a 28-9 non-conference victory over Charleston Southern Wednesday afternoon. The Cougars set or tied a number of records during the contest, including equaling a program mark for grand slams in a game with three. Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage) and junior DH Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) both hammered grand slams in a 12-run second inning and freshman Dre Watts (Laurens, S.C./Laurens) added a third grand slam in the eighth as CofC pounded 25 hits in the win. Kral leads the team with a .426 average and has hit .700 in the last three games. Junior CF Cole Rakar (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) has a team-high 39 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 seven apiece, while Rodriguez tops the RBI chart with 30. Freshman RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood), leads the Cougar pitching staff with a 4-1 record and a team-best 28 strikeouts.
- SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
Western Carolina enters the weekend with a record of 13-6-1 after spliting last weekend's series with Appalachian State, 1-1-1. Sunday's 4-4 draw was called after 5-1/2 innings due to inclement weather. Cameron Dullnig is WCU's leading hitter with a .360 average and 27 hits, while Ollie Goulder and Tyler Kirkpatrick each have five home runs. Friday's starter, Jason Sullivan sports a 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA and a team-best 32 strikeouts.
- ALL-TIME VS. WESTERN CAROLINA
College of Charleston leads the all-time series, 29-12. Last season, the teams split the four games with the Cougars taking the regular-season series 2-1 at Patriots Point. Western Carolina exacted some revenge in the postseason, scoring a 12-4 win over CofC in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament.
- START IT UP
FRIDAY - Freshman RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) makes his second straight Friday night start this season. Powell picked up his fourth win of the season, scattering nine hits in 5.1 innings and allowing seven runs with seven strikeouts in a 14-10 win over UNCG on March 19.
SATURDAY - Senior RHP Kevin Decker (Washington, Ind./Seminole CC) takes the mound for his second start after five appearances out of the bullpen. In his last appearance, Decker tossed seven innings of three-hit ball to earn the 9-2 win over UNCG.
SUNDAY - Sophomore RHP David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Los Lomas) makes his sixth start of the season, entering the game with a 4-1 mark. Peterson completed the sweep of UNCG last weekend, picking up the win in a 6-5 triumph over the Spartans on March 20. Peterson tossed 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with five 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.
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.
- CHARLESTON PLAYER NOTES
Here is a look at some of the Cougars' key players over the current six-game win streak.
INF Joey Bergman - returned to action at the plate against Charleston Southern on March 24 after hamate bone surgery put him on the shelf earlier this season... went 2-for-3 with an RBI
DH Rob Kral - named SoCon Player of the Week after having a career day last Friday, tying the program record for home runs in a single game with three... also set personal career-highs in hits (3), home runs (3) RBI (5) and total bases (12)... hitting .522 for the stretch with a team-high 15 RBI... had one of the three grand slams in 28-9 win over Charleston Southern
3B Matt Leeds - went 3-for-4 in last Friday's series opener against UNCG, a career-high for hits... batting .417 in the last six games with three home runs and 10 RBI... had one of the three grand slams in 28-9 win over Charleston Southern
CF Cole Rakar - tied a career-high with four hits in last Friday's game against UNCG... batting .423 during the Cougars' six-game win streak with a home run and six RBI
LF Jose Rodriguez - leading the Cougars with a .591 average during the streak... had two home runs on last Friday, matching a career-high... added 10 RBI and seven runs scored during the six-game stretch
- ALL-SOCON COUGARS
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 SECOND PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA NOD
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.
- ON DECK
The Cougars return to Charleston to face local rival Charleston Southern Tuesday evening at Patriots Point. The non-conference tilt has a 5:00 p.m. start time. CofC has taken both games against the Bucs this season by scores of 12-7 and 28-9.
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